By Jo Fairley and Sarah Stacey for the Daily Mail
Published: 00:04 GMT, 22 February 2015 | Updated: 00:04 GMT, 22 February 2015Our weekly Q&A from the Beauty Bible experts Sarah Stacey and Josephine Fairley, whose latest book is The Ultimate Natural Beauty Bible. Their series of Beauty Bible books are now bestsellers worldwide – and this column solves your beauty dilemmas. Visit their website, beautybible.com, for lots more information, tips and exclusive offers. If you have any beauty dilemma you would like them to answer, you can e-mail them there too.
Visit the Beauty Bible website, follow them on Twitter, or hook up on Facebook!Q I’m 19 and have battled with my very sensitive, spotty, very dry and flaky skin for four years. The doctor prescribed tablets but they didn't really work and I am desperate. It is really affecting how I see myself. None of the cheaper anti-acne products work and I am very willing to spend decent money. I know there isn’t a miracle cure but can you suggest anything that might help?
A We are so sympathetic. Sarah battled with acne for years – her brother called her ‘Spotty Muldoon’ – but she can testify that you can improve your skin immeasurably with a holistic approach.
We asked the advice of biochemist Nausheen Qureshi, founder of Elethea natural skincare (elethea.com) who herself battled spots coupled with dry, eczema-prone skin. She says that ‘acne sufferers often over-dry their skin and make the problems much worse with over the counter anti-acne products containing benzoyl peroxide, or sometimes alpha hydroxyl acids (AHAs)’.
Nausheen advises taking this holistic inside/outside approach:
‘Look after the inside: there are certain foods that trigger inflammation and breakouts such as dairy products, refined sugar and fruit juice/smoothies (because of all the sugars) and an excess of starch carbs (which also convert to sugar).
‘Sip plenty of still water between meals to keep your body well hydrated, and consume a diet rich in green leafy vegetables, green tea, oily fish and lean meats, with purple/red fruits like blueberries between meals.
‘Instead of cows milk, swap to almond milk, and if you like yogurt, choose coconut yogurt. Consider going gluten-free (no grains) for a while.
‘Take supplements of spirulina and omega-3 essential fatty acids. (You will find a choice of these on www.victoriahealth.com, together with more information about skin problems.)
Topically, Nausheen emphasizes the importance of a gentle regime to calm and balance your skin.
‘Avoid cleansing brushes, soaps and overloading the skin with too many products. Cleanse your skin at night only, just splash with water in the morning. Remove make up with oil-based products such as simple organic coconut oil: smear this over your face (to dissolve the fats in make-up), wipe off with a warm, damp, scrupulously clean flannel and follow with a gentle foaming cleanser without surfactants or essential oils (eg, Elethea Pure Balancing Cleanser, £36 for 125ml).
Elethea Pure Balancing Cleanser and Elethea Complete Replenishing Oil‘Make your own gentle bacterial disinfectant by mixing equal parts water and aloe juice in a spray with two drops pure tea tree oil - spritz this liberally over the face after cleansing.
‘Follow with a moisturiser: for daytime, use a simple sunscreen without essential oils like Dermaquest ZinClear SPF30, £46 for 2oz, which is formulated for sensitive, acne-prone skin.
‘At night use 4 to 6 drops of a special facial oil like Elethea Complete Replenishing Oil, £60 for 30ml, then spend two minutes really massaging this into the skin. Oils are really good for acne skins, although many people worry they will block pores and make acne worse. Low molecular weight oils with a high concentration of Vitamin A actually help repair the skin without clogging up the pores.
‘If you can afford it, I recommend investing in resurfacing treatments with a lactic acid peel once a month (eg, Elethea Ultimate Restore Facial, £130 in London, elethea.com). Alternatively, use Cosmedix Pure Enzymes, about £37, to exfoliate and protect against spot formation.
‘To camouflage and even out your skin try a mineral powder product in a cream base, ie not a powder formula as this may dehydrate the skin further. [Beauty Bible recommends trying bareMinerals new Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream, £26 for 35ml, which lightly covers and conceals.]
‘Anxiety, stress and lack of sleep trigger hormones that will make your skin worse so do take regular gentle exercise (walking, dancing, anything you enjoy), practice yoga, and make sure to get enough sleep.
Finally, Nausheen Qureshi emphasises that you should give this new regime several months to work fully. Your skin needs time to recover and rebalance.
Beauty Bible loves ? This Works Sleep Kits
Frankly, we often choose a Crowne Plaza hotel when travelling on business over other hotel chains, purely because of the This Works Sleep Kit you find on the pillow. (Though now we'll be torn between Crowne Plaza and Radisson Blu, since they've just started offering This Works amenity kits in the bathroom. Oh, decisions, decisions…)But actually, wherever you're staying - even if it's the comfort of your own bed - you can now enjoy the sleep-beckoning magic of the This Works 'portable sleep solutions': they just launched two completely brilliant kits which truly, truly make a difference to many insomniacs we know. (And that includes us; Jo had terrible trouble sleeping in strange hotels, but the This Works Deep Sleep products have transformed that, with their truly effective blend of lavender, vetiver and chamomile essential oils.)
So, choose between Can't Sleep: a 5ml Deep Sleep Pillow Spray and 5ml Deep Sleep Stress Less rollerball, or Sleep Over: the pillow spray, rollerball and an excellent little travel size of Sleep Balm. (Apply to temples and start to unwind immediately.) And if it wasn't only February, frankly, we'd be talking 'stocking fillers'...
In an independent trial, 89 per cent of respondents who used the pillow spray fell asleep faster, while 99% reported sleeping better than normal after using it - and 100 per cent would recommend it to a friend. Which is just what we're doing here...
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