Thanksgiving Day Workout

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Hope you're enjoying this day with family. Just wanted to pop in and share this quick but killer workout to do before you indulge in food and festivities this afternoon!

This workout is by Amy Rosoff Davis, a celebrity trainer, health, nutrition and lifestyle coach. I highly recommend checking out her instagram (@amyrosoffdavis) for daily food and workout inspiration!

Happy workout!!

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Healing Atopic Dermatitis Through Food

I think it has become fairly evident that I like researching and writing about Atopic Dermatitis (eczema, as it is most commonly known as- refer to my previous post about winter skin to learn more). I was diagnosed with eczema when I was in the 6th grade and since then it has been the scourge of my skin! As an esthetician, nothing frustrates me more as having imperfect, problematic, sensitive skin! In my research over the years, genetics, stress and immune function, and nutrition have all come to the forefront of being primary antagonists or catalysts to eczematous breakouts.

Recently I have experimented with my diet a good bit, trying to identify triggers and soothers to my scaly, itchy patches of skin. Through trial and error, I have found that a diet high in fish, greens, and vegetables along with my regular supplementation of protein powder (I seriously love the Garden of Life Organic Plant Protein in Yerba Mate flavor- it's the best and tastes great!), and drinking tons of water has been the most helpful in decreasing flareups and healing skin from the inside out. 

So what's the common denominator in a lot of these foods? High vitamin and omega levels increase barrier function.

Vitamin D: The research is still coming along, but there seems to be some evidence that individuals suffering from Atopic Dermatitis also have lower serum Vitamin D levels. In a meta-analysis by Kim  et al. which discussed the efficacy of Vitamin D supplementation in treating atopic dermatitis, there was varying evidence that showed increasing Vitamin D levels improved symptoms of atopic dermatitis in study participants. A limited number of studies have been done on this, therefore a strong relationship remains inconclusive.

Foods to look for: salmon, mushrooms, fortified yogurt, fortified orange juice, eggs

Omegas: Omega-3 fatty acid seems to show promising results in reducing the occurrence of atopic dermatitis. A study by Miles and Calder discusses the efficacy of increasing omega-3 and 6 through supplementation or food sources such as fatty fish, like salmon or tuna, in lowering the occurrence of atopic dermatitis in young children due to maternal consumption of these fatty acids. Study participants who were followed up with later in life showed less likelihood to be treated for asthma as well. While this study suggests the importance of maternal consumption of omega fatty acids, it is just as important for other age groups to consume. Increased consumption of linoleic acid has also shown to be effective in decreasing the occurrence and severity of acne!

Foods to look for: flax seed, walnuts, sardines, salmon, tuna, mackeral, soybeans, enriched tofu

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Winter skin: Eczema

Hi hi! 

Winter skin is a struggle for many of us, especially those battling eczema. I clearly remember my first encounters with this persistent and annoying skin condition. 11 year old me went to the middle school nurse because of some mysterious, itchy, blistery looking bumps that appeared between my fingers. During my short visit in the clinic, the nurse thought it necessary to call my mom to tell her what was going on. While listening to the phone conversation, I swore on my life I heard the nurse say "she has eggs in her skin." Clearly I heard wrong, but nevertheless I waged war on my skin at an early age. 

But, what IS eczema? The medical community gives this condition the name Atopic eczema, which is a type of dermatitis that is an inflammatory condition of the skin generally caused by genetics or may be related to an allergic response from various respiratory irritants. The most common treatment protocol is through steroid creams, but your doctor may also recommend taking an antihistamine until conditions clear up. Additionally, it is very important to maintain the proper moisture barrier on the skin, so proper application of moisturizers (generally unscented and for sensitive skin) is key. 

Personally, I've tried just about every single prescription out there ranging from steroid creams, Hylatopic, to various herbal concoctions. Recently I had a bad flair up after applying a strong serum which dried my skin completely out and the next morning I woke up with red rashy looking patches of eczema. The esthetician in me loves experimenting with new products- but I really should have known better with that one. 

Because of this flair up, I had mentioned to a friend how bad of a reaction I recently had. She mentioned a new line of natural products she'd been trying which had almost miraculously cleared up an area of dry skin around her eyes that she'd been dealing with for a few weeks. I ran out that day to my local Whole Foods store to give the Trilogy brand a try. Trilogy is a New Zealand based natural skincare line whose values revolve around ethical, environmental, and social responsibility (I can get behind that!). Most products have a healthy dose of rosehip oil or CoQ10 to deliver nourishing and effective results. 

Knowing the soothing effects rosehip has on the skin, I picked up the Everything Balm which utilizes a blend of rosehip, echinacea, and paw paw. It's packaged in a cute tin so it's very easy to travel with or toss in your purse and the texture is smooth though firm to the tough. I used my fingers to apply as the warmth from them melts the oils into a spreadable application. 

this tin is so cuuute!

Now, I have had oily skin for all my life but this winter has done some damage to me and dried me out completely in effect leaving me with eczema that pops up consistently when anything other than water touches my skin (ok it miiight be because of our pup- I'm allergic- so I'm still having some respiratory problems from him that seem to be manifesting into skin issues). I never in a million years would have wanted to apply a balm to my skin but, my dried out dessert cracked skin was in need of serious nourishment. 

So the below picture is of my skin when the flair up started and just one week into using the Trilogy Everything Balm. Prior to applying the balm I was using a steroid cream and Cetaphil lotion recommended by my derm that was not doing anything. The top left picture is when the flair up started, the bottom left is a week after using. While there is still some minor redness it is MUCH better- less irritated and itchy. 

My poor skiiiin! 

I'm not saying this balm will work on everyone, but it is one worth trying especially if you have been dealing with flair ups and would prefer a more natural route.

I'd give this product a 7/10. (7 because I don't like the texture on my skin but it was very effective in clearing up my eczema- and mind you, this product is not advertised to do that).

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A year later and all the things!

It's been almost a YEAR since I last updated the blog (what!!). Suffice to say, 2016 was a hell of a busy year for me and let's face it, the blog fell on the back burner.

I have some exciting ideas I look forward to incorporating on here in the coming months, but this post is mainly to just touch base and catch up on what I've been doing!

A little peak of the spa! 

Last June I opened up my own spa studio in my hometown to grow my esthetics practice. Just about seven months later, it's still growing and I couldn't be more pleased. Of course, opening a studio meant finding a skincare line to carry and I was delighted to have discovered Sanitas Skincare. I'm 100% sold on this company (I don't say that about just anything!) as they focus heavily on the nutrition of the skin and offer effective cosmeceutical strength options that truly deliver results. My skin tends to be fairly sensitive and the fact I didn't react to anything was another big bonus for me. But really, the selection process came down to trying a whole bunch of lines and this was the line that had the greatest "Holy crap my face is glowing" effect. 2017 looks like it will be a good year for the spa and I am expanding my service menu to include some more aggressive chemical peels and hopefully get some fun new equipment in!

Harvesting radishes with the pup!

For the rest of the summer I concentrated on my gardening and experimented with different crop varieties but due to a strange growing season, I didn't yield much. But that's okay because it just gave me more experience for this coming year!


In September I began a 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training program at Beloved Yoga. I had my heart set on starting a program in the near future, and ideally wanted to attend one of those month long Bali retreats, but the fact this studio is so well recognized and focuses heavily on alignment, the sutras, and has a strong mentoring program sold me instantly. You know that feeling when you just know something is right? My gut led the way on this one. We are coming up on the graduation date of my 150 hours in March, before the 50 hour mentoring begins, and it's been an intense ride so far. I have been challenged more than I thought I would and have been exposed to so many life changing concepts and ideas that I hope to blog about in the future.

Drum roll please! My biggest accomplishment of the year was finishing grad school! I thought it might never end! Thanks to American University, I've got my Master of Science degree in Nutrition Education and hope to apply that to the spa practice and local community in time by offering some health coaching options (seminars, one on one coaching, etc.).  Again a HUGE thank you to those who supported me throughout the journey!

I did a thing!

Thanks for reading! Be well, friends!
~Andrea

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