What is cellulite? Cellulite is what happens when fat that’s just under the skin protrudes into the skin’s dermal layer, resulting in that undesirable hills-and-valleys appearance. Changes in metabolism, hormonal and genetic factors, stress, weight gain, sedentary lifestyles and possibly certain toxins—they’re all suspected culprits in bringing about this condition. For many who endure cellulite, probably several of these suspects are conspiring together. So what can be done? 

Can Men Get Cellulite? Sure, they can. But it’s a lot more common in women. The reasons are several. For one, there’s a theory that the female hormone estrogen tends to ‘aggravate’ cellulite. Another, better evidenced cause: Collagen cells are organized differently in women than in men. Collagen cells in men are arrayed in a mesh-like format, more tightly packed so less fat gets through, while in women they’re arranged more in rows, allowing fat cells to push between them easier. Not only that, women also tend to have body fat distributed closer to the surface of their skin, especially over their thighs, where it has more of a chance to protrude into the dermis resulting in cellulite. These are, however, tendencies. Men definitely get affected by cellulite. And increasingly, fat is becoming not just a “women’s issue,” but an issue for our society at large.

Is there a medical treatment for cellulite? For starters, cellulite is something the medical community largely considers “normal”—especially as we age—and for which doctors often recommend no particular treatment. What’s more, if “treatment” means a pill, a medical procedure, something that squirts out the end of a syringe, or some easy-breezy cream, salve, garment or gadget you can buy in a drugstore or from a late-night infomercial, then no, there pretty much is no treatment. No treatment, at least, in the mainstream sense.

Cellulite is stunningly stubborn. You will require perseverance and dedication even to reduce it, and much more to eliminate it.

What you can do. Let me offer five specific things you can start doing today to improve your lower body’s looks.

One…Watch what you eat. There’s a correlation between body fat generally and cellulite in particular. Studies show female athletes with lower percentage body fat typically have less cellulite. Calorie restriction and optimal nutrition will flood your body with the right raw materials for building healthy cells, tissues, and organs. That same diet will also help reduce underlying fat.

Consider trying an all raw diet—now there’s truly optimal nutrition. As your body cells become nourished by top-notch nutrients, you’ll be able to decrease portion sizes and the frequency of your meals—you’ll simply need less food to meet your body’s needs. You’ll begin eliminating food-borne toxins, too. Some high-value foods to emphasize in your diet: walnuts, chia seeds, purslane, and hemp seeds, all storehouses of essential fatty acids that help repair your skin’s epidermal layer. Foods high in anti-oxidants—berries, mango, peas, papaya, and broccoli—will help keep inflammation in check. To improve collagen production, get sulfur and Vitamin A from cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, black olives and carrots.

Two…Try a three-day vegetable juice fast. Green juices due to their anti-inflammatory, skin-cleansing and mucus-dissolving properties are essential for beautiful skin, and in improving your cellulite areas in particular. Make these your only food for three days, and keep a cellulite diary during that time.

Three…Embrace exercise. Commit to be physically active daily. I recommend hot yoga in particular. In a hot yoga studio, your body will steadily morph into its original blueprint shape, legs and thighs included. Yoga, as a system of exercise for addressing both physical and spiritual aspects of your life, can be added to your “bag of tricks” for cellulite problems. Don’t be deceived by the apparent simplicity of the static yoga poses you hold for a number of seconds: yoga will match, and in some instances surpass a good gym workout. It addresses cellulite from within, by improving circulation and lymphatic flow, stretching the fascia, burning fat and replacing it with muscle. Add heat to your workout by attending a hot yoga class, and you are also looking at accelerated detoxification through your skin during the class and beyond. Your metabolic rate will significantly increase during the class, leading to reduction of body fat, and thus, cellulite. The next time you are in a hot yoga room, rejoice when Hands to Feet Forward Bend and Eagle Poses come up, knowing you will be liberating your thighs from unsightly dimples.

It’s simple, in principle: Build muscles. Lose fat.

These aren’t the same thing, of course. Not the same process, biologically. Not the same result. Fat doesn’t “become” muscle. You can’t “turn” one into the other—that’s just loose talk.

But bodybuilding, as a muscle-building program, definitely cuts down the appearance of cellulite. Fitness research director Dr. Wayne Westcott of Boston’s South Shore YMCA states that lifting weights allows one to build “a firm and strong muscular foundation that smoothens out the irregular, lumpy appearance of skin.” Muscle-building reduces the push-and-pull tension under the skin, which we associate with cellulite.

Addressing cellulite effectively, through bodybuilding, means targeting your hips and thighs with exercises such as dead lifts, lunges, squats, leg presses, leg curls and other leg resistance exercises. The key: heavier weight, fewer repetitions. (Classic strength training, by contrast, warrants lighter weights, more reps.)

Look to hot yoga or weight lifting, or even better, both for smooth dimple-free skin!

Four…Dry brush your body daily. Praised by dieters, beauty experts and health nuts (including myself) alike, dry brushing boosts your circulation, helping break up those fat and toxin deposits. Brush daily before your shower, spending extra time on the areas of your body most prone to cellulite. Any body brush you buy at the health food store will do. To provide the final boost, try using the Amazing Skin Rejuvenator on your thighs and buttocks. This will improve circulation in those areas, reducing cellulite from the inside out.

Most conventional cellulite treatments available produce only a temporary effect in some individuals. Go beyond. Take matters into your own hands and start changing your body’s appearance of your part of the body one raw juice, one exercise at a time. And there’s still one more thing you can do…

Five…Cupping massage for reducing cellulite.

My four recommended steps: Diet…exercise…dry-brush…and perform regular juice fasting. They really work! Still many believe that liposuction is the only way to lose that cottage cheese.

You know there’s a better way. You can add the ancient practice of Cupping Massage to any sound diet and exercise program for additional cellulite fighting benefits. It’s become all the rage in the last couple of years. Its virtue: Cupping therapy addresses the cause of cellulite, not just its symptoms. Cupping stimulates, revitalizes the lymph system. It helps break down toxins, flush fat cells, and, in the end, help you get rid of that orange-peel texture. One of the best effects of cupping: stimulating renewed blood circulation.

A tip for those of you practicing juice-fasting…For best results, perform your cupping massage during your juice fast.

Cupping massage is wonderfully adapted to the task of conquering cellulite. Medically, cellulite is by itself not a contra-indication for cupping. But do consider other medical issues—skin conditions, in particular—and consult your physician if you have any worries.

Our  Venus Body Sculpting Cups can help deal with cellulite. When you perform sculpting massage with these cups, a vacuum is created which increases blood circulation in the massaged areas, causing blood to reach the deeper layers of the skin. As a result, metabolism and the flow of oxygen to the massaged areas increases,  subcutaneous fat is burned, and skin surface is refreshed.

Follow the instructions for cupping massage provided in the accompanying manual with one change – spend a bit longer time (10-20 minutes) on the cellulite affected areas, such as the thighs. With daily practice, you’ll see tighter, more youthful, supple skin. After four to six weeks of regular daily use, most people see a noticeable reduction in any cellulite.

Remember though, cupping massage is not a universal remedy, but is an effective weapon in your arsenal in combating cellulite. It, along with the other four tactics discussed in this article, can lead you to smooth, supple, more beautiful skin!

What is Cupping Therapy?  

If you know only a little bit about “cupping therapy,” you may suppose, as many do, that it’s some sort of latest trend in holistic health.

On the contrary… Cupping therapy is an ancient alternative form of medicine, long popular in China and Russia. You’ll find it mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus, one of the oldest medical texts in existence. Cupping was used by the ancient Egyptians, by Hippocrates, and was known across Asia and Europe.

People in many cultures have used this method to not only deal with various internal ailments, but even for correcting structural misalignment. And recently cupping has become increasingly popular as cellulite, stretch marks and overall skin rejuvenation solution.

Methods for achieving reduced pressure inside the cup vary.  Local suction is achieved by using heat (fire), a mechanical pump, or hand-pumping.

Fire cupping

Here’s what’s commonly done in Russia and China for treating respiratory problems—colds, pneumonia or bronchitis…

A glass cup is used and an alcohol-soaked wick is lit and placed inside the cup. The air inside is heated and expands, so that when the wick is removed and the cup quickly placed against the skin, the air in the cup cools, forming a partial vacuum inside, so it sticks to the skin, creating a strong suction. As a result of the vacuum inside, blood rushes to the area, helping healing. The suction created by the cup penetrates deep into the tissues, releasing toxins, triggering the lymphatic system, and clearing the blood vessels. The glass cup is left stationary on the back for 10 to 20 minutes. Where the blood or lymph is stagnant, circular bruising impressions will be left. These fade in about 4-7 days.

No-Fire Cups

More and more people in the West becoming aware that cupping therapy is not only beneficial on the deep therapeutic level, but also produces a rejuvenating effect on the skin and underlying tissues at the place of application. But not many are comfortable with using the fire cups as they usually require assistance and can be messy. As a result, in recent years a new cupping method has rocketed in popularity. This is cupping massage with “no-fire cups.” Oil is applied to lubricate the area of the skin to be treated. Then a partial vacuum is created in the cup by means of a mechanical pump or, more commonly, by simply squeezing a rubber ball attached to the cup. The cup is then pressed on the skin and the rubber ball is released.

In this method, the cup is constantly moved over the skin surface in a massaging motion instead of being left in place as with the fire cups. Some temporary bruising is also to be expected with these cups during the first week of use, especially if your body has blood circulation issues and if you’re leading a sedentary lifestyle.

The Healing Potential of Bruising

Western medicine tends to react negatively to bruising. In the East, however, there are several holistic practices focusing on the healing potential of bruising. Fire-cupping and the Chinese practice of gua sha work on the same principle.

In Russia, fire cupping has long been used for treatment of various ailments. During 20^th century wars, when conventional medicine was in short supply or completely unavailable, Russian doctors used an interesting technique to save the lives of many wounded soldiers. They would draw some blood intravenously, then inject it subcutaneously—just under the skin—in the general area of an injured organ failing to heal properly. This would immediately cause a bruise, which triggers the body’s powerful repair mechanisms. Needed hormones and antibodies would rush to the area and healing would begin. The blood is the patient’s own, and there’s no real injury inflicted—a simple technique, yet it was effective by making use of the body’s own healing mechanisms.

How Does Cupping Therapy Work?

The suction-cupping massage technique uses the same principle. The only difference: how the blood gets there. When you use the suction cup, creating a partial vacuum, a little blood squeezes out through capillary walls underneath the skin, also creating a bruise. It comes down to this: Healthy capillaries are highly elastic and won’t break or allow blood to squeeze out. Only more aged, inelastic capillaries will lose blood. This fact makes suction cupping treatment usefully selective.

A more distant cousin of the same process: In holding a yoga pose, you create a brief “tourniquet effect,” and then, when you release the pose, your vessels are flushed with new blood and oxygen. Yoga focuses on the organs, joints and ligaments. But in cupping massage, we concentrate our efforts on rejuvenating our most visible organ—the skin.

The Reasons Behind Bruising

If a capillary is inelastic, the blood inside tends to be stagnant. Such stagnant blood often occurs if your body is highly acidic, and may indicate that you have a large number of abnormally shaped blood cells (poikilocytes).

When this stagnant blood starts to emerge from the capillaries after a cupping treatment, it triggers the body’s regenerative mechanism. There is then a jump in the immunal response, leading to tissue rejuvenation. What’s more, renewed blood flow stimulates the metabolism in areas of excess fat, making fat tissue more pliable, better able to be released by aerobic exercise.

There’s a lot going on here, causally. That’s why no single beauty tools will help you if you don’t take care of what goes into your body. Diet is an essential ingredient. For capillary strength, build lots of Vitamins C, K and E into your diet. That can be hard on a conventional diet. But the raw food diet already includes plenty of these vitamins.

Another thing you can do to improve the health of your capillaries is follow a regular exercise routine. Any reasonable exercise will do—regularity is the ticket. Yoga practice, in particular, promotes good blood circulation, which in turn strengthens your capillaries.

Benefits of Cupping Massage

Cupping is great for general skin rejuvenation. And it’s ideal for scars, stretch marks and cellulite. One great benefit of this massaging method: Bruising is usually minimal. Try it! At first you might feel a slight discomfort. But once you start noticing the improvement in your circulation, cupping will become a real pleasure.

Personally, I apply it on my legs, my upper chest area and on my arms.

The first four or five times you use the suction cups, you may find some slight bruising that will go away in a few days. At first begin with your thighs and butt, less visible areas of the body, so you can see how your skin reacts.

The benefits outweigh the temporary bruising you might experience. Cupping massage will improve the peripheral circulation of your blood, lymph and interstitial fluid. Stagnant blood in aging capillaries will gradually disappear, and you’ll improve the metabolism and respiration of the skin in massaged areas. Repeated cupping massage will improve skin tone and elasticity. Many users also report fewer muscle cramps in the treated areas.

To experience the benefits of cupping massage consider our Venus Body Sculpting Cups. They are convenient to use, for they have a simple pump to create the needed air pressure, allowing you to regulate how much suction you wish to apply. Regular practice will keep your skin nutrient-rich and well-hydrated, oxygenated and free of trapped toxins, all of which will show glowingly, through smooth, moist skin, blessedly free of cellulite!

These days  Sensa is on the news, TV talk shows, in big-time newspapers.

So what is Sensa?

It’s a patented blend of crystals you shake onto your food. The purpose: to lose weight.

How does Sensa work?

Here’s the idea…It works with your sense of smell. Certain smells are known to turn off your body’s “hunger switch.” Shake Sensa onto your food…and the crystals’ aroma makes your body react as if you’ve eaten more than you actually have—one hamburger instead of two, for example. Use Sensa on everything, the company claims, and you can lose up to 30 pounds in six months—all, of course, “without dieting” or “changing your lifestyle”. The mechanism: tripping the satiety center of your hypothalamus gland.

But will these miracle tastants actually work for you?

Our body is a miracle of adaptability. While this is usually a good thing, in the case of Sensa, it’s not. Your body gets used to the same scent very fast. And that’s why any such quick fix will stop working for you. Mark I. Friedman, associate director of Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, pointed out that while the sight, taste or smell of food may result in the release of insulin and an increase in metabolism, “those kinds of effects are short-lived. If you constantly smelled something you would adapt to the odor, and you wouldn’t smell it anymore.”

Sensa’s website points out that their weight loss claims can be backed up by a research study. There was, however, only one study, and it was done by the company founder. Their conclusion is that the smell approach “may be helpful for use in connection with a program of nutrition and exercise to facilitate weight loss reduction.” Hmm,  if you add a program of nutrition and exercise, I promise you will lose weight even without Sensa.

Even if it works, is it safe?

But even assuming such a product could work for a long time successfully suppressing your appetite, eating less is only part of the issue, for you need to eat highly nutritious foods. When you reduce calories, every calorie counts. So with Sensa, you have a false sense of safety, for if you start eating less but without paying attention to what you eat, you might become deficient in some essential nutrients and serious health issues could develop.

Sensa contains several artificial scents and flavors. It also contains maltodextrin, tricalcium phosphate, silica and soy and milk ingredients. All are USDA-approved ingredients, “generally recognized as safe”—GRAS is the government and industry code for this—in food. A point the manufacturer makes much of: No MSG. No salt. No sugar. No calories. But all of the Sensa ingredients are processed ingredients, and several of them—milk products especially—won’t be digestible by some.

Then there’s the cost. You’ll need to pay $59 for a one-month’s supply or $289 for six month’s worth on the company’s website or TV shopping networks. So even if the product helps you lose weight – with no side effects, to keep the weight off you will have to keep paying these costs indefinitely, if you really want to avoid changing your lifestyle.

And “no side effects” is far from guaranteed. If you check out public forums and message boards about Sensa you will run across some unhappy customers. Reports of headaches, nausea, stomach pains. And plenty of claims that it just doesn’t work, even caused some to gain weight. Of course, claims for either side are hard to gauge from internet reports.

How to make the smell-mechanism work for you.

There is a legitimate idea underneath Sensa—somewhere. But why spend the money? Why use a product you might find unpalatable and that might make you feel sick? Why use a product that contains highly processed chemical ingredients?

Truth: There’s another whole category of products out there that can work for you better than Sensa, will save you the cost, let you avoid processed ingredients, and which are far safer, far more satisfying. They’re the products of nature. Several scents—apple, banana, mint, lavender, rose, peppermint—can indeed reduce appetite. In fact, if you smell your fresh salad or other raw food dish before eating, you’ll get the same effect, plus a boost of nutrients. No point wondering whether Sensa really works when raw foods and vegetables will give you all the calcium and silica you could want, and offer a lovely range of natural scents you’ll find stimulating and satisfying. Check out my video, “Lose Weight the Right Way Go Raw“, for more info about losing weight by following the raw food diet.

Go for low calories, high nutrient content.

Why mess with suppressing your appetite for “standard”—which is to say, bad—food? Instead, let your appetite run free with fresh fruits and vegetables. You might already be on your way to a vigorously healthy all-raw diet. Or you might be vegan or vegetarian. Or you might just be a person keen on losing weight. Wherever you are, there’s nothing Sensa can do for you that you can’t gain better, cheaper, and more healthily than by upping your intake of fresh fruits and veggies. There’s no sense in Sensa, I say. Instead, go natural! If you are new to raw foods check out my first book: Your Right to Be Beautiful, where I discuss my journey in discovering the raw food diet and as a result reaching the pinnacle of health and gaining amazing anti-aging results.

Several articles of mine—see Myths about Cosmetic Preservatives and Green Cosmetics—have as their purpose clearing up misconceptions about the need for preservatives in natural cosmetics, face creams especially. Still, I constantly get well-meant suggestions that I should use a “natural” preservative such as radish root, or aspen bark extract, or Japanese honeysuckle in my products.

The main difference among face creams and formulas is whether they’re oil-based or water-based. With an oil-based formula such as my new night cream, there’s no need for added preservatives at all. However, an oil-based formula is, as the name guarantees, oily and therefore usually unsuitable for daytime use. This is why most day creams and moisturizers are water-based.

Do not insist that your favorite water-based cream “has no preservatives”! Why not? Because it does. A cream can’t not contain ? preservative of some sort if it’s going to have a shelf life.

If someone tells you they have a water-based cream that’s free of preservatives, or that they use aspen bark extract as a preservative, look twice. They’re not telling you the whole truth. They’re not disclosing what else they’re using along with the “natural” preservative. Or they’re leaving out the fact that these natural ingredients are extracted, processed, isolated and put into bottles, rendering them a man-made chemical, although “derived from” sources such as aspen bark, radish root, or the like.

There is simply no such thing as a truly “plant preservative.” The very expression is an oxymoron. In nature no plant, ultimately is “preserved.” No preservative is completely natural. Sure, all plant-based preservative ingredients begin as natural products, even raw ones. But they must all go through some sort of processing and stabilization to make them usable and functional in a cosmetic product.

Well-meaning people write me all the time: But Tonya, so and so only uses Vitamin E, or so and so uses grapefruit seed extract—why don’t you? Suzanne Somers, I recently learned, uses Japanese honeysuckle in her cream, so why don’t you switch to something like that?

Let’s get real, folks: I can assure you that no one out there is squeezing fresh honeysuckle into jars and screwing on the lids for a nontoxic, perfectly preserved natural product. Not to pick on Suzanne—it’s the label makers I do not trust, and with good reason.

I already discussed the trouble with grapefruit seed extract in this article, but what’s wrong with Japanese honeysuckle? After it’s been processed into a usable form as a preservative, it becomes what is commonly known as a paraben. But if you put the word “parabens” on the label, you lose a huge customer base. So, thanks to labeling loopholes and savvy marketing,  you can simply call this form of paraben by its more benign plant based name—here the luscious, mellifluous, and oh-so-natural-sounding Japanese honeysuckle. Those in charge of labeling know that consumers are becoming more educated, more discerning, and ceasing to fall for old tricks. So they think up new ones—all very legal, of course, since labeling laws are so convoluted.

Sometimes ingredients themselves contain preservatives, as in the case of some of Dr. Hauschka formulas. People assume that Dr. Hauschka’s products contain no preservatives at all. But they do. It’s called alcohol. Below is the explanation I took directly from Dr. Hauschka’s website explaining the company’s use of alcohol for extraction and preservation:

“Q: Why do some of Dr Hauschka products contain alcohol? A: Herbs and flowers are the core of Dr Hauschka skin care preparations and many are extracted in a mixture of alcohol and water. We use a Certified Organic food-grade ethyl alcohol (ethanol) from grain, fruit or vegetable.”

The uninitiated see that there are flower or herb extracts in the formula, but they are unaware that those contain alcohol, a preservative.

The list could go on all day, I’m afraid. But I think by now you are getting my point. If your cosmetics are water-based, they will contain some form of preservative.

I call a spade a spade. And a preservative – a preservative. If I have to use a preservative I choose the best – that will do the job with the smallest amount yet keep the product safe – the industry can offer.

I applaud conscious consumers everywhere and encourage you to do your homework regarding ingredients that you feel comfortable using. If you want to avoid some type of preservative completely, then by all means, please, whip up those formulas in your raw kitchen and send me the recipe for my homemade cosmetics. We will share it with our readers so they, too, can benefit.

Most cosmetics, as it happens, fall within the FDA’s legal purview. Back in 1977, legislation on labeling cosmetics took effect. But how effective is that labeling legislation?

Most of us have more or less come to trust ingredients labeling. We’ve gotten thoroughly used to it in the labeling of foods. Most take for granted that, on a cosmetics label, the ingredients will be listed in their order of predominance in the product. We assume that the ingredient listed first is the one present in greatest quantity, the second listed is the one having the second largest percentage, and so on. But it isn’t necessarily so.

Descending Order Loophole

This descending-order rule in labeling applies, only to ingredients making up one percent or more of what’s in the product. The manufacturer can list in any order any ingredients present which make up less than 1%. The trouble: We can’t know, just from reading the label, where the bigger percentages end and the “less than 1%” ingredients begin. So we can’t know, therefore, the significance these less prominent ingredients carry in a product’s formulation.

Trade Secret Exemption

That’s just the beginning, however. Some kinds of ingredients are effectively exempt from requirements to disclose what’s in them. Read any cosmetics label, and you’ll likely see words like flavor and fragrance. That’s unobjectionable in itself, till we get to the point: The ingredients in flavorings and fragrances don’t have to be disclosed – at all! The same is true of any “trade secret” ingredients.

Dig deeper into FDA regulations, and you’ll see a provision which might at first feel reassuring. A manufacturer can’t simply call anything and everything a “trade secret ingredient.” The regulations purportedly place the burden on the manufacturer to justify a claim that something is a “trade secret ingredient.” They must provide to the FDA a “full statement of the factual and legal grounds for the request” that an item be treated as a trade secret. But once the company wins that one, they’re good to go.

Rules Only Apply to Retail

Then there’s another loophole as big as a barn door. These ingredient-declaration rules apply only to the kinds of cosmetics items you’ll see sold at retail. What’s sold only for use in “professional establishments”—your hair salon, for example—isn’t covered by the same regs. Nor, for that matter, are any products distributed as free samples.

What’s “Insignificant”?

Sometimes, the very wording of FDA cosmetics labeling legislation is at fault. Consider masking agents—ingredients used in a product to cover or disguise what would otherwise be an objectionable flavor or aroma. So long as such an agent is present at an “insignificant level,” its presence needn’t be mentioned at all.

That concept of insignificance—a fuzzy a notion—crops up in several ways. For instance, material which “has no technical or functional effect” in the product is considered insignificant. Preservatives come immediately to mind. A second way “insignificance” comes up: when some substance, on its being added in the formulation process, becomes chemically converted to some other ingredient declared on the label. Sodium hydroxide is an example—nasty stuff, by itself, though it converts chemically to things more inert when dropped into products where it’s used as an additive.

I’m not a chemist. I’ll admit that. But even this brief examination of cosmetics labeling laws clearly demonstrates…There are legal loopholes. There are questionable exemptions. And there is vagueness. All of these add up to one unmistakable reality: You can’t truly trust cosmetics labeling—not given the current state of law and industry.

What to Do?

So what or who can you trust? Two answers…

One…cosmetics you make yourself, from ingredients you know are natural and safe. There are plenty of easy, even fun, recipes for making your own high-quality, all-natural cosmetic aids. See my prior Blog article: Homemade Cosmetics.

Two…Buy from small, reliable manufacturers who use their products on themselves.

Take a diet. Any diet. Most of us have tried a few in the past. Can you think of one food group that every diet, without exception, recommends? You guessed it—vegetables. Some diets may even prohibit fruit, but you’ll always find vegetables in the mix. And the more, the better.

In the vegetable kingdom, one variety stands out as the most potent health elixir: dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, chard, lettuce, arugula, mustard and collard greens, dandelion greens, beet leaves, carrot tops, and their cousins. Low in calories, fat-free, high in fiber—no wonder these leafy greens make it into every diet.

What makes dark green food so valuable to us?

These vegetables’ dark green color manifests their high chlorophyll content. The more chlorophyll, the more antioxidants the plant develops to protect its cells from free radicals generated by sunrays coming in contact with chlorophyll. All those antioxidants become the property of the host who consumes the greens, offering the same protection against the host’s own free radicals.

Chlorophyll is a natural blood-builder. And the quality of our blood determines the health of the rest of the body. So give your body the chlorophyll it needs, along with the alkaline minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium) needed to keep the blood slightly alkaline. Isn’t it convenient that greens are the best source of alkaline minerals in the plant world? Add in the whole plethora of vitamins (A, C, E, B, K), plus iron and high fiber found in greens, and you get one of the most concentrated sources of nutrients known.

One particular benefit of leafy greens is worth mentioning separately. Bodybuilders have long noticed that when they take a nitric oxide supplement, it improves the blood flow to the muscles and regulates blood pressure. Nitric oxide is a free-form gas crucial for a healthy circulatory system, keeping inflammation and blockages at bay. The good news: no need for a supplement. Nature has taken care of us again by providing a special pathway to produce nitric oxide in-house, as it were. This gas is produced from dietary nitrate, which comes from fruits, vegetables and greens—especially dark leafy greens, among which lettuce and spinach are nitrate champions.

How much greens you eat shows on your face. Green leaves score high in the beauty category too. Clear skin, glowing complexion, healthy-looking hair: these are just a few of the desirable side effects of a greens-rich diet coupled with a good skin and hair care routine. Check it out for yourself: Add more greens to your raw food meals and see if you can tell your facial skin is improving. Many greens are rich in beta-carotene, essential for renewing skin cells. Folic acid in greens also helps produce and maintain new cells, while lutein helps maintain skin hydration and elasticity as well as guarding against sun damage.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. And you don’t need to go to extremes—no “kale-stuffed kale with kale-sauce.” There’s an easy way to consume good, regular amounts of leafy greens, pioneered by Victoria Boutenko, author of Green For Life and other raw foods books. She recommends blending them together with fruit to make green smoothies, a simple, enjoyable way to usher the goodness in. The nutrients in greens are available to us quicker when we blend them. If you are a beginner, start with mild-tasting greens, such as Romaine lettuce, spinach, bok choy, Swiss chard, beet greens. Once you get to love those, add kale, collards, arugula, endive, mustard and dandelion greens. Fresh juices, soups, salads, crackers and wraps are all greens-friendly, too. Oh, and before you head out to spend money on the leaves, check your yard for free wild greens, such as chickweed, lamb’s quarters, purslane, nettles, thistle, dandelion and many others, greens even more nutritious than your supermarket produce section can offer.

Fall in love with leafy greens. Make green the dominant color in your fridge. Don’t let a day go by without greens. Find the ways to consume them that suit you best, remembering that you and those leafy greens are in it for the long haul. I am convinced that dark leafy greens hold answers to most, if not all of our health-related questions.

It is a part of the design of your skin that it has small openings on its surface, called pores, leading into sebaceous glands that secrete oil for skin protection and lubrication. Most skin pores are barely noticeable to the naked eye, and we pay them little attention. Except, that is, when we see them staring back at us in the mirror like so many moon craters. In my late thirties, I used to have this very problem. No more.

What Causes Pores to Enlarge?

While it’s commonly accepted that pore size is genetically determined, several other factors most likely contribute. Hormone imbalance may play a role in excessive oil production, promoting pore enlargement. As skin ages and loses collagen, pores become larger, continually trapping more and more dead skin cells along with oils, which plug and stretch the pores even more—a vicious circle. Enlarged pores almost always go along with an oily skin problem. The odds of having dilated pores are not in your favor if you struggled with acne as a teenager and attacked the problem with your bare hands. Sun damage to the skin can also factor into pores becoming more visible.

Approaching the Large Pores Problem from Within

The way to a beautiful exterior always starts inside. Before you see perfect facial skin, your liver, stomach, colon, pancreas and other internal organs must experience a state of health. Since you are constantly building and re-building your cells with the help of the foods you consume, diet is the number one player when it comes to addressing any health or cosmetic issue. If you are already on a raw food diet, you’re ahead of the game. Make sure you drink fresh, predominantly green juices regularly. Take a look: The skin of frequent juicers is vibrantly alive, healthy looking, and clear. A glass of juice has more potential for your skin healing and rejuvenation than any cosmetic procedure or pharmaceutical product you might be tempted to try.

Concentrate on foods that help rebuild collagen in your body, such as silica-rich radish, alfalfa, nettles, burdock root, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, sulfur-rich cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, green cabbage), pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, watercress and mustard leaves. Foods high in protein, vitamins A, C and E, copper, zinc and iron all play important roles in collagen formation. You don’t have to be formulaic—you’ll find that if you eat a wide variety of colorful raw foods, you’ll have your all your bases covered. Maintaining your raw plant-based diet is the foundation for any additional external approach you might take toward achieving beautiful skin.

Keep your Face Clean

Enlarged pores can be stubborn. Commit to keeping your face as clean as you can, always. Experiment with diluted raw apple cider vinegar (1 tablespoon of vinegar for 8 ounces of water) instead of soap. You are trying to catch up with excessive oil production by removing dirt, oil and skin debris as soon as they are produced. Let them remain, and the pores become more visible.

Get the Oil Out

Unclogging your stuffed pores is the first step to diminishing their visible size. Steaming your face for a few minutes before cleansing it or applying hot towel allows the oil to soften, making it easier to remove from the pores. A clay mask offers a way to soak up oil, draw out impurities, and (as drying occurs) tighten the skin’s surface, making pores appear smaller. You might want to try our green clay masque. We’ve just received a freshly made batch.

Get Rid of Dead Skin Cells

Daily exfoliation helps remove dead cells, thus keeping the pores on the small side. Dry brushing might bring the best results.

Tomato Mask for Oily Skin

Because of their astringent qualities, tomatoes help remove extra oil and reduce the apparent size of large pores. Cut your tomato into circles, place on your face and leave for twenty minutes. Rinse your face with warm water, then cold.

Help from Citrus Country

As you move through your day, reach for a lemon slice and rub it over your face. Lemon juice is a natural cleanser and purifier, with the ability to tighten skin and shrink pores. If you’re peeling a grapefruit or an orange, rub the inside of the peel on your skin for a similar cleansing effect. Experiment with cucumber, too: Feed your skin by rubbing it with one slice, and eat the rest.

Baking Soda Skin Toner

Mix 2 tablespoons of baking soda with a little water to form a white paste. Apply the paste to your face and let it dry completely. Wash off with water.

Egg White Mask #1

Whisk the white of one egg until it forms a foam. Add a teaspoon of warmed raw honey, and the juice of one lemon. Mix well and apply to the face for half an hour. Once it’s dry, wash the mask off with warm water.

Egg White Mask #2

Mix two egg whites with a quarter cup of fresh orange juice. Apply to the face and leave for fifteen minutes. Remove with warm water.

Salicylic Acid

Rub your face with salicylic acid, a 2% liquid solution, at bedtime, then apply moisturizer to avoid excess dryness.

Hydrogen Peroxide Spray

This will moisten your skin, neutralize bacteria and shrink large pores. Combine 3% hydrogen peroxide with distilled water, a 1:1 ratio. Pour this into a spray bottle, and spray on your face after using any mask or scrub. Avoid getting it into your eyes!

It’s a Trek—Not a Sprint

When it comes to highly visible, bigger-than-usual pores, prepare for your solution to take some time. Thorough transformation on a physical level takes both time and commitment. That said, a combination of a raw food regimen and a consistent skin care routine, tailored to your particular skin issues, is the safest and most natural route to take in caring for your body and realizing its innate health and beauty.

I received this email from a reader:

At age 52, I have been using Copper Peptides for almost one year and added Retin A, two months ago…. I don’t believe in store or commercially bought anti-aging products anymore, but find the research and track record of Retin A and the seeming trustworthiness of Dr. Pickart (CP’s) hard to resist. Both claim to “remodel” skin, and I wonder whether I’d be missing out, long term, not to use them. What do you think?

Nowadays many women, like my reader above, are reaching for the latest discoveries such as Copper Peptides and Retin-A, two patented products promising unique, unrivaled benefits. Retin A chemically exfoliates, while copper peptides assist in wound healing and recovery. Both promise to “remodel” your skin, and they do—after a fashion. But once you understand the science behind it, you’ll see there are easier, cheaper, and healthier ways to do the same job. How do I know? Because I’ve been doing it for the last fifteen years with great results.

What is Retin A?

Let’s take a more careful look. As the product’s name suggests, it is a retinoid, a chemical compound derived from Vitamin A, and is only available by prescription. This by itself sends up red flags for me.

Retin A is commonly used to treat acne, but users discovered that their skin also improved in other ways. This, I believe, is due to the fact that your skin will immediately go into a repair-and-rejuvenate mode after damage is inflicted on it.

Retin-A is known to boost collagen production. But this is something your body will do on its own if you exfoliate enough. Retinoids act on the DNA of the living layers of skin, increasing skin cell turnover and promoting the extrusion matter clogging your follicles. The product’s compounds also prevent the formation of new blackheads or whiteheads.

All these new skin renewing methods base themselves on an old idea: inducing repair by stripping the outer layer of skin, “tricking” the body into producing new cells and making new collagen. “Damaging” your skin is a highly effective way to see a real difference in skin quality. Retin A does that, and in essence that’s why it works. There is, however, a better way to do it. Facial dry brushing accomplishes what all these products and methods claim to do—and then some!

What’s the Bad News?

All these benefits come with a price. The effect of increased skin cell turnover can be irritation and flaking, as retinoids make skin very sensitive and susceptible to damage. So sensitive in fact that you must wear sunscreen daily if you go out in the sun even for a few minutes. You cannot use retinoids if you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant because it could cause birth defects. Another red flag!

People often give up in the first few weeks of using Retin-A because the irritation causes them to think it isn’t working.

Compare this with facial dry brushing. This practice, too, increases cell turnover, unclogs pores, and increases circulation, but without side effects. No need for sunscreen, either. Initial irritation is very mild and only lasts until your skin grows accustomed to the brushing.

Copper Peptides

The utility of copper peptides was discovered by Dr. Loren Pickart in the late 70’s while researching wound healing. He researched the effects of peptides (small fragments of proteins) on tissue regeneration, eventually patenting several peptides that bind in specific ways with copper. Certain copper peptides help reduce scar tissue formation while stimulating the skin to return to its original condition. It is the wound-healing effects of copper peptides that lead some doctors and dermatologists to use them as a recovery aid after procedures such as chemical peels, dermabrasion and laser resurfacing. Because they are also anti-inflammatory, they are often used in combination with products such as Retin-A.

The Downside of Copper Peptides

As you may suspect, even these “healing” copper peptides don’t come without risk. Here is an instructive quote from www.smartskincare.com:

While moderate use of copper peptides stimulates collagen synthesis and has antioxidant effect…excessive use can have an opposite effect by increasing the levels of free copper [or] triggering excessive production of metalloproteinases. Free copper promotes free radical damage and collagen breakdown, leading to accelerated skin aging. Metalloproteinases can digest collagen and elastin, weakening the skin and causing sag…

The research isn’t conclusive. There are the usual disclaimers—“more studies required.”

I’ve found that skin that is healthy inside-out will automatically kick into recovery mode and rectify purposely induced damage (via brushing as opposed to retinoids), with or without copper peptides. My belief is that topical application cannot increase collagen, but stimulation via facial massage, exercises and brushing can. This is especially true if you give the body the nutrition it needs via a raw food diet to perform these functions. Did you know that some of the best sources of copper in the diet are leafy greens, nuts and seeds?

Instead of adding more pharmaceuticals to your lifestyle, why not go the natural way? You can get the desired effects of Retin A and copper peptides completely naturally and safely by practicing facial dry brushing, especially if you include facial exercises and massage along with a raw food diet. You do not have to rely on the men in white coats to concoct them in a laboratory, or worry about adverse side effects.

Flakes! You’ve seen them, either on your own head and shoulders, or on someone else’s. They’re skin flakes, to be exact. Big, white, fluffy, clingy. If you’ve ever had dandruff yourself, you’ve hated seeing those flakes fly as you comb your hair. And you remember the itchy, irritated scalp that came with the deal. Dandruff knows no cultural, ethnic, or territorial borders, and seems to affect about one 1 out of 5 people in the world.

What Causes your Scalp to Shed More Skin Cells than Normal?

One of the causes of dandruff is overgrowth of yeast-like fungi. Our scalp, like the rest of our skin, hosts panoply of fungi and bacteria which feed on skin oil (called ‘sebum’). Normally, these wee beasties live in a state of symbiosis with us, and don’t cause us much trouble. But when things get out of whack…that’s when dandruff (or worse) befalls us.

Sebum consists of fat and parts of dead cells that produce fat. The scalp, like the rest of our skin, sheds dead cells constantly. Rarely do we think of that, save perhaps when we do our dusting and mopping—a good part of that dust is actually dead skin. When our bodies are weakened or get out of balance—think stress, sleep deprivation, hormonal changes, illness, medications—the balance of bacteria and opportunistic fungi get out of control, and microorganisms start to proliferate. Scalp oils keep feeding the growing yeast population, and the oleic acid they generate as a by-product of their oil metabolism irritates and inflames the skin, triggering increased cell shedding.

Dandruff Is Not a Surface Problem

In our culture, we tend to think of dandruff as an aesthetic problem. That’s how TV ads bill it—white flakes on a black evening dress or jacket. “Oh, those embarrassing flakes…” But this shampoo, the ad says…and you’re “cured.”

Not so fast! At best, that new shampoo is a stop-gap remedy. Quit using it, and those flakes will be back in a wink. Dandruff, you see, happens on the surface, but it isn’t caused by anything there. The best a shampoo can do is mask the trouble. And it may do worse, adding a new load of chemical toxins to your body. The word “medicated,” on a shampoo or cream, is also no guarantee of a cure.

If you want to stay dependent on such products, it’s your choice. You have another choice—to go deeper, correcting the imbalance that caused this yeast infection in the first place.

Raw Foods to the Rescue!

Diet is your ticket. Diet goes straight to the heart of the problem. Animal protein, if still present in your meals, will have to go: It promotes yeast and fungus growth. Since saturated fatty acids like vegetable oils will spike oil production in the sebaceous glands on your head, feeding the yeast, best wave good-bye to them as well. In my thirties I often noticed white flakes in my hair. Since I have become a raw vegan not even once have I had dandruff.

Ditto sugar: Yeast and fungi thrive on sugar. Watch how you sweeten your food, and how much sweet fruit you consume. Consider dropping or drastically reducing sweet fruit temporarily, until you get yeast overgrowth under control. Instead, emphasize tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, summer squashes, vegetables, dark leafy greens, nuts and seeds. Omega-3 acids in walnuts and flax seeds will help strengthen your immune system, as will the beneficial yeast-fighting microorganisms in fermented vegetables. Don’t forget garlic—a natural anti-fungal.  Tackling your dandruff problem from the inside and outside at the same time will yield even quicker results.

Try these Topical Applications…

1. Mixture of 1 ½ tablespoons of warmed olive oil with the juice of half a lemon. Treat your scalp before bedtime, and wash off the following morning. Repeat a few times.
2. Apple cider vinegar. Dilute it with water, half and half. Spray on your scalp and hair. Leave the solution on, cover with a towel, then wash off after 20 minutes or so.

Raw plant-based, living foods, with high mineral content, and the alkaline effect they produce in the body is a sure ticket to bring your personal eco-system back into balance, and take dandruff out of the equation for good.

Dr. Hauschka’s is one company whose products and methods are very popular with health-seeking, beauty conscious people. A number of years ago, I used and recommended their cosmetics myself. Recently one of my readers pointed out some differences in our approaches to skin care. Her email prompted me to review carefully Dr. Hauschka’s famous “7 facts that will change your skin.”

Hauschka’s philosophy differs slightly from mine. (Or shall we say mine differs from his? After all, he’s the doctor!) I don’t disagree in every respect, but there are a few tenets that I feel compelled to challenge.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room: Hauschka doesn’t address diet. By contrast, I insist that diet is an integral part of skin care. Without a sound diet, your skin will never be healthy. You’ll always have to ‘treat’ skin problems that a poor diet and lifestyle create. Dr. H, despite the fact that his products and methods are based on very high quality plant ingredients, comes from a pharmaceutical perspective. Why not, say I, get to the root of the problem instead of merely dealing with the symptoms?

Is Night Cream Important?

Dr. Hauschka advised to skip the night cream: “Covering the skin with moisturizer 24 hours a day sends a signal to sebaceous glands to cut down on moisture production, resulting in even drier skin that becomes dependent on moisturizing products just to appear “normal.”  Hence, do remember to let your skin breathe!”

Beautiful On Raw: If you use a day cream that absorbs within five minutes and a night cream that absorbs in an hour or two, you still have 21 hours and 55 minutes to let your skin breathe! Ask anyone who has passed the 40 year mark—over time skin becomes less able to care for itself.  Our sebaceous glands cut down on moisture production as we age, so our skin needs help. A truly natural cream can supply the needed moisture. You can stimulate your sebaceous glands through massage, dry brushing and vigorous exfoliation from the outside and good nutrition from the inside, so skin cells will renew themselves faster.

Like treats like. Dr. H says: “Though it might seem counterintuitive to apply oil to an oily complexion, it’s actually the most logical solution. The skin knows whether it’s sufficiently protected, producing more of its own oil when skin is dry and less when it’s balanced.” If we treat dry skin with rich, heavy creams or oils, he says, we effectively trick our skin into believing it’s been producing too much of its own oil. In response, it decreases production, perpetuating a dry skin cycle.

Beautiful On Raw: We want to get away from treating “oily” or “dry” skin. We want our skin to be neither especially oily nor dry. The solution is diet, not a special cream.

Should You Scrub Your Skin?

Dr. Hauschka says: Stop scrubbing—your skin is not the bathroom floor. Soaps, scrubs, and exfoliants can strip your face of its natural protection, leading to dry, irritated skin and an appearance of premature aging. Hauschka’s adherents use the “press and roll” method, aimed at encouraging the lymph system’s function and cleansing the skin without stripping the acid mantle.

Beautiful On Raw: Harsh ingredients can irritate and dry the skin. However, scrubbing and exfoliation, by themselves, do not amount to harshness. “Damaging” the skin ever so slightly, roughing it up a bit, stimulating it, is a well-known technique among skin care experts. Skin will rejuvenate itself when exposed to damage. (Don’t be afraid of the word damage. It’s the same with muscle: The weightlifter “damages” his muscles slightly every time he hits the gym, but this damage stimulates repair and new growth.) That’s part of the reason you look better after a cosmetic procedure, but only temporarily. What if you rough up your skin just a little every day and it’s constantly rejuvenating itself and looking better? This is what daily exfoliation does, increasing circulation and oxygenation.

All debate aside, I do believe Dr. Hauschka’s company and products to be among the most impressive available today. I am only pointing out how our philosophies variously differ. Dr. H does not address diet, so, in his world, skin must be babied, constantly treated for problems. I encourage a skin-building, skin-fortifying diet, building up the skin’s tolerance gradually in order to cause it to repair, rejuvenate and shine.