Believe it or not, it starts from the very basics, foundations not just for beauty but also mental & physical health, well-being, and longevity.
It is not only the products you are taking. My approach is first to eliminate things and habits that cause damage to your beauty, skin, health, and pre-mature aging rather than to treat it.
I will keep those foundations short because I will turn each foundation into an article in the future. Remember, your body is your temple. You cannot buy a new one.
I am fixing the well, not the sink.
Once you have the foundation ready, you can attack and find the right products, procedures, and techniques for you and take it to the next level, so here are the basics:
1. Nutrition
You are what you eat and drink!
Drink loads of water (at least a gallon a day), and remember, your body is 60% water. Make sure the source of water is proper, which is spring water. If you cannot afford to drink spring and alkaline water at all times, make sure to filter the water you are getting from the pipe as it contains so many toxic chemicals, and God knows what is in there. I like to drink tons of naturally carbonated mineral water.
Test and isolate potential foods that cause problems and inflammation or even do a food allergy test. Make sure you know what foods work well for you. You can even take a DNA test for it. I am currently going through Autoimmune Protocol.
You already know that eating vegetables and fruits is essential. Keep that as a base and start implementing foods like nuts, salmon, bone broth, avocado, legumes, since they are the best choice for your beauty and skin and health, and longevity. The key is to keep it balanced and being consistent with it and know if some foods directly impact your health.
Junk and processed foods are your worst enemy here, and I would be careful with dairy and excess alcohol and tobacco intake. You do not need to give it all out, but keep it in moderation and know if and how they impact your body.
2. Sleep
It is called with a reason "beauty sleep"
You need a minimum of 8 hours of interrupted quality sleep, ensuring that deep and REM sleep is intact since it is the most important part of sleeping. A high dosage of CBD will increase your deep sleep quality, but also, if you have trouble falling asleep like me and your mind is always racing and thinking, it will also help you fall asleep, calm down, and fight inflammation and millions of other things CBD does. I like to combine it with melatonin.
Keep the room temperature around 65F since that works the best for quality sleep.
Make sure your bedroom is entirely blacked-out of any signs of light. That includes no screens or technology (such as a phone or TV) in the room. And no, an eye mask will not do just that. Your skin has photoreceptors and absorbs light just like your eye, so make sure the complete room is blacked-out. My rule of thumb is that you should not see your hand in front of you. If you need extra help with this category, there are tons of sleep apps and products that help you track and improve your sleep, which I will reveal in a separate article about sleep.
3. Stress Management & Mental Health
Inside is as important as outside
Stress can be your worst enemy here and can lead to premature aging and other things you do not want to happen. Make sure to avoid drama and toxic people since that can be something that is taking you back, and you do not see it. Keep your eyes wide open and analyze every aspect of your life and ask for help as well.
Start working on mindset control and a positive attitude. Always look at the bright side, making sure your cup is half-full rather than half-empty, and don't worry over things you have no control. Make peace with it, learn from it, adjust, and move always move forward.
Keep in mind that it is still a work in progress, and it does not happen overnight. It needs constant effort, attention, and mindfulness.
4. Blood-work
Do not enter is blindly, know your baseline and causation
One of the most important overlooked and underestimated foundations. The heck with all of it if you don't know your bloodwork markers and what is the cause behind your potential issues that could harm you or kill you in the long-term. I would suggest doing comprehensive blood-work for the sake of your own health, which you should be doing regularly anyway, not your for the way you look and beauty. For instance, the endocrine system, such as thyroid health, as well as your heart, liver, and other organs, can tell you a lot about why is outside and inside acting the way it is acting. I am currently fixing my own thyroid and auto-immune issues since my bloodwork revealed them.
Also, if you have any concerns, do an ultrasound. Gut health is also important and it can be a cause of many issues – you probably heard about autoimmune diseases. I am doing tons of reading and research as there as well because I am going affected and fixing it.
5. Working Out, Stretching & Yoga
You already know all of this, but:
Proper exercise stimulates an endless amount of positive reactions, from chemical to physical, ties into stress management, helps good sleep, keeps the nutrition working better, and elevates all of those foundations that I mentioned today.
Try to exercise at least 3-5 times a week.
Also walk outside in the nature as much as you can, tons of studies show how crucial it is in making great and positive changes in all aspects of your life.
Incorporate all aspects of working out, such as weight-lifting, LISS (Low-intensity steady-state cardio), HIIT (High-intensity interval training), and yoga. Again, balance is the key.
I am definitely slacking when it comes to meditation, yoga, stretching, and even cardio due to my knee injuries...
Make sure you are moving your body often. If you have a desk job or don't go out a lot and move, make sure to get up every 25-45 minutes and do dynamic stretching, walk around, and move. Please go out and walk in nature as it boosts your health in all of the foundations here.
Stretch properly, and again, do yoga.
6. Sun
Hmm, you did not expect this one?
This is more important than you think. Sun is a double-edged sword. We would die without it, and it keeps a key role in your health and beauty. Make sure you get moderate sun exposure for at least 15 minutes a day to get that natural vitamin D which boosts your immunity and mood, keeps in check your circadian rhythm, which is crucial for sleep and helps for better sleep and a key player for great gut health. Therefore, the sun can help you in all those categories mentioned before.
Simultaneously, too much sun or intense sun with high UV rays can be damaging and detrimental; from the rapid aging of the skin to death. The damaged skin will cause premature aging. That leads to another problem: most sun protection, which you might think helps, is full of chemicals. While it might protect you from harmful UV from the sun, its toxic chemical ingredients will do almost (if not the same or even worse) damage than the actual sun.
Try to protect it with clothing, hats, sunglasses, and such items first, then go into research for healthy sun protection products.
When I was a kid, one of my biggest mistakes was that every summer I would go in the strongest sun (10 AM-2 PM) at the beach and spend hours with no protection, and I am paying the price now, so avoid it, please. If you fall into this, make sure to check yourself with your doctor for skin cancer, because prevention is better than cure.
7. Fasting
It is free & it is the future (actually past & present)
Try all ranges of fasting because not only can it get you in shape and you can lose weight, but also helps with your beauty and longevity as well. There are tons of new genetic studies proving this since it activates many anti-aging reactions, fights diseases, and increases life-span among thousands of wonderful things it does.
I am doing intermittent fasting for about 11 years now, and 2 years ago, I started doing the 5-day mimicking fasting once a quarter, which I talked about on my Instagram.
8. Breathing
Another one? 😉
Look into proper breath work and breathing exercises. This is probably the first time you heard about it. It plays a crucial role, and it can be life-changing, just as exercising and yoga. You trigger many positive chemistry changes in your body and an increase in blood flow due to more oxygen in your system, creating better mental and physical health and balance.
Some of the techniques you can look into are holotropic breathwork, SOMA, and DMT breathing, but there are many others too!
It is not mainstream because there is not a lot of money to be made. You cannot sell air or get rich selling breathing techniques that are already free on the internet. Don't be lazy and just start it, there are many apps on your phone that help you kickstart it and push you to do it.
9. Facial Exercises
You probably did not think about that one as well
We workout legs, biceps, glutes, abs, but I bet you never worked out your face? I know, sounds crazy but try it! I am sure half of you are thinking about how to get rid of your double-chin. Well, this will definitely help, along with proper dieting, of course! You will probably get hit with an ad for jaw exerciser after reading this. LOL.
Your face and neck, just like your other body parts, contain muscles too, so do those exercises as well. You can find them online easily + I saw on Shark Tank that there is yoga for the face as well, so try that and exercise your face and neck muscles. Don't knock it until you've tried it! Or just start chewing gum if you don't already and do it for longer times.
Once you got that in-check,
Then start exploring and giving enough time and effort to see what really works and try to isolate 1 product and 1 technique at a time, keeping in mind you have no major lifestyle, diet, or any changes that might affect your health, skin, and beauty. I spend immense time with this, especially before I recommend something to YOU. With that being said, this is what you need to try:
10. Derma-rolling / Microneedling
Also known as Collagen Induction Therapy. One of the things I strongly believe in, both for skin, scars, and hair. Make sure to use good serums and products to enhance it right after it. It is essential to ensure you learn how to use it properly as you are putting needles into your skin and rolling it, which can be dangerous if not done correctly. With that being said, which should always be the gold standard, make sure you know your products are legit, and the quality is top-notch and authentic. I prefer custom electric pens over rollers because of the angle and efficacy they provide.
11. Research & Test the Products Properly
I am one of those who spend ridiculous amounts of time and effort researching what product I am getting before I even purchase it. I nail it down to the ultimate single ingredient, read reviews both good and bad, and then go into my experimentation where I try to keep all the variables fixed and usual, and really see what impact the products make on me. Ensure you do the same and really pay attention to what you are getting from your product and if it is worth your money.
12. Sauna + Cryotherapy
There are tons of studies proving the effectiveness of using the sauna. If you have not heard of Cryotherapy yet, it is quite the opposite of sauna but as effective in other benefits – cold therapy. It is used just from the neck down, and there is also an application on your face. I tried on the face, and the experience has been so mesmerizing. Look into it and try it!
13. Supplementation
Now I can write here as much as I did so far, but I will keep it short. Please stay away from products that claim wonders and have a questionable source of getting the raw materials and their quality. Start with good nutrition and measure what you might be missing. It can be a vitamin or a couple of minerals, or even much more. I love to use a various range of supplements to boost my immunity, aid my gut health and microbiome, and improve skin elasticity and slow down aging and just improve my overall health and well-being.
Some of my favorite supplements are:
bone broth, Astaxanthin, collagen (& bone broth) protein, Resveratrol (I also get that from wine), Ceramosides, CBD, Ashwagandha, Berberine, NAD+, and extracts from garlic, turmeric, ginger among other stuff that I am sharing on my Instagram. I also use a mix of supplements for skin, nails, and hair from Nutrafol and Swisse.
Suppose you are interested in learning more about each foundation? In that case, I have some great news: I will dive deep into each foundation and elaborate on how to maximize your well-being, health, grooming, beauty, longevity, and beyond that!
Stay tuned and stay beautiful, healthy, and happy my friend!
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