Learn more and connect with Laura via her website www.lauraciniwellness.com
Hannah:
Welcome back Burn Pod listeners. Now, I’d love to get stuck into our next topic on our series of nutrition based podcasts. And I’d also like to welcome back Laura Cini. So if you haven’t yet already, jump back to the last few episodes that we’ve had with her. We’ve really touched on some awesome, awesome topics and they share impactful values. So please jump in, have a look at, or have a listen rather than a look at those, but today we’re chatting all things skin. And in particular, the inside secrets to beautiful skin. So welcome back, Laura.
Laura Cini:
Yeah. Good to be here, Hannah, how are you?
Hannah:
I’m good. I’m good. I’m really excited about this one because I know that, I mean, I generally don’t have too many breakouts, but when I do it’s like, “Oh, this is horrible. What can I do?” And you want to cover your face in all of these different products. So it’d be nice to hear what you can do to support it from the inside.
Laura Cini:
There’s loads, loads that can be done. It’s quite a tricky topic as a practitioner, but there’s a number of angles that you can cover. So yeah, let’s dive in.
Hannah:
Yeah. Awesome. Well, I guess let’s start with the main one. When you think about skin products, what are the best to use and do they actually work?
Laura Cini:
The million dollar question. Okay. So I should probably start to say, I have no affiliation with any of the cosmetic industry or the skincare industry or any products here. So I am a non-biassed person to comment on this. Look, there are some really good skincare products out there. There are some really rubbish ones and perhaps to start on the really rubbish ones. Look, your skin is incredibly absorbent or absorptive. I’m not actually quite sure what the right word is. But basically it absorbs what you put on it.
Hannah:
Yeah. Okay.
Laura Cini:
So if you put a product on it that is full of chemicals. And by that, I mean, full of artificial fragrances, full of things that are meant to help with a levering effect, full of things that are actually put in there to extend its shelf life, full of colours, they can be very irritating for the skin. And they’re absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream and your liver then has to break them down and deal with them. So be really, really fussy about what you put on your skin. And the stats are amazing, Hannah. The average woman uses, by the time she’s left the house she’s on average might have used a shampoo, a conditioner, perhaps a deodorant, perhaps a body lotion, perhaps a moisturiser. And then on top of that there might be multiple cosmetics. So there is an enormous number of things going on to many women’s skin every day. And so there is enormous potential there for irritation, for affecting the skin’s natural barrier, it’s pH level.
Laura Cini:
And so I suppose I try with my clients to get skincare products down to a minimum, and ones that have got a really short ingredient list people. You know. Look on the back of your shampoo bottle or your moisturiser, have a look at how many words and have a look at how many words you don’t know what they mean.
Hannah:
Yeah. Yeah. And I could say, I probably know that one too. Aqua. I think I’ve got that one down.
Laura Cini:
I love that. I love how they call aqua because it sounds so much more sophisticated you think water.
Hannah:
I know it’s ridiculous. They just like to get you on that one. Don’t they? So what ones work or what ones are better, I guess, than other ones? We’re just coming back to the less crazy words in their work better?
Laura Cini:
Yeah. So look, so if you want to, and everyone’s skin is a little bit different. So for some people, for example, Rosehip oil works beautifully as a moisturiser for many people, that’s rich in nutrients. It’s very moisturising. It’s very non-irritant. A good quality Rosehip oil will be non, what’s the word? It won’t have colours added to it. It won’t have perfumes added to it. Some people really find that excellent Argan oil, A-R-G-A-N is another really simple nourishing oil for the skin. It’s not coloured. It’s not fragranced. And for many people they use that on their hair as well actually. So sort of on the ends of their hair to moisturise their hair. So they’re really lovely. Again, things like coconut oil and olive oil, again, really basic and very moisturising.
Laura Cini:
And then for some people that don’t like to use oil on their skin, and that’s fair enough, then you start to sort of probably look at there’s websites. Like there’s a website by the Environmental Working Group, which I think is an American website which has got quite a long list of what you’d call clean cosmetics and clean skincare products. So even if those kind of products are not available in Australia, they will give you information on the kind of ingredients to look for. So you really want to avoid fragrances which might be listed as perfume or fragrance. You want to avoid things like triclosan which is an antiseptic ingredient. Things like sodium laureth and sodium lauryl sulphate are foaming agents, really irritating for the skin. So yeah, without mentioning specific brands, there are some really good websites like that Environmental Working Group that will actually give you the kind of ingredients to look for and the kind of ingredients to avoid.
Hannah:
Yeah. Cool. So, I mean, we’ve started talking about what we can do from the outside, but what about the inside? Is there anything we can do to help there such as what we eat and drink?
Laura Cini:
Yeah. Look, there’s loads because ultimately the quality of your skin is far more influenced by what you do on the inside than what you do on the outside. Yes what you do on the outside can help to a certain degree, but it’s what’s happening on the inside that really has far more of an effect. And as a practitioner, it depends on what a client’s skin issue is. Example, it might be they might come with eczema or they might come with psoriasis. Or they might come and say, “Look, my skin is just dull. It’s dry.” They might be having skin rashes. They might be having breakouts. So, that will dictate obviously as to what you’ve got to focus on. For example, if someone’s coming in and they’re saying to me, “Oh, my skin is just dry and it’s dull.” I’ll be looking at the basic. So I’ll be saying, “Okay, how hydrated are you? Your skin to be moisturised from the inside.” And it’s so common Hannah, that people are so dehydrated.
Hannah:
Yeah. Yeah. We don’t drink enough-
Laura Cini:
Do you notice that? Yeah.
Hannah:
Easily. Yeah. I mean, I’m a sucker for it. I’ll have a cup of tea in the morning and then realise it’s 4:00 PM and that’s all I’ve had. I’m like,” Oh, it’s [inaudible 00:08:41]”
Laura Cini:
Yes. Yeah. Look, it’s common. That’s really common. So dehydration is a really fundamental one that I’ll always, you start with the foundations. And dehydration is really common and it will cause skin to be dull and dry and more prone to rashes and dermatitis and eczema and things like that. So if someone’s just either not drinking all day, or if they’re just living on lots of coffee, which is actually dehydrating because it’s a diuretic, it makes you lose fluid. Or if they’re drinking lots of strong tea, which again is a diuretic, then we need to look at that. And we really need to work on hydration. And that can make a huge difference just by itself. People will, people or clients will say, “Oh, yeah. Okay.” It can take, it’s not an overnight thing, but generally within a couple of days to a week or two, they’ll say, “Yeah, my skin is definitely, I can see it’s more hydrated. It’s got more of a glow.” And they may say, “Yeah, my dermatitis, my eczema symptoms have decreased.” So look, Hannah, got to start with hydration.
Hannah:
Yeah. Yeah. The big one. And one of those things, you have raging hormones sometimes which just throw your skin out completely. You might have perfect skin and then you get this whopper pimple. And is it true that it depends on what side that you are ovulating on as to what side of your face ends up maybe having a bit of a breakout?
Laura Cini:
Oh gosh, I haven’t heard that one. That’s… Gosh, no. Look-
Hannah:
Yeah. [crosstalk 00:10:24] I just, I don’t know if I’m telling wives tales right now. But yeah, keep an eye the ladies, if you do have breakouts, I wouldn’t mind knowing.
Laura Cini:
Oh, hey, look, I’d be really interested too if you hear anything because yeah, there’s not any evidence or research I suppose, to support that theory. But yeah, definitely your hormones affect your skin. And as in my female clients, if you’ve got a lot of, for example, breakouts that happen around your period or happen with PMs in the days leading up to your period, or you have breakouts generally through the month, then there’s a hormonal component to that. So as a practitioner, we’ll be looking at oestrogen levels, we look at progesterone levels and we’ll be looking at testosterone because women have testosterone as well as men do. But imbalances or how can I describe? If the testosterone levels are not at an appropriate or correct level, that can cause breakouts on the skin. So, yeah, the hormonal factors are a big one actually. And so yeah, you’ll start to dig a bit as a practitioner to find out what’s going on with hormones.
Laura Cini:
And yeah, you’re right. It’ll often be, I don’t know if I remember as a teenager particularly getting breakouts, and it’ll be like, it’ll really on the end of your nose or right in the middle of your-
Hannah:
Yeah. Worst spot.
Laura Cini:
You’ll feel just so self conscious. But yeah, look, there’s a lot you can do as a practitioner to help balance hormones when you get that sort of presentation.
Hannah:
Now, let’s just chat about, I guess some skin friends. We’ve talked about the, I guess what you can do for internal and some stuff that’s nice on the surface of the skin, but are there any other major skin friends?
Laura Cini:
Definitely. I’m always talking to my clients about good fats. Again like hydration, good fats are moisturising for the skin from the inside. And I’ve seen many clients over the years that have presented with really dull, dry, almost prematurely ageing skin because they’re frightened of eating fat. They’ve absorbed that message that eating fat makes you fat or causes heart disease. And it’s such a myth, and I’m talking good quality fat here. So I’m talking things like olive oil and olives and avocados and good quality nuts, and sea, actually the fats in those products don’t make you fat, and they actually are needed to help as a raw material, if you like, to make good quality skin.
Laura Cini:
And so that can make quite a big difference to people. If you are very fat phobic, you could call it that, and you’re not eating much good fat in your diet, then do add more of that in. And it’ll take, it takes about four to six weeks for the skin layer that you are nourishing at the moment with what you’re eating, it’ll take about four to six weeks for that to grow through to the top layer, which is where it’s-
Hannah:
Seen.
Laura Cini:
Yeah. Where it’s seen. Where it’s obvious the outer layer of the skin. So be patient, it won’t just work overnight. It’s going to take a few weeks or so for that new healthier skin layer to grow through to the top layer, but that can have a big effect.
Hannah:
And for those that I guess are a little bit, well, they’ve been provided with those information efforts or whatever it was when it was 1990s or something. I think it was the decade of fats are bad. But for those that are a little bit uncomfortable about fats, what amount is a right amount or a good amount to start adding into your diet or having per day or per week?
Laura Cini:
Yeah, sure. So look, it varies obviously because people have different body sizes, they have different energy requirements. But look, if you are having, and you wouldn’t sit down probably and eat two avocados in one sitting, you probably would feel really over full. But if you’re adding half an avocado into your salad or a good handful of unroasted unsalted nuts as a snack, or adding that into a meal, a good splash, a good generous couple of splashes of olive oil on your salad, or if you’re doing a stir fry, get a handful of olives, just use your discretion. You’re not going to sit there and eat a whole jar full of olives or two or three avocados in one sitting or a whole big packet of nuts. You’ll know because you’ll feel probably a bit sick. But small amounts.
Hannah:
Yeah. If you have a fat in each meal, is that an issue?
Laura Cini:
Fat in each meal, good quality fat in each meal is excellent. Because as well as assisting with your skin health, good quality fat actually helps to feed you up. And so for many of my clients that come to me for wanting to burn fat, wanting to lose weight and keep it off and they have trouble with cravings or not feeling full, that satiety issue. They just don’t feel full and they’ve had a meal. If you add in good quality fat when you eat, that will actually fill you up and keep you full for longer.
Hannah:
Yeah. Great. So, I mean, that’s a really great skin friend. Are there any, I guess we’ve talked about it, but let’s just reiterate massive skin enemies.
Laura Cini:
Yeah. Look, there are. And probably things that people actually don’t, perhaps are not aware of. Your skin needs good quality sleep. During the time that you sleep, your body goes into repair mode. So it’s going to help repair skin. If you’ve got bruising, if you’ve got rashes, if you’ve got breakouts, your body needs rest to be able to properly repair the skin. So poor sleep, and anyone will know. If you had a night or two of bad sleep, you can see it on your skin. So, that’s a big one.
Laura Cini:
Look, stress is another one, Hannah. I know in our, I know people are busy and they’ve got a lot on their plates and stress can be difficult to avoid. But in terms of running in that fight or flight mode all day, that hurry, worry, money mode almost and being in the fight or flight mode all day, the stress hormones, adrenaline, and cortisol, and being in that physiological pattern, the majority of the time, which many people are, is very exhausting for the body. It burns through a lot of raw materials of the body and can have a flowing effect to your skin health. Like, affects the whole of your body, but you’ll see it on your skin. I mean, we’ve all been on a holiday and had a lovely time relaxing and then you look in the mirror and you think, “Yeah, my skin looks really clear. My face looks relaxed.” And it will show on your skin. Well, it’s the same with being in that stress mode most of the time.
Hannah:
Yeah. Well, I guess, is there anything else that we should mention before we wrap this podcast up?
Laura Cini:
Yeah. I suppose look, one quick addition is digestion. A lot of people don’t think about the effect that digestion has on your skin. Your skin needs good quality raw materials. It needs vitamins, minerals, good quality protein to actually build good quality skin. And if you are not digesting your food well, if you’re getting a lot of abdominal bloating or you’re feeling very sluggish, if you’re not having a bowel movement every day, your body is 37 degrees, more approximately, and so your digestive system needs to be working really efficiently to get those nutrients into the body and obviously to the skin. So if you’ve got digestive issues, seek help from a practitioner. Because that’s going to have a significant flowing effect to your skin.
Hannah:
That’s a really good point. Well, thank you once again for joining us on the Burn Pod, Laura, it’s pretty cool to realise and to start to understand the impact good nutrition can have on your skin and also on your whole self wellbeing, but also all the stuff that you can do externally as well to really support glowing skin. So thank you.
Laura Cini:
Oh, you’re very welcome.
Hannah:
And until next time, Burn Pod listeners, catch you then.
