Recently I’ve noticed that many of my patients are suffering from what I call “sick skin.” Their complexion looks dull and tired. It’s lost that glow we all associate with youth and good health.
Sick skin comes from living in a modern world full of thousands of man-made chemicals. Those toxins seep into the deepest layers of your skin. They block nourishing blood flow from healing your skin. And worst of all, they stop your skin cells from renewing themselves.
Healthy skin cells should completely replace themselves every six to eight weeks. But if your skin is sick, it can’t produce fresh new cells. Toxins in your skin interfere with your natural skin renewal cycle.
In just weeks your face begins to look tired and dull. Your skin becomes puffy. You notice dark under-eye circles and wrinkles.
To reverse the damage and restore a natural glow you have to get rid of the toxins that have built up in your body.
But even the most powerful cleansers or the most expensive exfoliants won’t do the job. These toxins don’t wash away. They lodge deep in the layers of your skin where exfoliants and cleansers can’t reach them. They even accumulate inside your skin cells. You end up with a very sluggish skin renewal system.
Here’s just one example of how it works. The air we breathe every day is full of tiny particles from industrial and traffic pollution. Smog, soot, and dust particles don’t just sit on your skin’s surface. They can penetrate through the epidermis and can also slip into hair follicles. Once embedded inside the skin they cause major damage.
In one recent study researchers tracked the long-term effects of these air-borne particles. They looked at the skin of 400 women in their 70s and 80s. They found that women who lived in areas with more air pollution had more age spots… the deep lines between their nose and mouth were more pronounced… and they had less elasticity in their skin. Their skin aged more and didn’t renew itself as well.1
This is one reason why women in the remote villages of the Andes Mountains in Peru have tight skin that shines and glows. Their bodies have a fraction of these toxic particles that leave skin lifeless and dull.
You need to get rid of this toxic buildup from the inside. No cream or lotion or serum can do the job. You have to flush toxins out to free up your skin cells to act as they naturally should and renew themselves every six to eight weeks.
But detoxing doesn’t have to mean going on a special diet. I help my patients cleanse with herbs that naturally support the body’s own detox system including the kidneys, liver, and colon.
One of the most powerful herbs I recommend is pau d’arco (Tabebuia Impetiginosa). When I was trekking through the Amazon rainforest in Brazil I saw this beautiful tree with its intense pink trumpet flowers. My guide called it “Tajy” which means “The Divine Tree.”
Amazon tribes have used pau d’arco for centuries to detoxify the entire body. It stimulates the bowels to wash out old waste matter. It also strengthens the liver by removing toxins from tissues and purifying the blood. It even helps eliminate heavy metals and pesticides.
Native healers in South America showed me how to make a bitter earthy brew from the pau d’arco roots. But you can find pau d’arco tea bags in health stores or online. Make sure you steep it for 15 minutes before drinking.
Start out slowly and build up to 2 to 4 cups per day. But don’t overdo it. Too much can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Also, drink plenty of water whenever you are using detox herbs to help flush your system.
Pau d’arco can act as a blood thinner and decrease blood clotting time. So tell your doctor if you’re taking this herb before any surgical procedure. Children and pregnant or nursing women should not use pau d’arco.
Detox herbs are not supplements you take every day. I recommend you use them for about one week out of every month. That should be enough to get the gunk out and get your skin renewal system back on track.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
1. Vierkötter, A., et al. “Airborne particle exposure and extrinsic skin aging.” J Invest Dermatol (2010): 2696.