How This Gut-Health Advocate Gets Her Skin So Good – The Cut

Why Is Your Skin So Good

Do you ever see someone on Instagram and think,Why is your skin so good?We do, so we started asking.

Photo: Courtesy of Carla Oates

Long before people were talking about the microbiome and searching for the perfect bowel movement in the name of beauty, Carla Oates was aware of the link between the gut and skin. I had eczema as a child and a teenager, and at about 13, my mom eliminated certain foods from my diet and introduced other foods, she says. So from a very young age, I saw the connection between what we put into our body and our skin. But it especially hit home when her own daughter experienced eczema at the age of 10 and she stumbled across research that looked at the connection between certain types of bacteria and eczema allergies.

As I explored that link further, I decided to put my family on a gut-healing protocol. That includes taking some of the digestive irritants and foods that cause a lot of problems for people, like dairy, gluten, corn, and soy, completely out of our diet. We became kind of staunch on it and started introducing more probiotic-rich, lacto-fermented foods. I would make coconut kefir and put it in my daughters smoothies. I was making her buckwheat porridge in the morning. I tried to incorporate sauerkraut where I could with the kids, which was a little bit challenging because I didnt always love the taste of it, Oates remembers. And I saw such a huge difference in not only my daughters skin but her focus she had some issues with focusing at school. Oatess own skin healed, too.

Then came the deluge of questions asking what she was doing differently. All I was doing was eating fermented foods, she says. But she received enough inquiries that in 2009, she founded the Beauty Chef, where she creates bio-fermented, probiotic whole-food powders, elixirs, and supplements meant to support gut health, and yes, glowing skin. In the years since, Oates has shared some of her favorite gut-supporting recipes in her books, The Beauty Chef Gut Guide: With 90+ Delicious Recipes and Weekly Meal Plans and The Beauty Chef: Delicious Food for Radiant Skin, Gut Health, and Wellbeing.

Oates recognizes that eating clean and incorporating supplements into your diet can be a luxury, but at its core, she says, its all about going back to the basics. Dont take supplements if you cant afford to get them. Just go back to trying to really embrace a healthy diet. Your microbiome loves fiber, leafy greens, nuts, legumes a Mediterranean diet, basically. Take processed foods out. Incorporate bone broths that are rich in connective tissue. Grow a little garden in your yard, put some spices and herbs in it, and make big batches of stews it can be that simple.

The same goes for your skin-care routine. I have customers saying, Im using this, this, this, this, this, that supplement, and that supplement, and Im not seeing any differences. What can I do? What else can I take? she says. But the people that have the best results, they pare it back. After all, she points out, the skin has its own microbiome. So youve got an ecosystem on your skin, and if youre suffocating it, and confusing your skin with too many ingredients, that causes so many imbalances. Let your skin breathe.

Below, Oates walks us through her go-tos, including the toner that smells like apple-cider vinegar but really works, the face oil that made her skin brighter, and the mineral sunscreen she has been using for years.

GLOW is a bio-fermented whole-foods powder fermentation makes all of the nutrients in the ingredients more bioavailable to the skin. This is not just your daily essential skin powder. Its your daily wellness powder. Its amazing for your gut, but we also get incredible feedback from people saying it improves their skin even hormonal acne. Its great for more lustrous hair, stronger nails, more energy, and a better and happier tummy. Weve had people who notice a difference within a week. We also have people who might have some hormonal acne, and it can take up to a couple of months weve got some incredible before-and-afters.

Weve got lots of different types of bacteria in GLOW thats the base of all of our products and then to make them even more potent and efficacious, we add medicinal herbs. In the powder, we have broad-spectrum B vitamins from sprouted quinoa, biotin, and niacinamide, which is important for skin structural integrity. We have provitamin A from fermented microalgae that is grown in Western Australia, and we know that provitamin A is really important for skin cellular renewal. Its super-rich in polyphenols and antioxidants that are really important for supporting gut health.

I love it with water, and its great in a smoothie it makes every smoothie tastes delicious. Berries and plums have a rosy note, so you do get some of that, but its primarily berry-flavored. Weve got maqui berries in there, and they have higher levels of antioxidants than blueberries, and weve also got grape skins in there. Weve got Kakadu plums, which are Australian plums that have been used for thousands of years in Aboriginal culture for their medicinal benefits.

Ill follow it with our COLLAGEN Inner Beauty Boost, a bio-fermented, probiotic elixir. It doesnt actually contain real collagen but supports your bodys ability to make it and slow down the degradation of existing collagen. Inflammation and oxidative stress are some of the main drivers of the breakdown of collagen, so weve got a host of anti-inflammatory ingredients in it, and its super-rich in antioxidants, too.

I love concocting things. I wrote a book in 2002 called Feeding Your Skin. Its basically a recipe book for skin care Ive made cleansers, moisturizers, and fresh food masks for years. Now oil cleansers are very in vogue.

I use lots of different oils depending on what Ive got in my cupboard, but often, I make a combination of jojoba, apricot, and almond oils I generally dont put more active oils like rosehip in there because youre taking it off anyway. And if I run out of oils, I even just use the olive oil thats in my kitchen.

The type of oil you should use on your skin really depends on your skin type. So, for example, if I had really oily skin, I would not use olive oil to cleanse. But my skin is kind of combination and gets dry in areas, so olive oil will be completely fine for me. I will say that Im such a big believer in people that have really oily skin doing oil cleansing. Lighter oils like jojoba are really effective because when you strip your skin of oil, it sends a message to the brain to produce more oil, which then sends your oil glands into overdrive because theyre like, Oh my God, I need to go into production. So cleansing with oil tricks your brain into thinking youve produced enough oil you just need to make sure that, if youve got really oily skin thats congested and prone to breakouts, you remove it with a warm muslin cloth.

This is a really cool product. I think because were known as an ingestible brand, people forget about it. Occasionally, I will write an email to our team going, Guys, do not forget about the Probiotic Skin Refiner. Its a game-changer!

Basically, its a bio-fermented whole-food extract its the liquid that comes from the fermentation of our powders. Its got a low pH of 3.5, so its naturally exfoliating, and thats because of the lactic-acid fermentation. And you know, lactic acid is also an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), so it helps to not only increase cellular turnover but also synthesize collagen and increase natural moisturizing patches in the skin.

After I wash my face, I pat it all over with a muslin pad soaked in it. The only thing I would say is that because the Probiotic Skin Refiner is an AHA, make sure that youre putting an SPF on after, especially if youre going outside.

The reason that I never brought it out when we first started the Beauty Chef is hilarious. I had this incredible, nutrient-dense extract that was coming off the fermented foods. I was bottling some of it, and then we were disposing of the rest of it, which was such a waste. But I was using it on my skin, and my friends and family wanted to know what my routine was. I said, Look, Im using this stuff, but it smells really bad. They got really annoyed with me because once they started using it, they were like, I dont understand why you dont put this out in your product range. I said, Because it smells like apple-cider vinegar cause its fermented. Its got a really strong scent. They were like, We dont care: It works. Its amazing. Give us more. One reviewer actually said, My husband goes, Oh my God, what is that smell? I was lying in bed next to him. But genuinely, if you put a cream on top of it, the smell dissipates within seconds, and because its so effective, people just dont seem to care.

I do moisturize a bit more as Im aging. Im predisposed to eczema. Since I began paying attention to my gut, I havent had a really bad eczema breakout for like 20-something years, which is amazing, but I do genetically have dry skin. My son and I were talking about it the other night. Like, my mom had really scaly legs, and now both of my kids are prone to eczema as well because my husband has eczema, so they got a double whammy of being predisposed to really dry skin.

Emma Lewishams a New Zealander, and I have just been introduced to her. Shes focused on sustainability and generous with sharing information about her journey and how she is moving toward truly sustainable packaging. And not only that, but her products are highly efficacious. Theyre rich in natural botanicals. This is called the 72-Hour Crme, and Ive really noticed that my skin looks so much plumper. It really does give my skin that kind of dewy radiance that I love I dont mind that feeling when I put on some oil and then I put on a really beautiful moisturizer that makes my skin kind of shiny and dewy; I much prefer that to feeling like my skin is cracking. Its got a lovely smell; its very subtle, a little bit soapy. Its sort of old-fashioned but vegan and cruelty-free.

Photo: Courtesy of the Retailer

I love Marie Veroniques story her daughters a scientist, and they did the range together. Her products have lots of really amazing natural ingredients, but theyre also highly active. In this oil, specifically, I love the combination of high-performing actives with carotenoid antioxidants, which are amazing for protecting the skin from free-radical damage and helping to prevent collagen from degradation. Its also rich in essential fatty acids, which are crucial for maintaining and building a healthy skin barrier. Ill alternate it with Sunday Rileys C.E.O. Glow Vitamin C + Turmeric Face Oil (below).

I love vitamin C, and I love turmeric theyre both anti-inflammatory. I definitely noticed a difference in my skin tone and texture with this. Theyre brighter and smoother. Its a really beautiful oil.

I used to put coconut oil it was called Reef Oil on as a teenager and bake my skin. And I saw a facialist, I think was in my early 20s, and she said, Carla, youve got some sun damage. So I became much more conscious about sun protection, but I grew up in Australia in the 70s. And, oh my gosh, my mom was always out in the sun with her Reef Oil on as well. I will say that vitamin D is also really good for your skin, your immune health, and your bone health, and that a percentage of the worlds population is deficient in vitamin D, but lets find that balance between getting enough and protecting ourselves.

Ive been using mineral sunscreens for a long time I prefer ingredients like zinc oxide that physically protect you from the sun. But the problem with a lot of physical blockers is that they make your skin look white. Sometimes my husband at the beach will be like, Oh my God. Especially when youre going out to work, you dont want to look like youve got this white face. So what I love about this Coola sunscreen is that its really smooth and it dissipates. You dont notice it, and its such a great experience. Its also fragrance free.

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How This Gut-Health Advocate Gets Her Skin So Good - The Cut