A few months ago, I stumbled across
Swell Skin, a natural beauty soap with Cleveland roots. Created by Kelli Klus an alternative medicine practitioner and a firm believer in the body’s innate ability to heal itself given the proper environment. I like this chick.
Swell Skin claims to give the appearance of air-brushed skin within 24 hours - to create clear, even-toned luminous skin.
The bar of soap will run you $16, while the oil will run you $17. You can
order online, but I did find it at a local
Heinen's Grocery Store.
I was very intrigued and immediately ordered the all-in-one soap & buckthorn serum. As soon as my package arrived, I dived right in.
Did I experience immediate, overnight results?
No.
Did I expect to?
Not really. I mean, it would have been awesome, but that's a pretty big expectation for any product. I did, however expect to see improvements within a week, 2 weeks or at least a month... But the results, I was hoping for, clear skin, wasn't happening.
Full disclosure.
Right before trying this product, I started having 1-2 pimples pop up nightly! I mean every morning there was something new on my face. They were small, didn't stick around long, but being a vegan chick and knowing how much
dairy contributes to acne, I was like what the hell?!?
I was wracking my brain to figure out what was causing this sudden assault. Stress? Hormones gone wild? Food?
Then, I came across this
video and the light bulb exploded over my head!
At the very core, your skin is a reflection of what's going on inside you. And what's going on inside you is predominately a result of what you're eating. To quote,
Dr. John McDougall,
"It really is the food."
Once I saw this video, I knew instantly what was causing my skin issues...oil.
While I never waiver on the animal products (I don't have that luxury), I cheat with the oil. I never use it for cooking, but I get into it indirectly through going out to eat, bakery and processed foods.
I had in fact been having a very, very good time with alternative processed meats, bakery and going out.
And within 3 days of shutting all that down, my skin thanked me by stopping the breakouts. It really is the food...
So back to the soap.
Is it the miracle soup they claim it to be? I'm not really getting that vibe. But I also don't suffer from fine lines, moisture issues or inflammatory conditions like rosacea - all problems that this product claims to solve. I like to believe that by using this product that I never will.
I do like that when I buy it that I'm supporting a local start-up that is also giving back to the community. I like that its primary ingredient is sea buckthorn oil - a healing & regenerative natural ingredient that has been around for 1,000 years. I like that it's an all-in-one, simply, quick regimen. I also like that it's reasonably priced. I do wish it were organic though...
So, I'll keep using it until something shiny catches my attention and pulls me in another direction.
Check it out!
P.S. While this bar of soap is small, it lasts a really, really long time. In fact I have been using it for almost eight months now and it hasn't even shrunk yet! My secret, I store it in one of those travel soap cases to keep the moisture from the shower from prematurely dissolving it.
The doc, YOGAWOMAN explores the history of yoga and the role women have played in bringing it into a mainstream, modern practice. You'll learn about the numerous benefits of practicing yoga - some intuitive, some you may not have considered.
