Patricia Gallagher, director of HRI Herbal Medicine gives her top five tips for improving skin for the summer and explains how to get rid of spots
With this fabulous weather, many of us are looking for ways to get rid of spots, mild acne and other minor skin conditions such as mild Eczema or Psoriasis so that we can sport a healthy complexion for the summer months, rather than a face full of make-up.
When you suffer with spots or acne, it can often affect your confidence and self-esteem, which in turn makes you feel fed up and means that you won’t look and feel your best while enjoying the sunshine. Who wants to spend time in front of the mirror every morning messing around with concealer and foundation, when you could be out enjoying the weather while it lasts! If your acne, spots or other skin conditions are mild, or you only get occasional break-outs or flare-ups, you can help yourself to get rid of spots and achieve blemish-free skin by reading our tips on how to get a clear complexion:
1. Drink more water. Increasing your intake of clear fluids such as water is a key factor in getting rid of spots as it helps to flush toxins out of the body and improve the quality of your skin. Keep a bottle of water on your desk or near where you work so that you can drink little and often throughout the day.
2. Avoid potentially harmful drugs, treatments or chemicals and choose licensed, traditional herbal medicine natural traditional medicine to improve your skin from within. HRI Clear Complexion contains Sarsaparilla and extract from Blue Flag and Burdock Root, which have all been used for improving the skin and getting rid of spots for hundreds of years. If you do choose to use a traditional herbal medicine to help improve your skin, you should always make sure that you only choose one that is approved as being safe by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the UK regulator. It’s easy to check whether a product is approved as it will have the distinctive Traditional Herbal Registration (THR) ‘leaf’ logo on the packaging.
3. Keep skin scrupulously clean. Acne often has its roots in the over production of sebum (the natural oil produced by skin) which blocks pores, trapping bacteria. The body’s response to this is to send white blood cells to fight the potential infection. Troublesome skin needs thoroughly cleansing both in the morning and at night, to remove impurities, make-up and excess sebum – but don’t use anything too astringent as this will just dry out your skin. It is also important to keep your hands clean so that if you do inadvertently touch your face, you don’t transfer bacteria from your hands that could lead to a nasty break-out. You should try not to squeeze spots and blackheads as this will spread infection and is likely to lead to more spots.
4. Clean up your diet. You can support your skin’s natural ability to get rid of spots by improving your diet. Reducing your consumption of red meat, sugar, fat and particularly alcohol takes the strain off your digestive system, allowing your body to deal with toxins more effectively and keep your system – and your skin – clean from the inside.
5. Up your exercise. Including regular, gentle exercise into your daily routine has numerous health benefits, but will directly affect the condition of your skin as exercise helps to pump blood around your system more quickly, allowing it to remove toxins and metabolic waste more effectively and delivering much-needed oxygen to your entire body, including your skin.
If your skin is very bad and the tips above don’t help with getting rid of spots, it is worth considering visiting your GP for a referral to a dermatologist who can help you get it under control. Just occasionally poor skin can be caused by a hormonal imbalance or an underlying health condition that is best treated by a specialist consultant.
Originally founded in 1963, HRI Herbal Medicine is a leading provider of herbal remedies, complementary herbal medicines and traditional herbal medicinal products, licensed under the Traditional Herbal Registration (THR) scheme by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). HRI’s high quality alternative herbal remedies and medicines can help with relieving the symptoms of water retention, water balance, slimming, skin problems, spots, acne, eczema, psoriasis, sleep, fatigue, stress, nervousness and irritability.
