Old English Lufu means Love

Tag: water

Importance of Water for Your Skin and Lymphatic System
In this post I am going to explain the lymphatic system pertaining to your skin and the effects of water hydration on your internal skin. I will also explain certain key ingredients found in water such as fluoride and why it is not so good for the physical body. I have some suggestions for your water and how to store it and I will be recommending some products and brands for filtering your water systems and why it is so important to have clean water. Note I have partnered with a great water filtration brand that filters fluoride and there will be some affiliate links in this post.

Hydration

Hydrate Hydrate Hydrate!!! That is what we always hear but not everyone wants to drink 8 glasses of water a day. Why? Because we do not want to have to use the restroom how many times a day? For me personally I have gotten my water consumption down to a science for my body meaning I know how much to drink and around what times I will be close to a restroom. Even if I have to work I will get my water consumption in because my physical health and skin are way more important than a job that may not want me using the restroom. I always try to drink the most water for my day when I am at home or earlier in the day so I do not have to wake at night to go to the bathroom all night. I also noticed a water bottle or glass that is around 24 ounces makes it easier to do your 64 ounces a day. Its just 3 water bottles to consume a day. Suggested bottle with a filter built in https://clearlyfiltered.com/products/24oz-tritan-bottle?variant=2129349214297

The Visuals

As far as the lymphatic system and how water works as a filter for the body I will explain in a facial type of way. When I am giving a facial to someone a visual of lymph I always explain, you know if you pop a pimple and you get the pus out and then there is a little bleeding and you can see a clear fluid? That clear fluid is your lymph. It acts as a filter for the whole body and is constantly flowing through the body getting out all the toxins. Your lymph travels through your lymph nodes which you mainly can find anywhere in the body that bends or moves. Examples would be your neck, armpits, elbows, wrist, hip or groin area, knees and ankles. All the movement and motion of these parts of the body are helping stagnant lymph to move throughout the body. (Hence why I stress exercise and especially stretching such as yoga or pilates to keep lymph moving.) Drinking water also helps to get this lymph moving as well.

Another visual for your lymph nourishing your skin from the inside out. I have given different types of facials and my favorite machine facial is the Hydrafacial. If you ever get a chance to experience a Hydrafacial I would strongly recommend it. The Hydrafacial machine includes a lymphatic stimulation and also finishes with LED lights. I am always explaining how lymph is flowing behind your skin and if you can imagine that clear fluid right behind the skin on your face and if you stimulate it your face will look more plump. It is the same if you do a European facial with a manual massage. Sometimes I would be asked, “what does the facial massage do?” Essentially wake up the lymph fluid right behind the facial skin and give you a nice plump look while also draining any stagnant lymph down into your neck nodes and filtering throughout the body to release any toxins. When you use an LED light designed for the face or skin it does the same thing as the light is penetrating a few layers deep and that lymph fluid is getting stimulated again.

Now I’m going to give you another visual. This time lets visualize the pores on your skin. The easiest way to explain it is to compare your skin to the tight cellulose sponge you would find in your kitchen. What happens if you do not wash dishes and you do not use your sponge for a day? The sponge will be dry and tight. What happens immediately when you ad water to the sponge to wash the dishes? The sponge will plump up and look like a real sponge again. The same idea is with your skin when it is dehydrated and when you have water. Also use this visual of the tight little pores or holes on the sponge to think of absorption. If you rub a lotion on your body and it is full of chemicals? All those chemicals are going into your skin and into your body within minutes. Now if the product is not natural or full of filler than a lot of times the body cannot fully absorb unnatural ingredients and that cream can sit on your skin. Imagine a sponge with soap goop on it that will not rinse off. The texture and quality of the sponge ages fast. I’m just trying to explain this visual so that you can see how important it is to realize that your skin literally absorbs everything that touches it. (Even your clothing materials, which I’ll touch in another post)

The Chemicals

There are two things I wanted to touch on in this post. First water with your skin externally and internally and how it affects your skin and second what chemicals are in water and the effect those chemicals have on the skin and hair. I think I covered the first part with my visuals so lets move on to the second part, the chemicals in the water. I had already wrote about how water affects your skin and so many municipalities put chlorine and fluoride in water not to mention other chemicals.

Lets first talk about absorption of these chemicals and how it can affect your skin. There are two main chemicals put into the water system that are not good for the body. The two main culprits are fluoride and chlorine. Fluoride as we have been taught is supposed to strengthen your teeth. Maybe in your toothpaste as that is “supposed” to be medical grade but in the public water supply their using an untreated industrial waste product. In a nutshell the history of how fluoride came into our water systems was back in the Industrial Revolution. The cows around the factories were developing cancer. A Belgium scientist discovered the cause was fluoride gases and phosphates which were a by product of fertilizer. Once this was discovered said companies would be hit with a hefty bill to properly dispose of fluorosilicic acid. They figured out how to reuse said by product into the water supply by claiming the fluoride strengthened teeth. To be allowed they had to do independent studies to prove how good fluoride was for your teeth. They did the studies on children’s teeth. Meaning baby teeth that will eventually come out so explain how effective that study was? That is my nutshell definition on the history of fluoridating the water supply. If you want more info here is an article link https://origins.osu.edu/article/toxic-treatment-fluorides-transformation-industrial-waste-public-health-miracle

Another chemical in the water supply that I’m not a fan of is chlorine. Yes it is put into the water to remove diseases and bacteria but there is a more natural alternative that can be used called chloramine. Chloramine is a combination of chlorine and ammonia and creates a more natural molecule used in the water distribution systems and is less likely to cause physical harm to the human body. Chlorine on the skin to me is so drying. I have stopped going into chlorinated swimming pools as I can imagine all the pores of my skin absorbing these heavy amounts of chlorine and my skin is always so dry when I get out of the pool. Its not worth it I would rather be in nature or a saltwater pool.

Bathing

Lets talk about bathing. Can be a shower or a bath. I have learned through the years because I have lived in some heavily chlorinated areas that a shower filter is necessary. What happens if there are heavy amounts of chlorine in your water? The main symptom you will see is that your skin is more ashen or dry and your hair will usually be more dry. No amount of product or hydrating shampoo can help that hair. Take note when you shower and your using hot water that, vapor in the water contains the chemicals of chlorine and fluoride. Both of the chemicals are strong enough for the body to cause asthma or chest and lung issues. The best is a shower filter or if you have a filter system in your kitchen sink, I would recommend at least washing your hair and face in the kitchen sink to have filtered water for your hair and face. Also I’m not sure on the ratio but I’ve read that 1 cup of bentonite clay in the bath tub can cut the harmful effects of chlorine that you would be soaking in. Here is a link from a company that sells good showerhead filters https://aquaspace.com/collections/shower

So I hope that you are seeing the visual of water on the skin and hydration internally for your skin. This is why it is so important the water you consume both internally and externally. Remember your skin is your largest organ and it absorbs everything around you. Just to give you some tips for clean water consumption:
- Invest in a good water filtration system
- Use a shower filter as much as possible
- You want your water to be in glass (plastics cause chemicals in the water)
- Try to consume up to 64 ounces of water a day
Recommendations

I am very happy to recommend this water filtration system as I have been using it personally and the taste of the water is great. If you start with the water pitcher and the filter system you will need about 3 filters a year. https://clearlyfiltered.com/products/clean-water-pitcher-filter-3-pack?variant=8904616145 Three filters a year is $139.50 divided by 365 equals .38 cents a day. In one month it is about $11.00 you will spend on your water consumption.

If your interested in an under the sink filter system I will say with Clearly Filtered it is a very easy installation. https://clearlyfiltered.com/products/3-stage-under-the-sink-filter-unit?variant=7927127112 I have been a renter for many years and since you are able to install this yourself you can take it with you if you move to a new location. It is highly worth it as the math breaks down to about $40 a month the first year and with a refill goes to $32.00 a month from then on. This system last for about 12 months in most households. The initial purchase is $495 for the first year and a refill from the second year is $396.00. Again $495.00 divided by 365 is $1.35 a day or $40.00 a month and this is used for your cooking water and you can wash your hair. I will say this is designed solely for cold water but at least do a cold hair rinse with your conditioner at the end of washing.

As I mentioned earlier Clearly Filtered also make a portable water bottle with a filter system in the bottle that filters out fluoride. A great value if you just want to start there it averages about $.30 cents a day if you change the filter every 3 months. Note that filter replacement will depend on your area and how many chemicals are in the water. Also have not included the initial price of the bottle or container in the breakdown.

Conclusion

I hope this post has given you some insight into the water systems and how their are some not so, human body friendly chemicals, lurking in our water supply systems. Hopefully you have a good visual of your skin and lymphatic system and have a better understanding of how these systems work for your body. Bringing it all together I would say it is very important the water that we consume both on our skin and what we are drinking. Not all filters are created the same. Also if you are traveling you can pass an empty water bottle through security and then fill it up. If you don’t have a water bottle I always suggest buying spring water or local water brands as much as possible as the filtered water from Big Brands are not always the cleanest for the body to consume. If you have any questions or if you know of any water showerhead brands you love feel free to send me a message through the contact form or comment below.
January 12, 2025
Five Key Elements to Stay Young Looking (No Botox or Fillers) Naturally
This post will touch on what are the key factors to keeping your skin young looking for many years and what keeps your skin in its best shape naturally. So many times when I am working or talking about being an esthetician a guy will ask me, “can men get facials too?” I always respond of course they do its skin and we all have it male or female its best to take care of it. This post applies to both male and female skin and tips to taking care.

Best Practices to Keep Skin Healthy

A lot of times when I am giving a facial I’ll be asked what is the best product for your skin? That question for me personally the BEST product like a one all cure all doesn’t exist without the key components. I always emphasize lifestyle choices first and skincare or the brand of skincare products is the last on the list. (Not to brag but my tallow cream is a best product for the skin for a lot of reasons) however, i will save that breakdown for another post. The 6 pillars for great looking skin are, hydration, diet, exercise, SLEEP and then products. Allow me to touch on each one of these pillars a little more.

Starting with HYDRATION cannot emphasize enough water water and more water. Our bodies are made up of water. We need it for our health and healthy movement of bowels. If you don’t keep things moving internally it will eventually show on your skin externally. You want to try and get 64 ounces of water consumption daily. Water is so important for the skin to look its best. The main two things that water can do for your skin is 1) it works with your lymphatic system and acts as a filter and cleans your body or system out. If you are getting tiny little break outs but maybe don’t have a huge acne problem, just drinking 8 glasses of water a day will help that. 2) Water helps give the skin a plumpness that is natural. When you are dehydrated it will show in your skin. To the naked eye no, but to a trained eye yes. I can see when I am working on someone if the skin has a bounce back elasticity it means that there is enough water or hydration internally in your skin. If for example you are dehydrated, internally your skin will be more tight and will be lacking an internal plumpness. Just drinking enough water in a day can help keep you looking younger for years. One company I would like to recommend for their water filtration systems and water bottles to get your hydration in yes affiliated:

https://clearlyfiltered.com/?cjdata=MXxOfDB8WXww&cjevent=e3d05118d0f711ef8320dca10a82b832

The second pillar to good skin is DIET or what you consume daily. I would highly recommend if your serious about your skincare to read your food labels. There are a lot of foods out there that have added chemicals in them. I have had a rule for years. If I cannot understand what the word on the label is I probably do not want it in my body. So snack foods and packaged foods just try and find the cleanest ingredient labels you can understand and it would probably be safe for your body and skin. Also you can get a lot of nutrients for your skin based from your food. I noticed when I do a collagen powder in my smoothies my skin looked more plump. That is because your skin is filling out internally from the inside out. Also protein is good for your skin. You can get protein from red meat, chicken, fish, eggs, dairy and nuts. All of those foods when their in clean wholesome form can enrich your skin and give you the vitamins your body needs to thrive. I would recommend all the meat is grass fed, the dairy for me I would do raw as there is way more nutrients in raw dairy and the eggs straight from a farm and try and make sure the nuts are clean or raw with no canola oil.

One thing to note on dairy just to elaborate I am/was lactose intolerant. I was researching something for my teeth and learned that raw dairy has all the vitamins your teeth need. Vitamin K and D3 are the two vitamins that if you drink pasteurized milk your missing those vitamins. If I was to drink pasteurized milk I would have a reaction within hours of pain in my stomach followed by horrible gas two days later. I tried un pasteurized milk as I learned that sometimes people think they are lactose intolerant but the body is actually reacting to the enzymes in the pasteurization process. It was a game changer, I had no reaction to unpasteurized milk. In fact it was more positive for my body as un pasteurized milk has pro-biotics to help your stomach so it was almost healing in a way when I first started drinking it. I don’t go crazy and drink a full glass but I will add to my morning coffee and it is like a natural heavy cream. Very good. The milk will go bad quickly so you can freeze it. I usually buy 1 gallon for a month it costs around $14 and break up into glass mason jars and freeze it and then just switch the jars into the refrigerator when its time for a new week. Also you can include the milk in your hydration glass count for the day because raw milk naturally hydrates you and pasteurized milk no hydration included. Your body knows when something is natural. Sometimes people will ask me if raw milk is dangerous to consume? Honestly our grandparents drank milk straight from the cow and they were very healthy so I think that we have been taught different as time has evolved and I’m down for the more natural way. Also if you don’t love milk raw yoghurt is the best. Its like a heavy natural cream. Look for it at a farm in your area or some grocery stores sell it depending on your location and if not yoghurt the next step is raw unpasteurized cheese. This is much easier to find. You do have to read your labels though. ( There is a swiss cheese that is unpasteurized and is sold in Walmart, Trader Joes and a lot of supermarkets.)

Next pillar for your ultimate best skin is EXERCISE!! I will give you 3 reasons the effects of exercise have on the skin. The first being cardio or sweating. When you sweat you remove toxins. As your sweating your skin is doing what it is made to do and releases those toxins. You will feel better and look better. Sweating is working again with your filtration system but this time removing the unnecessary things that your body does not need. If you are drinking water as you sweat, even better as that is enabling your purifying system to help clean things out. If you are into any kind of stretching exercise whether it is yoga, pilates or even just a stretch program you are helping the elasticity both with your skin and also with your connective tissue. The more flexible your connective tissue the younger you will look and feel. Imagine the difference if you are living on this planet 70 years and you cannot touch your toes as compared to someone who can do a full backbend at the age of 70? My advice on that one is to always remain active and give movement to your life so that you don’t have the aches and pains when you are older. Exercise is also a form of release. Sometimes we don’t realize it if we are going through something emotionally or we are angry that expression wears on your face. Another factor with aging. If you keep emotions bottled in it can age you. Exercise can be a form of release and bring calm to your physical body. Again when you feel good you look good so movement and stretching are a great natural anti aging secret that is actually free.

Next pillar SLEEP! I cannot emphasize enough how much younger you look when you sleep and are well rested. I highly recommend 8 hours a night if possible. If you have a busy lifestyle or work a lot or have children at least shoot for a minimum of 5 hours. Your body needs 5 hours a night minimum to help repair your vital organs such as your heart and brain. If you sleep less than 5 it is very hard on the body. If you cannot get 8 hours a night a lot of times what I do is have 1 morning a week I sleep in. I schedule it. Sometimes with all my jobs I can get very busy and work 10 days straight. I always prioritize sleep and will calculate a day to just sleep in. I give myself permission to stay in bed as long as I want or at least until 12 pm. I look forward to those days as I value my sleep and I love sleeping. On the days that you sleep and look well rested it can take years off your face.

Society has a negative stigma on sleeping and likes to associate it with lazy. I don’t agree with that at all. If I don’t get my sleep I do not function well. Have you ever noticed if your tired and then your emotions get out of whack and everything goes wrong? Honestly after nannying kids for years you can see what happens when kids are tired or need a nap? They start crying and get cranky. Well the same happens to adults and our bodies need sleep just as much as a childs body. A little sleep hack I learned for people who cannot fall asleep. For example I am not a napper. I sleep night to morning like to feel refreshed and then move about all day. But one thing I discovered if you put on headphones and use the Mega Hz music say for example 963 you can put yourself in a relaxed state and you sometimes can fall asleep like that but if not your body still gets into a restful space. I’ve found the videos on Youtube link here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXCKVQiqXyE

Finally we’ve come to the fifth and final pillar for amazing skin, the PRODUCTS you use. I always say the products are the least important if you don’t do the other 4 pillars to give yourself great looking skin and a more youthful natural appearance. Again when I am working in spas or for skincare lines people always would ask me what is the best product for your skin? A lot of times I would feel obligated to sell the product or brand where I was working. Honestly I stopped doing that over the years because what is more important to me is that ones skin is balanced and in the best condition that it can be in. If you drink enough water, exercise, eat a healthy clean diet and sleep you should already be 50% more ahead on your skin game than buying all the expensive products but say not drinking water or sleeping. You could spend the money but not sleeping isn’t going to make that eye cream work any better for you. I have brands and particular products that I love for the face besides my own products and I will save that for another post. The main products you want:
- A balancing non stripping cleanser
- Non alcohol non drying toner
- A good exfoliant 2 nights a week
- A balancing face cream and ad a serum if you prefer
- Also do not forget the neck cream or to add cream to your neck and decollete or chest. (First signs of aging besides hands)
In conclusion as I said at the beginning these recommendations can apply to both men and women because we all have skin. Everything here both men and women can do eat, exercise, sleep, drink water, use a cleanser and cream. Hopefully this has brought an awareness into your lifestyle and choices and if you incorporate these tips you can see a change in both your skin texture and your life. I you have any questions or tips to ad here please use the contact form to join the conversation.
January 5, 2025