“How come you don’t have any wrinkles?” People often ask me, point blank. I’m “supposed to” have wrinkles, after all—I’m over fifty. Specifically, they mean the area around the eyes, one of the first places the telltale signs of aging will show on a woman’s face. The surprising truth, however, is that crows’ feet and wrinkles around the eyes may less mark age than they indicate sun damage, dehydration and weak muscle tone. Read the rest of this entry »

Mornings, for some, are a discouraging part of the day. Waking up can be hard enough…and then you look in the mirror. “Whoa!” you say. “What happened?”

You can try a cold washcloth, as I have. But it only goes so far to bring down the puffiness in your face. Read the rest of this entry »

Nothing gives away your age like your neck. The neck region, or décolleté, often gets neglected. In younger years, its skin tone and musculature are more in-sync with the face, lending a youthful, graceful look. After 40, an almost imperceptible decline leads to fat deposits under the chin, weakened muscles and loose skin. And you can double that trouble if you’ve lost weight rapidly. We’ve all seen, and some of us have had, that turkey wattle. Weight loss, sun damage, diet, and heredity all play major roles in how our necks age. Women do seem to care meticulously for their faces, yet all too often that caring stops at the chin. Read the rest of this entry »

People ask me: There are these new high-tech “stem cell creams” on the market. What do you think about them?Here’s the scoop on stem cells…Suppose you cut your finger. Your wound is able to heal because other skin cells around the damaged area divide and migrate to seal the wound. Break a leg, and chondrocytes (bone-forming cells) will repair the damage. Read the rest of this entry »

Most people bathe regularly. Most brush their teeth. But few realize the importance of cleaning brushes and combs. Show me the most fastidious, well groomed person you know, and I can assure you his brushes and combs are covered with things only a microbiologist could imagine. Read the rest of this entry »

Testimonial of the Month (November 2009)
Hello Tonya!

I just couldn’t hold back without letting you know how much I appreciate having come across your book Your Right to Be Beautiful. It may surprise you that a middle aged man can be interested in such a subject. The fact is that, although a vegetarian for as far as I can remember, nothing in my appearance distinguished me much from the average person and only recently I realized the “why?”. Read the rest of this entry »

Dear Tonya…
All my life I’ve had nasty, dark circles around my eyes. And now, some fine lines that crinkle like crows’ feet whenever I laugh or smile. It’s hard to conceal them using makeup, since I have uneven skin tone and it all looks fake. This makes it very hard for me to look attractive. It hurts, and some days I dare not look at myself in the mirror. Read the rest of this entry »

One of my favorite things about the raw food diet…It starts out a diet and ends up a lifestyle.

You never stop evolving, improving, and perfecting. It starts with food choices and moves up and up the scale until every aspect of your life is turned around. One step at a time, as you are ready, you make improvements that result in an astounding transformation.
. Read the rest of this entry »

With the introduction of my latest beauty product, Your Right to Be Beautiful Scalp Tonic, I’m bound to be asked a few questions. How does it work? Why? How should it be used? Read the rest of this entry »

Tonya Zavasta at 54

Sensitive Skin is Not Normal

We should not have sensitive skin that reacts badly to everything. Skin is the largest organ in our body. Imagine what would happen if all of your other organs were sensitive and broke out in rashes or became irritated, burning and stinging at the slightest provocation. Would you call that “normal” or “healthy”? The general recommendation is: Sensitive skin takes sensitive care. Sounds good. But it’s Not, at root, always the best advice. This is dealing with side effects, not the cause of the problem.

Your Skin is a Messenger

Your skin tells much about what is going on inside of you. If your skin is constantly breaking out, inflamed or burning and needs to be soothed and medicated, that should set off alarm bells for you. When sensitive skin flares up, it’s called many things: acne, dermatitis, rosacea, redness, burning, stinging.

Inflammation

All the skin issues mentioned above amount to the same thing—inflammation. People with sensitive skin have some type of inflammatory response either to external causes (such as cosmetics or sunlight) or to internal causes (such as food or medication). Many things can cause our skin to be sensitive, but diet stands somewhere at the root of most. Cooked foods create sensitivity and inflammation, particularly foods high in sugar.

The Naked Truth

Here is the naked truth…You will never have beautiful skin if it’s too sensitive. You can’t brush it or work with overly sensitive skin. One of the worst drawbacks of sensitive skin is that it cannot tolerate enough exfoliation, if any. That is why ultra-sensitive skin that reacts unfavorably to stimulation needs to be addressed internally first.

Healthy skin is robust. It heals fast after any external vexation. One reason: speedy cell turnover. It is this ability that rejuvenates your skin. And it is regular removing of dead cells that stimulates new cell development. Stimulation is the key, but sensitivity is its worst enemy. Only the raw foods diet, no matter your age, can help you defeat it. You don’t have to resort to special medicated, hypoallergenic products or questionable chemicals to keep irritations and flare-ups at bay. You’ll only handicap your skin by resorting to these methods, since these only address the symptoms, not the cause.

Your skin’s condition reflects your internal health. Anyone who’s enjoyed a life-changing nutritional experience knows the feeling. Raw food aficionados surely do. So do vegans and vegetarians of every stripe and hue. So, too, does the simple dieter—the person who’s lost weight, say, by shedding pizzas and burgers and learning to enjoy good salads, fresh fruit, lighter meals better chosen. You feel better. You look better. And no part of “looking good” is more significant, visually, than the appearance of your skin.

Juicing is a Must

A raw food diet that includes daily juicing will help take care of your internal health so that the skin cells being manufactured are healthy ones. Juicing delivers outstanding nutrients and hydration from the inside. Within several weeks you skin will become less sensitive. Then you can begin your exterior beauty regimen. A good, consistent skin care regimen will cleanse, moisturize, soothe and exfoliate from the outside so that new, healthier skin cells can replace the old ones.

Skin Brushing

If you currently do have sensitive skin, you may have to go through an uncomfortable phase when you first start your regimen. I did. Be gentle. But be faithful. Brush your skin and apply a facial masque daily. Most of all, give yourself—and your skin—time to adjust. As well, if you’re new to the raw foods lifestyle, or returning after a time away, you must give your raw food diet, and those fresh vegetable juices, time to work their magic from the inside. Start slowly. Gently. Work your way up. You may find it beneficial to follow your masque and brushing sessions with Your Right to Be Beautiful Facial Cream. One of the main ingredients is Sea Buckthorn oil which is remarkably soothing and helps rapid healing of irritated or sensitive skin.

I used to have sensitive skin. But I got over it. When I first started using a facial masque, it caused a slight burning. Dry brushing resulted in minor irritation and redness. But I persisted because I knew what I was doing and why. Now, I am not shy to admit, I have such healthy skin that I can brush it vigorously several times a day. Frankly, the more I brush, the better my skin looks! I am not plagued by flare-ups, rashes, and stinging or burning sensations. You shouldn’t be, either. You can attain a beautiful, healthy, glowing complexion with the right skin care regimen and the raw food diet.

Testimonial

One of my readers wrote to me:
“I will vouch for everything you are saying: I used to have terrible ‘photodermatitis.’ I couldn’t even walk to the mailbox in the sun without breaking out in swollen, itchy, stinging red welts for days, especially around my mouth. Now, I can sunbathe freely and feel and look fabulous. I am not being overdramatic when I give your products and methods most of the credit.”

I give most of the credit to two things. The first: the raw foods lifestyle. And second: hot yoga. Both practices detox your body and free your skin from any sensitivity. To learn more about both, read my new book, Raw Food and Hot Yoga.