Clean Kiss Lifestyle

I escaped my computer today, at noon on a Monday, in order to visit my yoga studio for a hot vinyasa yoga class. Of all the things I have been missing during the pandemic, my in-person hot yoga practice at my studio has been top of the list. I didn't realize how much I even missed it until I had the chance to return to it these past couple days.

This may not seem like a big deal to you but it's a big deal to me. Monday's are usually the worst day of the week for me. The most stressful with the longest "to do" list ever, my most anxiety-filled day that I just power through with all my masculine energy to tackle all the "stuff" on my list. In fact, I almost cancelled my yoga class booking but felt bad to do that to my friend who owns the studio knowing they have been closed for months. 

As I lay there on my mat, I felt calm and peaceful.

I felt at one with the other humans in the room who were also there sweating their butts off from the minute of entry into the hot studio. If you have never experienced this, you must. And you may hate it. But that's part of what I am writing about here today. 

To me the part of being in the hot studio is that it is uncomfortably hot. That's the point. Doing yoga in this hot studio, like actually moving your body and getting into challenging poses, is also uncomfortable...and furthermore part of the point. 

When it comes to aging skin, we always like to think and speak of Healthy Pro-Aging, not anti-aging. We just don't believe in using the term anti-aging because it has become a systemic issue of negativity associated with aging in our society. We like to say "Age Gracefully", with style, confidence and great health!

This is what it means to live a Pro-Aging life!

Especially as women, it can be very hard to reject the negativity around aging and the stigmas that are associated with it. Sadly, many skincare and wellness brands, along with health professionals (aka "weight loss" and fitness trainers) use negative tones that make us feel bad about our body, our skin, and about aging, when trying to sell their products and services. 

Just because I am over the age of 35, doesn't mean I need to anti-age. Since when did aging become a bad thing? 

Although you may not think of that skin rash or acne breakout as inflammation, there's a good chance it is. In this article I will explain what inflammation is, what causes it, and how to reduce or eliminate it from your body (and thus your skin).

I promised to share with you my 5 Promising Ways to Calm Your Skin Inflammation (Quickly). A word of caution, by quickly I mean 1-3 months not 1 week. It will take that long at a minimum in order to rid your body of the toxins,  to figure what ingredients to avoid, or to make lifestyle changes to impact what is causing the inflammatory flare-ups.

You may start to see improvements right away and so I encourage you to keep diligent until you see your skin calm down and to heal.

Keep reading to get all of my 5 Promising Ways to Calm Your Skin Inflammation through natural methods including swapping out any toxic skincare for clean, toxin-free natural skincare. 

Layering your skincare in the correct order can seem like a mysterious process for many women. This is a common question I get asked as a skincare formulator and skin health expert which is why I wanted to address it here today to put an end to the big mystery behind the “right” way to layer your natural skincare products.  Skincare should be a fun part of your self-care and should never feel like a stressor to get it perfectly right.

Having said that, the reason skincare layering is so important is because you are spending your hard-earned money on skincare products that you wish to perform in certain ways on your skin. This is true I believe for all women who spend time on their skin, but even moreso for women over the age of forty who have more skin concerns such as premature aging, wrinkles, fine lines, hyperpigmentation, adult hormonal acne, and other skin changes that affect us as we enter peri-menopause or are post-menopausal.

If you are investing your time and money in products and a skincare ritual, you do have a certain degree of interest in making it count, right?! Before I get into the science behind layering just know that it is your body and your skin. If you feel good and are getting results using your products in a different layering order than suggested here, keep doing what feels right to you, or play around with both ways to compare how your skin feels.

Remember too, skin cells renew every thirty days or so, and sometimes it may take that long to see results from your skincare ritual. The key is to be consistent with a daily ritual which includes your natural skincare products but also proper nutrition and hydration for healthy looking skin. It is all about a multi-faceted lifestyle approach to pro-aging and is never “just about the skincare”.

Oh hey, guess what? Back to school time is around the corner. For real. We hope.

Let's help our teens be ready!

Your kids have been home doing virtual school for the better part of the last school year. Going back to school next week may be both a time of excitement and also anxiety about being back at a desk, with a real teacher, in person.

You, Mom and Dad, have been real troopers helping your kids with online learning while holding down the household, your careers, and managing your own pandemic anxiety. You all deserve a Gold Medal! 

Just a regular old school year brings much anxiety and also sadness as the carefree days of summer end for thousands of school-agers and teenagers who are heading out to do their back to school shopping. This year brings a whole new face of uncertainty of what the coming school year will bring. 

Some of the anxious thoughts may include...

Ever notice a little funk in places that cause you a lot of embarrassment such as in your cleavage, stomach rolls, or your stinky feet that never smell fresh?

It is very common to sweat in places you don't imagine such as your groin and you may also notice that groin sweat smells different too than in other areas of your body. And it does in fact because your sweat glands ARE different in terms of the secretions they emit as you sweat.

And remember it is the sweat that contains bacteria that causes the body odour. It doesn't mean you are a stinky person but certainly some people seem to barely sweat at all while others sweat profusely.

There are many places you can safely use natural deodorant to keep odour away. This blog explores and explains our top five places you can use natural deodorant safely and confidently.