One of the TOP things women come to me for, is to help them fix their skin.

I get it, that’s how this whole journey started for me too.

When I first started college, I had painful, cystic acne all over my face. I tried EVERYTHING the dermatologists threw at me, and in the end…I did something I wish on no one! ACCUTANE. Sure it cleared up my acne, but it has DESTROYED MY inside organs, lips and mouth SO BAD that I have no pigment in my lips and I have IBS.  I’m proud to say all of my diseases are now in remission; I spent YEARS achieving that, and am beyond happy to teach others to do the same.

So, even though it was not pretty or fun, I wouldn’t take it back for the world, because…it brought me here.  It was a blessing to me to learn that the outside of my body was trying to communicate to me how much help the INSIDE of my body needed, since they are mirrors of one another.  And learn I did. I have now successfully helped thousands of women all around the world to help them match their insides look just as beautiful as their outsides by helping them understand what their body is trying to communicate to them through their skin.  🙂

Because BEAUTY IS SKIN DEEP, to anyone who has suffered skin issues that are not resolved by simply applying a cream, or other ‘outside procedures’ that rarely address the root cause of skin issues, these are the Top 3 labs I use to explore disturbances or toxin pile ups happening beneath the surface, so we get you some answers as to why your skin is acting like a 13 year old again, all of a sudden. These are THE MOST EFFECTIVE I have found to combat the epidemic of congested and toxic skin, and many functional medicine practitioners have discovered the same.

Lab #1 – Hair Mineral Analysis to explore Mineral Deficiencies and Metal Toxicities

This lab uncovers so much and helps us dig deep into why the outside (and inside skin) aren’t regenerating well.  We use that data to create a Nutritional balancing protocol for you, which is excellent for the skin.

SKIN ISSUES caused by MINERAL PATTERNS

1. Slow oxidation – This means, slow metabolism. When your endocrine glands (thyroid, adrenals) are bogged down, it can result in dry, itchy, rough skin, eczema, psoriasis and lack of sweating.
2. Copper toxicity and zinc deficiency – 80% + of women we test are slow oxidizers which often results in copper toxicity and zinc deficiency. Both of these conditions are closely associated with all types of skin diseases, ESPECIALLY acne.
3. Droopy skin – The skin of slow oxidizers has a tendency to droop with age, losing flexibility and elasticity. This, thanks to low zinc.
4. Aging spots – As we age, we notice more of these, which is common in slow oxidizers.  With a sluggish metabolism, we are more likely to accumulate of various toxic substances that collect in the deeper layers of the skin.
5. Wounds that heal slow – Zinc is involved in wound healing, and helps give collagen and other tissues their elastic quality. But it’s also important to simultaneously address copper, since it is also involved in collagen synthesis.
6. Stretch marks – These are tears in a deeper layer of the skin that are difficult to heal. Many women spend thousands to have these removed. And few discover HTMA, where we see commonly that their zinc and copper are out of balance, and once we heal that, stretch marks go away.
7. Blemishes that come during a nutritional balancing program. During a nutritional balancing program, one can also develop blotches and spots that look just like aging spots. These are eliminations of toxic material that also collect in the skin. They will eventually go away, but it may take years for this to occur.

COPPER AND ZINC

The majority of unfavorable skin conditions are related to copper and zinc imbalance. These include acne, psoriasis, eczema, vitiligo and other cases of dermatitis.  Copper is needed for melanin production, which is the pigment which gives skin its color. Copper imbalance can cause vitiligo, for example, in which one sees white spots on the skin where depigmented areas of skin occur.

Although it may sound confusing, what we see often in testing is Copper Toxicity AND Copper Deficiency happening at the same time.  In other words, Copper is stored in the tissues, causing toxicity problems, and hence is unavailable for use by the body, which is what leads to the deficiency.  This is why blood testing is NOT helping you get to the root of your issues because it may show your levels are ‘just fine’, where it’s more about what’s happening inside of the tissues AND what’s bio-available for use by your beautiful skin (blood testing reveals bound AND unbound so that’s not too helpful).

And this is just a TINY snippet of the gold morsels of helpful clues you get by doing an HTMA to help you with your Skin Glow and beyond!

Lab #2 – Dutch Hormone Test to explore Hormone Levels & Toxic Metabolites such as Xenoestrogens

A 24 hour urinary hormone test, called The DUTCH test has proven to be of great clinical utility for testing sex and adrenal hormones (as well as their metabolites), as it gives you insight into many other conditions. Blood tests to check hormones don’t reveal the big picture.  Yes, it’s standard in medicine today, but it’s not conclusive enough to give you a broad spectrum of the hormonal cascade from production and absorption to metabolism and elimination.  The only thing blood tests indicate is ‘current levels’ at this snapshot in time (at this second).  There are a few downfalls to this that you need to understand in order to truly grasp the importance of having a full hormone panel work up for yourself.

Here’s what a common Dutch hormone test http://www.snortrescue.org/online-strattera would reveal (with someone who struggles with Chronic Skin issues and other hormone rooted issue):

• Low progesterone – this common condition today is associated with symptoms of PMS, acne, breast tenderness, heavy menstrual bleeding, insomnia, and worsened anxiety, especially in the luteal (last phase before bleeding) phase of a woman’s cycle.
• High estrogen metabolites, otherwise known as ‘Estrogen Dominance’, which unless addressed, will continue circulating around your body like a merry go round, until you put a stop to it by cleansing out these (usually synthetic) estrogens. Bonus that when you address this, you generally heal many other parts of your body as well since ED is a HUGE key contributor to the most common female symptoms today.
• Low Cortisol – this is known as the ‘stress hormone’ and as it gets a bad wrap.  However, it’s a powerful pain killer, anti inflammatory and energy provider to name a few. I see allergies and skin issues galore, when this is out of balance, and Cortisol Metabolites remain in the liver, which interfere with hormone and cellular communication.
• Thyroid Imbalances – Since the Thyroid gland is a major driver of the metabolism, thyroid disorders can affect virtually every system of the body. Constipation, dry hair and nails, dry skin, fatigue, poor focus, elevated cholesterol, and menstrual cycle abnormalities are several of the signs and symptoms to watch out for in hypothyroidism.  While, YES, doctors today ‘test’ your thyroid, they do not look at the big picture.  Nor do they rate your levels against optimal levels, nor do they address the root cause of this imbalance. The BIGGEST issue I see today, with Thyroid testing is that the patient is not advised to treat their blown out adrenals, concurrently with Thyroid prescription.  The importance of testing and supporting the thyroid and adrenals together cannot be overstated because the thyroid and the adrenals work in concert to support the metabolism. So, for many women, sadly, just taking Synthroid is dangerous, because it forces the adrenals to work harder, when they’re not receiving support too.  Kind of like if a marathon runner asked a couch potato to run 10 miles per day without having trained for it.

There is so much more to this, but here’s the bottom line.

If you have stress of any kind (emotional, physical, spiritual, chemical, environmental, social, etc) you have toxins, and the more toxins, the more inflammation, and the more your hormones are imbalanced, and so too are your mineral levels.

SO…the BEST way to address skin issues, inside AND out, is to have a full panel run with these 2 lab tests to explore your root cause issues, and address them once and for all.  It’s one thing to see a graph like this and say ‘I have acne on my chin and lip area…it’s got to be hormones’.  But then which ones?  What part of my hormonal cycle is ‘off’? Where do I begin?

If you want an EXACT starting point, and to know what is truly going on inside of your body, getting tested is where it’s at!

The side effects are total body transformation, beyond your skin problems, because like I said…the path to heal your OUTSIDE skin is to heal your INSIDE skin first…and once you improve your gut, you’re no longer in ANY health rut!

All disease begins in the gut! ~Hippocrates

Lab #3 – Pathogenic Stool Test to Detect ‘Bad Bug’ Overgrowth that Cause Skin Issues

When the first 2 labs and the ensuing treatment protocols I create to help with clients aren’t successful, which is I would say maybe 10% of the cases, I take it a step further, by exploring digestive disfunction.  While you may not be suffering from what you believe to be ‘digestive issues’, the root cause of virtually ALL symptoms and disease originate in the gut.  It is said that 80% of our population is over infested with some sort of pathogen, such as – CANDIDA, PARASITES, BACTERIA and also many viruses.  If your skin issues come hand in hand with a myriad of other issues, such as auto immune disease, bloating, depression, fatigue, weight issues, I would recommend starting with the first 2 tests, getting balance there and incorporating lifestyle and dietary changes you’ll learn in The Warrior Cleanse, then moving into deeper lab testing like this stool test.

Part 2 of Sexy Skin & Self Love includes:

In addition to this, it’s SUPER important you understand what toxins you’re putting ON your skin that are congesting it, causing it to flare up from the outside in. Not only will your skin react negatively to toxins applied to it (which is over 90% of the ones you’re probably using), but the toxins will land in your blood stream and the liver will have to filter them out.  What the liver can’t filter out, it will have to expel through your bowels and urine and sweat.  If you’re not doing those sufficiently (most aren’t), your skin has to essentially ‘poop’ through your pores.  And that’s just not a pretty sight to see.  So CLICK HERE to head over to Check the skin care products and cosmetics I recommend.

Where Can I Run These Labs?

I got you!  Most doctors aren’t trained to understand, aren’t integrative to cross analyze, and aren’t able to run these through insurance. I have invested nearly a decade of my life to become a health detective so I can help amazing women like you FINALLY get to the root of their suffering, which includes skin.

Diane, can you just tell me what’s best for ME?  I feel like I’ve tried everything and no one has gotten me ALL the way where I want to be.  CLICK HERE to watch this video and set up a time, that we can talk and I can give you a Game Plan and Overall big picture of what’s really going on, so we can heal your Skin once and for all!