Spring cleaning time is fast approaching. For some, that means that it’s time to clean out the garage. Many of us spring clean by removing winter clothes from our closets in order to make room for our new clothes.
Just as you would spring clean your home, it makes sense to apply that same logic to your body and its organs. Flushing out toxins is essential to optimum health. Your skin is your largest organ, so a deep cleanse or detox can greatly improve its appearance just in time for shorts, bare arms, and sandal season.
We can’t wait to share our favorite tips on cleansing your body for spring.
Drink your way to glowing skin.
We all know that we need to eat our vegetables. It can be hard to eat all of the recommended servings per day, though. That’s why so many people are juicing these days. You can get in almost all of your daily recommended servings in just one tall glass.
Actress Gwyneth Paltrow has been vocal about the benefits of drinking green juices for detoxification benefits such as weight loss and clear, radiant skin. On her popular website, Goop, the Oscar winner shares her Super Greens Juice recipe. The basic recipe is simple: just combine kale, pears, lemon, celery stalks, and some fresh ginger into your juicer. There are many other variations found online using leafy greens such as kale.
Why kale? This veggie is low in calories, yet packed with nutrients known to aid the detox process. Kale contains sulfur, Vitamins A, C, K, B6, potassium, copper and calcium — all of which benefit the skin.
Dry brush your skin to clear out toxins
The practice of dry brushing has been around for hundreds of years. If you can spend just a few minutes each day — twice a day — dry brushing your skin, you’ll notice a difference after a couple weeks. Not only does this boost circulation, but it stimulates lymphatic drainage. This is believed to help rid toxins from the body, making the skin appear brighter and with improved clarity.
Dry brushing is easy. Experts caution to avoid brushing over the heart and recommend moving from your feet on upwards in long, circular motions. It’s important to keep your brush dry, so it’s a good idea to brush your skin before stepping in the shower or bath.
Dry brushing is something you can do on your own with a wooden skin brush, purchased at any body care shop or pharmacy.
Try yoga to break a sweat
Exercise is essential to overall health. Breaking a sweat isn’t just good for your muscles — it’s also key to cleansing. You don’t have to run a marathon or spend hours at the gym each day, though. Yoga may be the ideal exercise to promote glowing skin.
Yoga? Seriously? We tend to think of yoga as a relaxing, meditative practice. Vinyasa flow yoga is a fast-paced form of yoga ideal for cleansing. Anecdotal evidence suggests that certain poses help improve liver health, which is essential for detox. One of the more popular yoga poses, downward dog, is believed to help with lymphatic drainage. This helps to rid our bodies of toxins. Vinyasa yoga, though, is typically done in a heated studio of 85-90 degrees, making you sweat throughout the entire session. Sweating helps your body eliminate toxins, aiding the cleansing process.
Not only will you reap the benefits of self-reflection during your yoga class, you’ll also get in a solid workout while you rid your body or harmful toxins.
Skincare spring cleaning
Just about everybody spends a weekend spring cleaning. When you have a chance, head to the bathroom and gather up all of your beauty and skincare products. Now is the perfect time to do some label reading. What do you see?
Many experts believe that 60% of what you apply to your skin is ultimately absorbed into your bloodstream. Look closely at your labels and if you see harmful ingredients in any of your products such as parabens, artificial colors, sulfates or petrochemicals, you may want to toss them out. Breaking up with your favorite products can be hard. We all have had a favorite shampoo or lipstick that we adore, but if they happen to contain toxic chemicals, you can always find healthier replacements.