The Holy Grail of Skincare
I've suffered from severe acne since I was in seventh grade. I tried EVERYTHING on the market from acne pills to face products. Nothing seemed to work! I was on birth control for about two years and that seemed to clear my face up, but the health costs were too high. After learning about what birth control does, what it is, and how bad it is for a woman's body, I went off of it in January of 2015. I knew that my acne would come back, but I wasn't prepared for how horrible it would be! I decided to make multiple all-natural skin care routines to see which one works best (post of my skincare routine after this post!). I use cold-pressed, organic oils, apple cider vinegar, and and many other products, but I still didn't see the progress that I wanted. I knew my diet and water had a huge impact, and being vegan has definitely helped clear up my skin, but something was missing. I actually aquired some beatiful infographics of "Superfoods" that we should be consuming on a daily basis. And guess what-9 out of the 10 are VEGAN! Whoop, whoop!
So, one of them is Spirulina. I actually have it in a powder form because I heard it's great for acne, so I thought I would try to make a mask out of it. I don't know about you, but I could NOT stand the smell! So, I didn't use the powder at all...even when I tried to put it into smoothies, I could still smell and taste it. I know a lot of other people who have no problem with the taste or smell, but I'm not one of them haha. But, as I was talking with my neighbor (who actually gave me the superfood infographics), he told me how amazing the tablets were since you just swallow them with water after a meal. He described how much energy he had during the day and how good he felt after taking them! So I immediately went to Sprouts and bought a bottle of 250 Spirulina tablets (and they were on sale!) for $15.99. Plus, there are so many great places to buy Spirulina online, I was just impatient and wanted them that day haha.
So, before I go into how it's ah-mazing, what exactly is Spirulina? "Spirulina is a microalgae that has been consumed for centuries due to its high nutritional value and supposed health benefits. Today, popular lifestyle personalities endorse Spirulina as a secret, potent "superfood," a "miracle from the sea."...According to the FDA, Spirulina contains significant amounts of calcium, niacin, potassium, magnesium, B vitamins and iron. It also has essential amino acids (compounds that are the building blocks of proteins). In fact, protein makes up about 60 to 70 percent of Spirulina's dry weight." (Live Science). You still have to get all of your nutrients from a healthy diet and lots of water, but Spirulina can be an awesome supplement!
So, these past few weeks I've been stressed like crazy, I've been sleep-deprived, and I haven't been eating well (=loss of energy during the day). I was breaking out and it just wasn't getting better with my daily skincare routine. After I bought the tablets from Sprouts, I took two with food and immedialtely noticed a difference in my skin! My acne started clearing and my skin started glowing! Obviously it hasn't cleared up all of the way, but it has made a bi
g difference. ON TOP OF THAT, I feel like I have a little bit more energy! I don't get tired as often, so I'm more active. I'm usually not a breakfast eater (I know, I should!), but I started eating a really healthy and easy breakfast of brown rice cereal, coconut shreds, pumpkin seeds, goji berries, and unsweetened coconut milk with a tiny bit of organic sugar. After I ate, I would take one or two tablets. My face clearing was more of a motivation to eat brekkie, haha.
I really recommend Spirulina, but of course, do not just rely on this one supplement! I try to drink lots of water, eat colorful meals, and get nutrients from a lot of other foods.
Have you tried Spirulina? Have you noticed any changes?
Look for my next post about my skincare system!
xoxo