This is the Pursuit of Wellness podcast, and I'm your host, Mari Llewellyn.
Hi, guys. Welcome back to the show.
My name is Mari. I am your host, and today we are talking skin.
We are going to hear from some amazing experts today.
I've had so many incredible skin experts on the show.
We talk about acne, aging, ways to just like, look you're glowiest I have personally been through my own crazy skin journey I am so happy with where my skin's at now I feel like I for the first time in my life I'm not struggling with breakouts I had 10 years of cystic acne so as a teenager I really like didn't have that much acne my acne really picked up like end of college into adulthood and it just got gradually worse and worse and i really couldn't figure out why i got so much testing done at first it was because i had high testosterone i was put on all these different antibiotics like doxycycline
and you know the the classic dermatologist solutions and none of it worked for me and it would just come and go come and go tried spironolactone that worked but not amazing i tried crazy diets i did carnivore I did keto.
I cut everything out.
It was actually such a crazy time for me.
The only thing that ultimately worked was figuring out that I had a gut bacteria called H.
pylori. I've talked about this many, many times.
So you should go back and listen to some of my H.
pylori episodes. If you want more info, listen to my episode with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon as well.
But ever since healing my acne, I feel like I've really gotten to focus on scarring, aging, kind of like the fun skin stuff which has been so exciting especially during ivf to have some like self -care tools to focus on it's been really fun so i wanted to just give you guys like some suggestions i have some products i've been loving tools i've been loving um i also spoke to my esthetician jackie from vixen which is where i get all my facials and got some suggestions from her of what to tell you guys with like products we've used on my face treatments we've done things like that i actually do really
want to get her on the podcast at some point but tbd right now we've kind of put a pause on guest episodes but coming back soon i'm just trying to get through this ivf home stretch so i want to talk to you guys about some of the things i do in my life that help with skin uh red light therapy huge i think red light therapy is amazing for face and body skin really good for scarring inflammation even like wound healing i feel like when i'm consistent with my red light is when my skin looks the best i love bond charge great red light therapy brand i work with them but i also just love the products
they have a red light face masks that you can do things while wearing you just wear it 10 minutes a day they also have panels tons of different options so red light therapy i also feel like you can meditate you can cook like so many things you can do while doing red light i also love the sauna or steam i think really good for sweating detoxing flushing out the skin obviously wash your face right afterwards but that has been like such a great tool for me i think that sauna steam sweating detoxing i feel like my skin always looks so good afterwards I just make sure that I wash my face really quickly
so that the sweat isn't sitting on my face.
You guys can also get like sprays that kill the bacteria.
I really like the hydranity hyacin mist. It's an antimicrobial mist. It remains stable and will kill, um, any bacteria.
So like I do that after riding my horse, after the gym, after the sauna, if you need a quick solution and you can't wash your face really, I mean, when my acne was really bad, I used acne products like hair.
You guys know I love Clear Stem.
They have acne safe body lotion, hair care, lip balm.
Like I do break out around my mouth quite a lot.
So I use acne safe lip balm.
I will say now that my acne is gone, I do use like regular makeup products because I feel like my skin isn't breaking out from it anymore.
So I kind of balance between acne safe and like like toxic is the wrong word, but like, you know, normal products.
Just something to keep in mind if you're struggling with breakouts.
I would say limited makeup.
Like if I'm not on camera, if I don't have important meetings, I'm just wearing my Colore Science sunscreen, which is tinted, and Benefit Lip Tint, eyebrow gel, and I'm curling my lashes and that's it.
Like I don't put makeup on my skin unless absolutely necessary.
I also love ice rollers if you're struggling with inflammation.
And as I just said, sunscreen daily.
I also have been playing around with the Gua Sha.
I have a stainless steel face gem Gua Sha that I'll do in the morning if I feel like I'm a little puffy.
I've definitely been dealing with face puff more with IVF, like with all the hormones and what have you.
So I've been enjoying that and just kind of like, you know, doing those self -care moments.
Some products I've been loving.
Okay. These are kind of like fun additions.
You guys has it probably seen me doing these my number one I feel like I'm gonna have to order more of these I don't want them to sell out I freaking love them are my Jouer eye masks they are like the gold eye masks I'll wear them to like workout classes walks they are so moist and make you so dewy under the eyes and I just feel like they're so hydrating but they are so cute like I've had a couple people ask me if I'm wearing Gucci eye masks which is so crazy because they look they kind of look like Gucci I think I saw them on Hailey Bieber and researched them I seriously I'm obsessed my drawer
is full of them so I'll just like go about my morning wearing these eye masks and people kind of don't care like they're like oh my god I love your eye mask so cute it kind of is a vibe it like fits with the Pilates look so I love love love my Jouer eye masks J -O -U -E -R so it's like French I I think jouet means to play in French, which is interesting.
Epicutus face masks.
These are my holy grail hydration masks.
It's like in a, it's a black packaging, very chic, very gorgeous, comes in a box.
They are a little more expensive, but these are like, they hydrate my face so well.
I wear them for like 30 minutes before bed.
It is like the perfect thing to do after traveling, even after the sauna, like anything that's drying your face out.
Like when I was in Colorado, I brought them with me, really, really good for that like glow.
Also, I posted this on TikTok today.
I have seen all the TikTok girlies, like Acquired Style and Bridget and all of them.
Maybe her name is Bridget.
All the cute girly pops on TikTok are doing this face mask where it looks like they have like 3D shiny skin when they wake up.
It's an overnight mask.
I believe it's Korean.
I'm not sure. It's it's called MediCube, okay?
I get it on Amazon.
I just ordered five more this morning.
You wake up and you peel it off, and it's like the most...
I mean, you're like a lizard. You peel your whole face off, and you're just so glowy and gorgeous underneath.
I am obsessed. I'm really weird with wearing stuff at night.
If I do weird hair things or face things, I feel it and I wake up a lot, so I'm a little bit tired today.
I think I'm also just anxious, but this face mask makes you so so glowy and gorgeous.
So now I get why all the girls are using it.
And I feel like so many of these products are from Asia.
Like, I feel like Asia really has their skincare figured out and we're just like catching on, you know?
So Metacube, it's like a little pink squeeze bottle, put it all over your face.
Be careful of getting it in your hair.
I definitely did that.
And it looks like I have dandruff everywhere, but I really just have like the face mask in my hair.
So that I've been loving.
And then I mentioned to you guys the Gua Sha.
I do like this part of my face like upper cheek jawline down the neck I don't do much more than that I don't really know the technique but it does feel good and I feel like it's like flushing out the lymph nodes okay some notes from Jackie my esthetician of what we did in the treatment room she wanted me to mention if you have breakouts and acne it's important that you find someone who specializes in acne they should have good before and afters testimonials just not all talk you want someone someone who's trained in face reality and DMK.
And I think that's really important.
I've, I've tried a lot of different estheticians and Jackie's been amazing for me because she's so acne focused and she has like an acne bootcamp here in Austin.
Oh God, I hope she doesn't get booked up either.
Jackie, keep my appointments please.
We do chemical peels.
We do microneedling.
I have microneedling booked with her this week for my scarring.
Like she's really seen me through every stage of my acne.
She's also really good because I'll text her like back when my acne was really really bad.
And I'd like freak out about a breakout.
She would talk me off a ledge, help me stop picking, all the things.
So she said I had a combination of inflamed cystic and non -inflamed acne.
We would do peels depending on what her skin could handle.
They were face reality brand peels.
We did LED therapy to kill acne causing bacteria and reduce inflammation.
When we started working on my pigment, we used a brightening peel.
That's we use now i think microneedling to address pigment and texture routine we have me using a gentle cleanser from clear stem we were icing the skin for inflammation i do mandelic acid i do beta gel which is like a hydration vivid brightening which is for scarring i do acne med which is benzoyl peroxide just a light amount on the face um we also used back when my acne was bad.
DMK Actrol powder. It's like a powder that like controls sebum production and you can kind of use it as a makeup, which is really cool.
So a lot of great tips here.
And also guys, I used to get extractions way too frequently back in LA.
These women would destroy my face.
It was crazy. Jackie's very like selective with when she's extracting me.
Always keeps it light, but like extractions do help.
You know, it depends on how much acne and what kind of acne, me but like every other week or so consistent peels someone who's just like very knowledgeable and helping you so yeah i wanted to give you guys a little look at what i do for my skin i hope this was helpful so now let's hop into this mashup of our best and most popular skin experts everyone is washing their face wrong what am i washing my face i mean probably okay what this is one of my biggest biggest things i like to talk about because think about the end of the day we are we're done we're exhausted we're literally i don't want to
mess up my mic but we're doing a five second like cleanser to get our makeup off if you took a white cotton round and put it on your skin what would that look like after you wash your face yep no you're right and i've actually tested this out.
And that's why I do multiple washes now, cleanses, because I was not doing it the right way.
And no one is. I mean, we're just not thinking about it.
So, POW Girls, I challenge you.
Put a timer on your phone for one minute and then cleanse your face, like facial massage.
Get in there. Make sure you're hitting your upper lip, the bridge of your nose, all the way up to to your hairline, your neck, like chin acne.
I mean, are we even washing?
The sebum, dirt, oil, indoor pollutants, outdoor pollutants, makeup.
Like how is your skin supposed to breathe and absorb any of your products if it's not clean?
I just use one cleanser, just one gel -based, gentle cleanser for my makeup.
And if I need to do it - Everyone's gonna want to know.
I love too. I love the Honest Simple Gel Cleanser.
It's like 15 bucks.
Really good. and then the clear stem cleanser is also incredible a little bit more expensive but it's very nice okay you love clear stem it's great that was my other question with all of these recommendations with diet stress um etc how important is the actual skincare we're using i think it's probably it's it's so hard because everyone's different it's like if your diet is 100 then it's 50 but it depends where you are in your journey and what you're what you're doing i always like to say it's probably 25 to 30 percent which is crazy because people think it's the thing that will fix their skin yeah
and it's not it's like the added bonus it's whoever you're talking to if you're talking to an esthetician they're gonna say skin care is 95 if you talk to a nutritionist they're gonna say diet is 95 if you talk to a dermatologist they're gonna say you know it's genetics and medication is going to be the 95 % and just put aquaphor on your face so everyone when you're listening to people online just know your intuition and what you think is happening in your body is is really what's happening yeah sure we have a lot of education to do if you're dealing with your skin and you're struggling but you
can't listen to everyone or everything you hear especially if there's some sort of motive that involves you paying someone yeah like the whole slugging trend i'm gonna pass on that one hard pass if you're acne prone hard pass yeah like love it for you guys not for me no no a crazy occlusive barrier that's literally meant to clog your pores they're using vaseline right yeah if you have dry 55 year old skin 60 year old skin they've never had a breakout go go off slug yourself enjoy like I'm not going to put the byproduct of oil manufacturing on my face personally but there's lots of things you could slug
with I love that I've been super into my hair and skincare lately and I wish I knew that satin is so so bad for you.
But Balissy's Silk is an incredible game changer.
It has made such a difference with my hair and skin.
It's so much better than satin, which is made from synthetics, rough on hair and and cheap for a reason.
Silk has anti -aging properties, reduces fine lines and wrinkles over time.
It also helps eliminate frizz and preserve hairstyles and protects color -treated hair.
It's dermatologist tested and recommended, clinically proven to not clog pores, which is really really helpful it's also antibacterial and hypoallergenic i feel like all of us girls are trying to maintain our blowouts keep things looking cute for many days in a row and silk can help us do that i am so obsessed with my blissy pillowcase it's like the one that i grab for every single night i'm absolutely obsessed because you're a listener blissy is offering 60 nights risk free plus an additional 30 off when you shop at blissy .com slash powpod that's blissy c -b -l -i -s -s -y dot com slash power pod p
-o -w -p -o -d and use code power pod to get an additional 30 % off your skin and hair will thank you I have been obsessed with health and fitness for so many years now and there's definitely so many niche health brands that I like to have in the fridge in the pantry that are difficult to find at my local grocery store and that is why I love thrive market I've been using it for years it's my go -to online grocery store for getting all of my healthy essentials delivered and I don't even have to leave my couch. I absolutely love Chomp's Beef Sticks, I love Primal Kitchen, I love C8A and they have all of my
favorite health brands on the website.
I also love the fact that Thrive Market is the no junk online grocery store.
It bans over 1 ,000 harmful ingredients so I know that they're filtering all of the food they have on there.
I also love that they have so many on -site filters which makes it so easy to shop for your needs whether it's gluten -free snacks high protein meals or non -toxic cleaning products I'm super focused on high protein and like paleo eating so I really like to filter that way and I can find my favorite things quickly I also love their healthy swap scanner if you have something you love and you want a healthy alternative you can scan the product and it instantly recommends a cleaner alternative for example they have simple mills crackers less say even popcorn and I love that I'm making better choices ready to
make the switch head to thrivemarket .com slash pow for 30 % off your first order plus a free $60 gift that's thrive market .com slash pow your content is amazing they eat to glow recipes are my fave what would you say they are your key principles when it comes to skin and like what actually works?
Yeah. I mean, there's so many things.
So it's like, okay, we'll get into it.
Some things I feel like no matter what is happening with your own personal gut or hormones, like this can be helpful and beneficial for you.
The number one thing that I would see when I did private coaching, stress is huge when it comes to skin and people often overlook that.
So what I always recommend mend is having some stress management practices.
And it might sound silly and woo woo, but just having those first 15 to 30 minutes of your day being phone free, caffeine free, and taking a moment, whether it's legitimately petting Arnold for 10 minutes and just getting a serotonin boost, or it's going on a silent walk, or it's stretching, like whatever feels good to you, that moment of decompressing and starting your day on a more mellow note is going to be really helpful for your hormones and your skin yeah as a mom do you wake up before od in order to get that time i wake up at five in order to like have your own moment yeah okay i like that i want
to give tips to any moms listening because i know i have a bunch yes i mean all you mamas out there first of all you're doing it no matter what you're doing you're incredible because it is truly the hardest job and the hardest job to balance, you know, having your own time to take care of yourself.
But I will say, myself included, we spend way too much time on our phones.
So if you had half of that time back, you could probably do all the wellness things that you wanted.
Okay, so stress, one.
Two is diet. And as Mari and I both experienced recently with cheese breakouts.
Not the cheese. Not me ordering pizza at my house.
Why do you do this?
I think it's i got it for the boys what is wrong with us like every weekend i'm like i could probably eat cheese now no still can't like what no bitch you can't because i have so many guests on the show who talk about the benefits of raw dairy and i'm like let me dabble but every time i break out and we're all so bio -individual so marie and i are sensitive girlies super sensitive in every meaning of the word we can't do anything fun no we can't but there are consequences including cheese i don't Even we both show up at Pilates with breakouts and we're like, I ate cheese.
Damn you. It's just so good.
It's so good. I know.
I will say, cheese hack, parmesan cheese, aged good parmesan cheese.
Most of the lactose, which is, you know, potential to break you out, is metabolized by bacteria.
So you can get away with parmesan.
I can get away with parmesan cheese.
Yep. I had it actually last weekend and I think my breakouts are just from microneedling right now.
so I think you're right.
So cheese hack. Cheese hack.
But diet is so, so huge.
Literally, your skin is a reflection of what's happening inside your body.
And the amount of inflammatory foods that we're eating, unbeknownst to us, for the most part, we're crazy with labels after however many years of stress and struggle.
But the average pal -girly may not realize how much sugar is in her food, how much inflammatory oils are in her food, what the dairy, the gums, the additives, preservatives.
I mean, I cook like 95 % of my food.
That's how I keep my skin clear.
And I know what's in it.
How do we know if a product is actually non -pork logging versus it's just marketing itself as clean?
This is something I've been getting into recently too.
This is very eye -opening for me.
They're completely different things.
I mean, the hard thing is, is that there's no real certification for clean skincare like there is for organic.
We don't know. It's a greenwashing marketing term.
It's really about knowing the ingredients and what their potential high usage result is.
So is it endocrine disrupting?
Is it causing cancer?
Is it irritating your skin.
And it is very, very challenging to distinguish product from product.
Plus, what no one really knows is say we figure out, okay, phthalates are bad.
Companies will then reformulate a chemical component and rename pretty much the same thing, a different jargony term, once consumers have found out what phthalates are.
They'll come up with a new jargony name so like it's really impossible for you to know what's clean find your trusted sources environmental working group think dirty brands like credo and that's your first line of defense yeah and the second line of defense if you're an acne prone girly is to find either an influencer you trust to shop their recommendations me emily mari and what she uses is brands that you trust. Maybe it's Clear Stem.
Maybe it's Cocokind, like those brands that don't use pork logging ingredients, even though Cocokind does have some.
So it really it takes a little bit of research or you can just find your people and know that they're doing the research for you.
You went through different stages of trying spironolactone, Accutane.
I didn't try Accutane.
That was one thing.
My dermatologist wanted me to do it as a last ditch resort but I knew I wanted to be a mother and just the potential infertility and you know the liver issues I was not willing to deal with any of those side effects being a nurse I actually read the information about the side effects and that was the one thing I didn't so same I never took Accutane what would you say are the craziest side effects of Accutane I need to look again because like right off the top of my head but I know that it can really damage your liver.
I know if you get pregnant, you can severely deform your fetus.
I know it can sometimes kind of bring up autoimmune issues, skin issues as far as like really dry, irritated red skin, skin that ages more prematurely because you have no oils.
I mean, there's a laundry list of things that can potentially happen.
And as we know from TikTok, Alex Earle four times on and Accutane, it's not a solution that people claim that it is.
Getting to the root cause of what's happening in your body and really being consistent about your health is what clears your skin.
It's wild seeing the popularity of Accutane now because influencers are posting about it.
And it's tough to watch from our perspective because we've kind of been through the actual healing process and you have to be so patient and willing to put in the hard work and I feel like watching these young girls take the Accutane and drink on the Accutane and continuously do it it's kind of watching like a car crash happen in slow motion you know what I mean.
And the sad thing is is that there's not access to resources to help people heal their skin actually like the dermatologists out there that your insurance pays for are going to prescribe you like they did with with me and probably you, topical antibiotics, oral antibiotics, spurnalactone, then to Accutane.
And you can't blame the young girls because it's, that's all they have access to.
I saw on TikTok something about mold and I was like, oh my gosh, that's what my skin looks like.
Like these are my symptoms. And, um, and yeah, so then I asked my doctor to take a test and it was positive for okra toxin A.
That's exactly what I had.
Yeah, exactly. And it sounds so so terrifying and it really is terrifying dude yeah I feel like a zombie I know mold mold is such a a weird thing too because it can keep popping up like we were just talking about before you can do a cleanse and eat a certain way and it will go away yeah but then you can be in a new environment or something will happen and it comes back like your immune system gets like triggered or something thing like yeah for example like i went to costa rica and out of nowhere my skin got so bad again all my symptoms came back like the candida was like roaring like wow so you
had candida too yeah okay i did as well uh -huh so wild do you know what's weird i have a theory what is it and guys this is not like a scientific theory like i have no idea what i'm talking about i just noticed a lot of girls with our coloring get this type of acne and i've literally asked an expert like is is it a fair skinned type of thing?
Yeah. And apparently not.
But I just do think that's interesting.
This might be able to give you some more insight.
I also got a genetic test and I have literally like, what do you, oh my God, I'm blanking on the word. What?
Genetic testing. I have, oh, it's a gene.
I have a gene where my body has a hard time detoxing.
Oh, what's it called?
It begins with an M.
Yeah, it's something.
It looks like the word motherfucker, fucker but it's not do you know what I'm saying sounds about right yeah yeah rightfully so it's the motherfucker gene okay and so I think I have that as well where you can't detox yeah and so my theory is that when I went into Costa Rica there was a lot of pollutants in the air and just things my body wasn't used to and same with when I moved to Nashville the same thing happened to me my body just freaked out because it's like whoa like I'm from northern California where it's dry and it's it's not humid and so I think you know when it's humid all that bacteria and pollutants
can float in the air a lot easier and so that's what I think happened and now I'm thinking when I moved to Austin it's way more humid in Austin than LA yeah perhaps that did the same thing to me it's possible I really appreciate you being transparent with even just showing your skin without makeup like for someone like me that's really really powerful like I even have a hard time going on camera without makeup it's so hard yeah it's really hard i can't even really i couldn't even go to the gym i was like i'm so embarrassed right now same and when you live such a healthy lifestyle and your skin doesn't
represent that oh my gosh it made me feel like a fraud online too because i like talk about all this health but then here i am with like all these issues and i'm just like yep trying to figure it out yeah and you know comments really don't bother me i very rarely care yeah but I occasionally will see a comment on my podcast videos where my skin was bad where they're like pointed out and be like who is this girl talking about health with acne that person like a healed happy person doesn't do that like it just really shows how upset they are about themselves because I feel like at least what I notice
with myself when I'm happy I only have good things to say to people I only have encouraging uplifting words but when I'm like a a little upset i definitely have some thoughts going through my head that i'm like okay like that's on me yeah but acne really is i think one of the biggest tests i've ever been through in my life because you need to start figuring out what you love about yourself outside of the way you look which is such a reality check it like teaches you where you place your value too like Like I didn't realize how much I placed it in my looks.
And when I, I'm not saying I got taken away from me, but when I had, was really insecure about it, you know, it made me realize like, oh, wow.
Like I do think about it that much. Like maybe I do need to take a step back and not be so vain and focus on the other areas.
Like it got so bad to where I'd be at the grocery store and I couldn't even look the cashier in the face.
I couldn't even give him a smile.
mile i'm like it's starting to affect how i treat other people yeah and that's when i was like whoa this maybe this is a problem i need to work on and maybe my acne will go away when i can fix that like who knows maybe it's like spiritual like that maybe the second you accept it is when you begin to heal people have told me that i'm still it's always a battle with me like some days i feel good about it some days i don't um but i've been there where i can't even look people in the eye i feel like it's all they see yeah living in la for me was really hard i mean for a lot of it i was on spironolactone
did you ever take that you know i took it like for a little bit and it messed up with my periods and it made me i think lose my period then have it twice in a month and so like when i did that i was like whoa good for you and so i stopped after like a month and then i even tried the topical still made my periods weird i'm so sensitive wow yeah i mean honestly a blessing because it's become so normalized but you can't to me if it's something you can't be on while you're pregnant why would you take it yes exactly you know how is it safe for me right it's not and people are just taking it like it's
casual and then there's a whole accutane craze right now on tiktok i know everyone's like have you tried accutane i'm like babe same and i'm like it's not gonna happen okay like literally never it's the one thing i've never done yeah i will do just about anything for my acne and not accutane like I'm currently taking kidney like I swallow chunks of kidney every day of like beef kidney or something oh my god I did that with liver I know you did how was that I mean it's fine I take it with like orange juice you still do it I mean not really because I don't like cutting it up and I know I have Greg
do it for me yeah Michael doesn't care enough to do it like not about me taking it sorry that's kind of so wrong but he He used to take it too, but he like doesn't think there's enough of a benefit to continue taking it.
Yeah. And so I think that he doesn't want to cut it up.
Got it. Yeah. That was my thought too with the liver, but I also think, so here was a theory that I heard. I have completely cut out dairy and gluten from my skin.
Yeah. But I've also, in doing that, I'm not getting enough vitamin A and I think organs are really high in vitamin A.
Yeah. Interesting. So I feel like, and that's what makes up Accutane is synthetic vitamin A.
Kidney's really disgusting.
Like it's bright red.
Oh gosh. I know. How do you eat it?
I just do the same thing as you.
I have a chunk. I freeze it.
Yeah. It's basically like taking a pill.
Does it not like. No, freezing is way better.
Really? Because I feel like if it's like slimy, it can just go down.
I know. I know. No, no, no, no, no. That, that honestly makes me want to throw up.
If it's hard, it's like a capsule to me.
Really? How small are you?
But I do think it's a little bit stuck.
Yeah, exactly. Are you continuing?
No. I know I stopped for a while, but I'm back.
Do you notice a difference?
I've only been doing it for three days.
Okay. TPT. Did you bring it here?
I was like, should I bring it in my little lunchbox?
Like I do travel in the lunchbox, but it's just too disgusting.
Like, you know, but when I get home, I also do.
I mean, I've done just about everything at this point for my skin.
I do glutathione shots in my butt every week.
that's been helpful.
Shots, like an actual shot.
An actual injection because glutathione is best absorbed through an injection.
I take that in like the powder, but it's in like a capsule from my doctor.
Injections are good too.
I know. No, it's insane.
My whole life revolves around my skin.
There's also these peptides.
I don't know much about peptides.
So just my personal experience.
I'm taking LL37, which is actually for mold.
No. Yeah. And it helps your body detox.
toxin I I don't know if it's helped really like my symptoms have gotten better I haven't taken another test to see like what it's done but LL 37 I've done BPC 157 that one really like my knees sometimes I'll have like knee aches from working out and I take that and the next day literally gone like it's fine wow yeah insane that one's a big difference people love BPC 157 epithalon is good for fertility apparently are you taking it i did for a little bit i'm on i'm on so much stuff it's crazy i take so many supplements i know i feel like i do too yeah i i show it sometimes online and people are like
i think i saw one of yours like are you good i'm like we're just trying to heal my skin how do you handle makeup like do you use certain clean makeup makeup honestly i don't really even wear that makeup much makeup day to day unless i'm like filming um but i just use the luminous silk and like i think i don't know if it breaks me out to be honest because i used to wear it when i had no breakouts and i was like fine um but i heard i actually heard on your podcast that they changed the formula to it and so i was wondering like oh maybe that's why oh not you remembering a fact that i didn't even
know from my podcast yeah wow wow i was like studying that i had like my my browser up like the clear stem one yeah yeah those girls are great yeah really good yeah really really good i use um illuminate i get it on amazon and it's like the non -pore clog i use all non -pore clogging makeup right still not working but anyways right because i use like ilia or whatever yeah yeah aren't they supposed to be clean and like not apparently not anymore makes me break out really bad same yeah same which is a bummer because it has like the zinc sunscreen that's like better for you none of us are safe like
what the hell if you're anything like me you try to get in as much water as possible but we can't always trust that we're getting clean water according to the environmental working group three out of four homes in america have harmful contaminants in its tap water which is not something i want to be worrying about for myself my family my dogs that's why you guys need aqua true greg and i have used this for a very long time it uses a four -stage reverse osmosis purification system they even have countertop purifiers with no installation or plumbing it removes 15 times more contaminants than ordinary
pitchers and are specifically designed to combat chemicals like pfas in your water supply pfas are unfortunately found in 45 of us tap water and can have harmful effects on our health long term plus if you have pets you want to make sure they're getting nothing but the best and aqua true can do that for you long -term exposure to high concentrations of PFAS can lead to cancer endocrine disruption and liver toxicity which is why aqua true is so so so important I can truly taste the difference it feels so much more pure and it gets delivered straight to your home and it's a super easy setup and I
never have to hesitate drinking my own tap tap water.
AquaTrue comes with a 30 -day money -back guarantee and even makes a great gift. Today, my listeners receive 20 % off any AquaTrue purifier.
Just go to aquatrue .com, that's A -Q -U -A -T -R -U .com and enter code POW at checkout.
That's 20 % off any AquaTrue water purifier when you go to aquatrue .com.
Use promo code POW, P -O -W at checkout.
I know so many women who struggle with period discomfort, and I really feel like there's not enough brands out there talking about women's health and that's why i love phoria they create award -winning products to support intimate experiences across every stage of life from menstruation to menopause their relief collection features life -changing all -natural formulas designed to provide relief from menstrual symptoms and period discomfort whether you're looking to spice up your relationship find an all -natural period comfort or give the gift of pleasure to a loved one or friend phoria's unique formulas
are for everybody they have relief melts to provide natural internal menstrual support these are easy to insert suppositories that are made with cacao butter and 100 milligrams of the highest quality cbd to relax tension and pelvic discomfort they recommend using the melts right before cramping starts they recommend laying down elevating the hips so you can insert the melt in it it can absorb more deeply than staying in this position so it can fully absorb i've seen so many many people absolutely love fourier it helps so much with the discomfort that we shouldn't be dealing with so it really really
is helpful they also have a relief salve which is a game changer for taming the tension and muscle soreness you might get during your period it's made with full spectrum cbd for ultimate relief plus organically grown carver ginger saint john's wart eucalyptus and other soothing botanicals i can read insanely going reviews for four years website all day but but you really just have to try the formulas yourself to understand whether you're looking for period relief or something to get you in the mood and enhance pleasure.
I highly, highly recommend you check out their all natural formulas.
The good news is that FOREA is offering a special deal for our listeners.
Get 20 % off your first order by visiting foriawellness .com slash pow or use code POWER at checkout.
That's F -O -R -I -A wellness .com forward slash POW for 20 % off your first order.
You'll thank me later.
later you guys know that fitness and well -being nutrition are all such important parts of my life but i really think there's a way to do it and keep it fun i think eating and socializing should be enjoyable we should be able to eat chips and so many of them are made with seed oils artificial flavors and preservatives but masa chips are made with three ingredients organic nixtamalized corn corn grass -fed beef tallow and redmond sea salt no seed oils no weird additives just real food that actually supports your body i actually had friends over for a taco night this past week and i put out masa chips
and guacamole and they were literally gone before we started eating so they are really freaking good i have so many in my pantry it's just a great snack to grab for and you know and trust that you're getting good ingredients in your body i don't think you have have to eliminate chips but i think there's a way to do it and use good ingredients plus i feel like when i eat things with bad ingredients in them i just feel sluggish the next day masa is a better option that doesn't leave me feeling bloated or sluggish and i like eating in a way that's balanced and sustainable eat them with guac or a protein packed
meal with a salad there's so many ways to eat them and style them with your diet if you want to try masa for yourself head to to www .masterchips .com forward slash discount forward slash Mari20, and use my code Mari20 for 20 % off your order, M -A -R -I 20.
Trust me, you'll never go back to regular chips again.
I want to talk about pore -clogging ingredients.
I feel like this topic is really popping off right right now in skincare, in makeup, we're kind of all realizing as a society, and you guys knew this already, but clean doesn't always mean actually clean.
It's like a marketing term, right?
So talk to us about what pore clogging ingredients are and where should we be like looking out for them?
I love this question.
So we're the ones making this topic pop up.
We don't shut up about don't shut up.
So I love that you're mentioning this clean does not mean acne safe.
It just flat out does not mean acne safe.
And people get duped by this all the time because, you know, in our head we think clean and yeah, that should mean free of poor cloggers, but it doesn't.
It means free of like endocrine disruptors and toxins and things like that that are also very important to eliminate, but it doesn't have anything to do with acne.
You can have the cleanest routine ever and be using things that have like organic shea butter and shaman blessed coconut oil, it's still going to break you out because it is thicker than our natural oil.
And that's as simple as we need to be thinking about it.
So pore clogging ingredients.
So acne is both internal and external.
Anyone who tells you differently does not know what they are talking about.
So internal we touched on and we really dove into it on episode one.
But external is where people really need to have that crucial attention to detail.
And we made that simple for them.
So So when you are using a product topically and it has any filler agent that is thicker than your natural oil, it can clog your pore and you will break out relentlessly forever, even if you're doing everything else right.
So eliminating these is the crucial step one.
You copy and paste the ingredients into the ingredient checker that we designed on our website.
Hit enter. It'll tell you in red if there's a pore clogger.
This is the number one thing you do before you change anything else.
before you change your diet or go eliminating anything check your makeup your hair care your your all skincare for pore cloggers because you will find culprits in there and that's the first thing to eliminate and replace and everyone listening i know this feels like a task and it is a task but it is so worth doing like sitting there and putting everything in i probably should go back and do mine again because i didn't use your guys's the first time i think i used more more of a vague one.
And I think I need to go back and really check.
But I always use Clear Stem and I love and trust your guys' brand.
My husband's mom uses it now, which I absolutely love.
She was like, what is that orange bottle you're always using?
And I'm like, oh my god, it's Clear Stem Cleanser, obviously.
But anyway, I really think it's super important.
What do pore clogging ingredients do other than give us acne?
They create dullness in the skin and they prevent the skin from being able to quote breathe.
So even if you don't have acne and you just want to age well because ClearStem is equally anti -aging and anti -acne.
That's why we talk about this so much because even if your concern is just primarily anti -aging, if you're using things that are kind of weighing in your pores and like taking up too much space and interfering with sweating and interfering with other nutrient absorption from your other skin care, it's going to have a negative impact on how you age.
So letting your skin, you know, keep it as breathable as possible.
Just think of it that way.
And eliminating things like coconut oil, for example.
It's extremely thick.
It's a wax at room temperature.
It doesn't go in your pores.
For some people, it's their holy grail for like maybe like 10, 15 % of the population.
For the rest of us, it's just not the best thing, right?
So eliminating those can help your skin do its own natural processes better and allow for better absorption of everything else you're using like anti -aging ingredients such as peptides, right?
You want those to have full access to your skin and be able to penetrate as much as possible.
So removing the things that are too thick will help for better penetration of the good stuff.
What I love about your guys's brand, what I love about Clear Stem is the fact that you have both struggled with acne.
And I always say this, but I don't trust anyone's advice if they haven't had acne.
Oh yeah. If you haven't gone through, I won't even hire anyone at the clinic who hasn't gone through it.
Hard stop. So I went and got this facial and it was, I was just going for more lymphatic work, buccal massage, all of those things.
And, you know, I was trying to be cool and relaxed and not like hyper check every single product she was using on my face.
I asked her ahead of time, is there anything with pork clogging ingredients?
I listed off some of them.
She's like, no, no, no. Like, okay.
And normally I grab the bottle and I look and I'm like, I'm just, I'm going to be a cool girl today.
It's like, as you're talking about, like eating the RX bars hours and you're like I'm just gonna relax I'm a normal girl I'm a normal girl today so just being chill relaxed I ended up breaking out so bad from that facial come to find out the exfoliating mask she used had shea butter in it so like my skin's being exfoliated and cleaned out and then shea driven so deep into my pore because exfoliation something another topical cream she had shea butter and I'm like oh so I end up having like five cystic ones this was like three weeks ago go around my cheeks and I was like I haven't dealt with that in a while
because I am so hyper aware of everything causing acne but I just go right I went right back into the mindset I'm like all right instead of getting really down about this I'm going to put myself on a protocol and that was more external because this one wasn't caused from internal so I did our exfoliating mask I did our we have a little diamond buff tool I like buffed around it and then I did our sulfur spot which I hadn't got because we just launched our sulfur spot mask a few months ago.
So I hadn't gotten to try it on my skin while I was actively breaking out.
I tried it when I didn't have acne and oh my gosh, Danielle, Danielle whipped this up in the lab.
It's insane. It's insane.
I was showing this on stories and I'm like, I know I'm biased and like we created this product, but like, oh my God, I'm like shocked by my own product that we have because I got, so I have really fair skin.
And so I can have pigmentation leftover from acne for weeks and weeks and weeks.
Me too. And I use the sulfur spot mask two or three days in a row.
And then so many pumps of cell renew because cell renew can help a lot with the pigmentation.
And I got my cysts to flatten in two days and all the pigmentation was gone within a week.
Wow. I was like, what?
Okay. So that's the hack.
That's the hack. And so it's like, you have your internal and your external protocol.
We talked about the internal one.
It's like, Like, all right, got to whip it into shape for a few days for a week.
Let me get everything back in shape.
And then same with external.
Like if you break out from poor caulking ingredients, you have your little protocol.
And I was like, I'm not going to get down about this.
I'm just going to get right to the protocol.
I'm going to zap these and we're going to be done.
So it felt good having the confidence of knowledge in that of like, this sucks.
I don't want to have to deal with these, but I'm going to get rid of these.
Do you sleep in the sulfur treatment?
You can. I can. So it's a spot and mask and you can use it a lot of different ways.
So you can treat I love to tell people you can treat different areas of your face wildly differently.
Like your forehead's the most perfect patch of skin I've ever seen.
Right. But you have your hot zone is what I call it.
Right. So you can if you're chilling at home, you can just leave that on that zone all day and then have a moisturizing mask on your forehead or an eye patch mask on.
Like your different zones of your face should be treated accordingly.
excitingly. So you can leave the mask on proactively for like, say like 30 minutes.
Think of it like a clay mask on steroids, right?
So you can do that for 30 minutes and then rinse it off and then continue with your normal routine.
Or you can leave it just on spots, layer your makeup over it.
Or you can leave it overnight.
Like a lot of people just break out right on their jawline.
You can do your whole skincare routine and then just leave the spot mask on your entire jaw overnight.
Okay. And that's awesome.
So play around with it.
We want everyone to become their own personal esthetician and test things out and really learn like oh I can do two layers of this and my skin loves it or I should do my clarity every other night that's my perfect you know my perfect regimen so yeah there's different ways to use everything and the mask is extremely versatile okay I love that I'm definitely gonna do that because I am such a like hair down type of person a lot of people are yeah okay yeah that makes me feel better so I asked the the girls if they had questions for you and I saw a couple things keep popping up retinoid I feel like
it's a huge topic on TikTok what's the view on retinoids they're they're all different I mean if you get like a really low strength uh you know let's call it a vitamin A appropriate like a more you know gentle one and it's in a formula that is you know also has some calming ingredients it might make you purge a little bit you might like the benefits right pretty much all retinols are Uh, it depends.
So when we're purging in a detox, like an internal detox scenario, yeah, it's coming out one way or another and we're forcing it out.
And if you're acne prone, it's going to come out through your skin versus like say you were purging, you were doing a cleanse protocol, but you were really prone to anxiety.
It would show up as anxiety, right?
So in that context, yes, it is part of a means to an end.
Purging in skincare is sometimes necessary, sometimes not.
So back to the types of retinol.
So if you're using one that's gentle and it's appropriate for your skin you might get a little bit of a purge and it might go away for you if you're not that acne prone great you're one of the lucky ones if you go and use one of the prescription ones the prescription retin -a or prescription tretinoin those are known to create nasty purges and there's two different kinds of it one's a gel one's a cream the cream white one usually has a ingredient called isopropyl miristate which is like one of the worst pore clogging fillers that exists so what i have seen in my 10 years of doing this and my own
personal experience right um when people start using that one they get a nasty purge their skin is very red and irritated and the purge never stops because their pores are getting refilled with the filler agent that that thing is made of gives me so much anxiety it's crazy it's interesting when we talk about it and we post on instagram and there's reels about it you have a we have a lot of people in the comments that are like thank you so much for saying this i like i couldn't use any types of retinols i couldn't use the prescription version i didn't know what was wrong with me because my best
friend could use it but i couldn't and i tried to stick it out through the purge but it just it crushed me i get crushed my mental health and it just did not work for me i thought something was was wrong with me thank you for saying this like this changed my life and then there's a whole other grouping of people that are honestly kind of nasty in the the comments if i'm if i'm being retinoid warriors they are literally retinol warriors and they are so mean so nasty in the comments that we are simply educating about both sides of the story it's like there are like there are people that cannot use
it the same way like there's some people who are highly allergic to vitamin c there's some people that are uh like there's very specific ingredients that some people just cannot use for their skin and that's back to a bioindividuality but when you're talking about poor cloggers like the acne community is not going to be able to use those products that contain it but it's just been interesting to see how activated and angry people get when we speak out against prescription retinols in reality we're just speaking to the people that want to feel heard yeah that are like i've tried this and it destroyed
my skin it destroyed my mental health i never stopped purging we don't want them to feel alone and we don't want them to feel bullied into oh no you just didn't use it it right or you didn't use it for long enough it's like no it didn't work for their skin they didn't like it it just it destroyed their skin and so we want to make those people feel seen and heard in their own experience yeah and a lot of um you know we it's not like us versus the dermatologist right like we don't want to be positioned that way but dermatologists have a very specific set of playbooks and a very limited set of tools
that they're able to use antibiotics antibiotics birth control spironolactone topical retinol there's some other stuff mixed in but those are the big ones right and then accutane when all of those fail yeah so those are the people that vehemently defend the status quo because those are the only tools they have yeah they literally can't go over your products with you they don't have time in the appointment they're not trained on nutrition for acne the average md gets about 19 hours of nutritional traditional education in their entire career.
And it's all about contraindications for prescriptions, like don't have grapefruit if you're on statins, like that kind of thing.
It's not anti -inflammatory eating.
It's not egg white sensitivity for a certain part of the population affecting their lymphatic zone.
None of that gets talked about.
So there's just a lot of people get so activated because the information is pretty siloed depending on what angle you're coming at this from.
And we just like to explain to people why they might be having a certain experience.
So important. And I think when these trends pick up on TikTok, it spreads like wildfire and you almost feel like, oh, I haven't tried that.
Like, is that something I need to try?
And as an acne prone gal, I see these things and get tempted, but most of the time I don't react well.
So I appreciate you guys speaking to that.
On the topic of purging, something that I've found that makes me purge really bad that I wanted to pick your guys' brain about is microneedling.
And I I know it's so beneficial.
Is it worth doing if it's making me break out this bad?
You're not supposed to do micro...
So I love that question and I'm sorry you're having the experience.
I actually just got microneedled two days ago and I pushed the appointment because I was having a little bit of breakout from a makeup that I got done during a photo shoot.
It was breaking me out a little bit.
So I actually pushed the appointment.
If you are past the breaking out stage or you're in a stage where you're not really breaking out, then microneedling is fantastic.
If you're still in the throes of a breakout cycle, hold off.
I've microneedled people for years and what I'll do is because I'm an acne specialist, almost everyone's having some sort of issue with acne.
What I'll do is I can go around the area and I'll just treat that area with a little bit of peel.
But I won't touch the area that's actively breaking out.
You could do your forehead and your cheeks and be totally fine.
I highly doubt you'd purge there.
But if it's in your hot zone, you're going to purge.
Okay. I did it when I wasn't breaking out.
Really? Yeah. What did they put on after you?
Sorry, what did they put on?
Because the balm that they give me, I throw it away.
It was called, it had some scientific name, not isotope.
It was like, it was - Do you want to, for your audience, let's look up the ingredients to that balm and see if that's what was actually causing it.
It was like a liquidy.
She said it was great for healing.
I mean, potentially you're right.
Do you recommend doing nothing after?
So we use our Selver New Serum.
Our Cell Renew serum is actually so gentle that it can be used as a microneedling solution.
So I just use a ton of that.
And then that, and I do with PRP and the good places will send you home with a little to -go vial of your PRP.
So the first two nights I'm just doing Cell Renew and the PRP.
And then after that, I'm just doing our hydrating products.
If you need a balm, which, you know, you should have that if you're like doing like a laser treatment or your skin's really compromised, Aquaphor is actually okay for very acute situations situations and it won't break you out.
Okay. PRP is blood.
It's where they take your blood, they spin it and they get the platelet rich fibrin or platelet rich plasma.
There's PRF and PRP.
But yeah, it's basically from your own blood.
Okay. Cause I've never been given PRP.
Oh, so I wonder if I think you would like that.
Yeah. That's my, I now won't do microneedling unless it's PRP because with how pricey it is, you get more of a benefit from PRP than you do Do just an average hyaluronic acid solution.
Yeah, it kickstarts the healing response that you're ultimately banking on.
You know, all of these treatments, you're doing a controlled inflammation technique to get the healing response.
Like you inflame yourself at a four, you heal at an eight, you net the four.
Does that make sense, right?
So a lot of times where these go wrong is you're not amplifying the healing process directly after.
And the 48 hours post any procedure is crucial.
Crucial, right? So having a practitioner who really understands your skin and can help make sure that that window is optimized right after the treatment, that's the fun thing to really dial in, and PRP is a big part of that.
Okay, so next time I go, I will get the PRP.
Yes, and SPF is so, so important in all the day.
I mean, always. It's important every day, but especially in those following days after PRP, and if they send you microneedling, if they send you home with one, make sure that you are quadruple checking those ingredients, because 99 % of the time SPFs are going to have pore cloggers in them.
So, I mean, we have our You Are Sunshine, we have our Sunny Side.
You can use those. But any non -pore clogging SPF is fine.
That is a mineral, not a chemical -based sunscreen.
So you want to be looking for zinc, no pore cloggers, and that's going to be your safety sunscreen for after.
You're pretty much not going to find that anywhere but us.
Just get You Are Sunshine.
It's the best sunscreen ever made.
I use You Are Sunshine every single day.
Every single day. best i made it to i don't leave the house without it on i also use it when i'm going to an early morning workout and i because it has a little bit of a tint and it just makes me feel like a little cuter than yeah oh you know what you can do too mix a little bit of your makeup in there i use loose powder and i have some liquids you can mix both in there and make your own little custom cc cream boom it's the best it really is the best it's like one of my top three products from you guys i love the lips and cutes the gentle cleanser and the you are sunshine all my toe healing so so restoring
for the skin. Obsessed.
Do you guys have any makeup brands that you would recommend that are non -pore clogging?
Yes. Our OG from the very beginning is Priya.
Okay, I just placed a very large Priya order.
Good, you're the color warm beige.
Oh, I think I got warm beige.
Yeah, it's gonna look perfect on you.
It's gonna look so, maybe a little bit of caramel sprinkled in there for like if you have a self -tanner on to help balance it out.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay.
We are obsessed. And that's spelled P -R -I -I -A.
Yes. And you can't, she's a small women -owned business, but she's an acne specialist who follows the exact same ethos.
Oh my God, I love that.
Yeah. So she's not going to reformulate with nasty stuff because that's what happens all the time.
I'll recommend a brand, it's fine, and then it's not fine anymore.
Armani Luminous Silk used to be safe.
It's not anymore. And there's an ingredient in it that's called Hexyllorate, and it's popping up more and more on pore clogging lists.
And if you're super acne prone like I am, it does clog me up a little bit.
But most other people are fine with it.
So there's always a scale.
It's never 100 % yes or 100 % no most of the time.
But Priya is 100 % safe.
Yes. I've also, we've found two others that are more in the liquid form that I've been trying out.
I've tried Euphoria, Youthphoria.
I just ordered that too.
Yeah, I've been trying Youthphoria, which is a great liquid.
And then one I've really been loving, it's by the company called Make Beauty.
And it's very specifically their Dew Skin Tint.
again what Priya every single thing she sells is always acne safe a lot of these other brands we're talking about we have to pick and choose what products and they could potentially reformulate one day so always triple check um but I've been loving the make beauty one and that's the one I've actually been mixing into my UR sunshine sunshine to create this like glowy seamless foundation that I've been absolutely loving and then but Priya it's I know we're like talking about it so much, but they have these calming ingredients in it and your skin just radiates truly when you wear it.
Yeah. You can go to bed with a full face of Priya makeup and wake up better the next day.
Thank you for joining us on the Pursuit of Wellness podcast. To support this show, please rate and review and share with your loved ones.
If you want to be reminded of new new episodes, click the subscribe button on your preferred podcast or video player.
You can sign up for my newsletter to receive my favorites at Mariluelen .com.
It will be linked in the show notes.
This podcast is a Pursuit Network production brought to you by Michaela Phillips, Joel Contartese, Daviel Waldner, Jen Lauren, and Mackenzie Mizell.
You can also watch the full video of each episode on our YouTube channel at Pursuit of Wellness Podcast. Love you, Power Girls and Power Boys.
I will see you next time.
The content of this show is for educational and informational purposes only.
It is not a substitute for individual medical and mental health advice and does not constitute a provider patient relationship.
As always, talk to your doctor or health team.
