澄んだ肌、自然な艶のある肌は、魅力を高めるうえで最初のステップだといえます。肌は健康状態を無意識のうちに示すサインであり、そのまま魅力の指標にもなります。しかし同時に、誤った情報が広まりやすい分野でもあります。とくに男磨きやSNSの世界ではそれが顕著です。その結果、ニキビに悩む人の割合はかつてないほど増えているのに、誰もその理由を突き止められずにいます。
多くの人が肌を治そうとして取る方法は、肌荒れの根本原因に一切手をつけません。製品を増やし、処方薬を買い足し、原因を理解していない皮膚科医を渡り歩くだけです。これは肌を治すやり方ではなく、根本の問題を覆い隠しているにすぎません。
完全に健康な人を思い浮かべてみてください。そのイメージの中の人物に、ニキビはないはずです。ここに重要な点があります。ニキビとは、健康状態の悪さが外側に現れたものにすぎない、ということです。栄養不足であれ、腸内環境の乱れであれ、全身性の炎症であれ、ホルモンバランスの崩れであれ、ニキビが示しているのは体内が平衡を失っている状態だけです。だからこそ現代の皮膚科医療には大きな問題があります。体の内側の状態に目を向け、腸内細菌叢を整え、ホルモンバランスを取り戻すのではなく、たとえば抗生物質を処方して終わりにしてしまうからです。抗生物質は肌の炎症そのものを一時的に鎮めるかもしれませんが、腸内環境とホルモンの状態（そもそも澄んだ肌のために必要なもの）をさらに大きく損ないます。これが根本原因を悪化させ、肌がどんどん悪くなる負のスパイラルを生み出します。つまり肌荒れを治すには、足すことよりも取り除くことに目を向け、最終的に内側の状態と健康を立て直す必要があります。
今ニキビがあるなら、スキンケア業界の宣伝を信じ込み、本格的なスキンケアルーティンに投資してしまっている可能性が高いでしょう。これは澄んだ肌にはまったくつながりません。一般的なスキンケア製品を手に取って、成分表を読んでみてください。発音すらできない成分が30種類以上並んでいるはずです。その多くは体内に吸収され、ホルモンバランスを乱し、炎症を引き起こします。よくある問題成分であるパラベン、フタル酸エステル、合成香料は、体内でエストロゲンのように振る舞います。エストロゲン受容体に結合し、体内にエストロゲンが過剰にあるという誤った信号を視床下部に送るのです。この過剰なエストロゲンが皮脂腺の働きを高め、皮脂の分泌を増やし、毛穴を詰まらせ、ニキビを引き起こします。解決策は、一般的な製品をやめることです。たとえこの3つの成分が入っていなくても、同じような結果を招く不自然な化学物質が必ず含まれています。
有害な製品をやめたら、次のステップは自然界にある代替品を取り入れることです。洗顔料としては、ぬるめの濾過水か氷で十分です。保湿には牛脂（ビーフタロー）を選んでください。ぬるま湯は、肌バリアに欠かせない油分を奪うことなく、毛穴が自然に汚れを排出するサイクルを助けてくれます。氷も同じ働きをしますが、さらに抗炎症作用が加わります。これは従来の洗顔料より優れています。洗顔料は肌バリアの守りである油分を洗い流してしまい、その埋め合わせに肌が過剰に皮脂を分泌し、ニキビを招くからです。おすすめの洗顔方法はシャワー中に洗うことですが、重要なのはシャワーヘッドにフィルターを付けることです。通常の水道水には数百種類の汚染物質や重金属が含まれ、肌を壊してニキビを引き起こします。高品質なフィルターを用意することが何より大切です。
同じように、保湿には牛脂をおすすめします。牛脂は肌の天然バリアの組成に非常に近いからです。有害な添加物を含まず、肌の健康を支えるビタミンA、D、E、Kが豊富です。さらに、ノンコメドジェニックな飽和脂肪を多く含むため保湿力に優れ、水分を閉じ込めて肌をより艶やかに見せてくれます。傷の治りを助けるもう一つの方法として、気になる部分に少量のはちみつを塗るのも有効です。はちみつには抗菌・抗微生物作用があり、肌バリアが自然に炎症を治めていく働きを後押しします。
上で挙げた製品に加えて、肌の改善にとくに優れた製品がいくつかあります。それが Sulfur Cream（硫黄クリーム）、The Masque（珪藻土配合）、そして The Gel です。いずれもオンラインで購入できます。
腸の健康と肌の見た目のあいだには非常に強いつながりがあり、これは「腸−肌相関」と呼ばれます。要するに、ディスバイオシス（善玉菌と悪玉菌のバランスの乱れ）、リーキーガット、慢性炎症などで腸のバランスが崩れると、全身の炎症が高まり、ニキビの引き金になるということです。腸は体内から毒素を排出する役割も大きく担っています。腸が健康でなければその働きが滞り、毒素が蓄積して、毛穴の詰まりやニキビというかたちで肌から出てきます。さらに腸は、摂取したすべての栄養素が体内に吸収される場所でもあります。腸の機能が落ちれば栄養不足につながり、その多くは肌の悪化と結びついています（これは後ほど詳しく扱います）。
すでに述べたとおり、肌の悪さは健康状態の悪さが表に出たものにすぎず、その多くは栄養不足から生まれます。体内には多くの人が不足しがちで、かつ健康な肌に重要な役割を果たす栄養素がいくつもあります。以下のリストを見て、それぞれがなぜ肌に欠かせないのか、どうすればもっと取り入れられるのかを確認してください。
これを踏まえたうえで、まずは食事ガイドを100%守ることを徹底してください。そこがこの食事法の優れた点です。これらの栄養素のほとんどは、食事ガイドを守るだけで自然と満たされます。
原文（英語）を表示
Naturally radiant and glowing skin is arguably the first step towards becoming more attractive. It is a subconscious indicator of one's health, and thus an indicator of their attractiveness. It is also, however, an area that lots of misinformation is spread about, especially in the looksmaxxing and social media space. As a result of this, acne rates are higher than ever, and no one can figure out why...
The methods people go about to fix skin never fix the root cause of bad skin and involve adding more products, buying more prescriptions, and seeing more clueless dermatologists. This is not the approach to fixing your skin and merely masks the root problem.
### **The Root Problem: Why You Have Acne.**
Imagine a perfectly healthy human. Notice that the person you're envisioning doesn't have acne. This highlights a key point, that acne is merely an external reflection of poor health. Whether it is a nutrient deficiency, poor gut health, systemic inflammation, or a hormone imbalance, all acne is signaling is a disequilibrium state in your body. This is why modern dermatology is such an issue. Instead of focusing on the inside state, fixing the gut microbiome and trying to balance one's hormones, they simply prescribe antibiotics for example, which may calm the skin itself down, but obliterates even further one's gut health and hormonal panel (what you want for clear skin in the first place). This worsens the root problem further and creates a negative spiral of ever-worsening skin. In short, to fix your bad skin, we must look to remove more than we are adding, and ultimately fix your inner state and health.
### **Remove and Avoid:**
If you currently have acne, chances are that you have given into the skincare industry's propaganda and invested in a full-blown skincare routine. This is not conducive to clear skin at all. Take the average mainstream skincare product for example, and read the ingredients list. You will notice 30+ ingredients you can't even pronounce, many of which are absorbed into your body, disrupt your hormonal balance, and trigger inflammation. Common culprits like parabens, phthalates, and synthetic fragrances mimic estrogen in the body, binding to estrogen receptors and sending false signals that there is an excess of estrogen in the body to the hypothalamus. This excess estrogen then causes the skin’s sebaceous glands to heighten in activity, producing more sebum (oil), clogging pores, and causing acne. The solution to this is to eliminate your mainstream products. Even if it doesn't have these three ingredients, there will still be unnatural chemicals within the product that cause similar outcomes.
### **The Only Skincare Products You Actually 'Need':**
Once you've eliminated harmful products, the next step is to include nature's equivalents. In terms of a cleanser, opt for simple lukewarm filtered water or ice, and for a moisturizer, opt for beef tallow. Lukewarm water will assist your pores in their natural cleaning out cycle, without stripping away vital oils from the skin barrier. The same applies to ice, but with added anti-inflammatory effects. This is superior to traditional cleansers as these strip the skin barrier of its protection, being the oils, leading it to overproduce these to compensate, causing acne. Our preferred method of washing the face is in the shower, but crucially, with a shower head filter. In regular tap water, there are hundreds of contaminants and heavy metals that will destroy your skin and cause acne, so it is paramount you purchase a high-quality filter.
Similarly, I suggest beef tallow as a moisturizer because it closely matches the composition of our skin's natural barrier. It contains no harmful additives and is abundant in vitamins A, D, E, and K that support skin health and it has amazing moisturizing properties due to its high non-comedogenic saturated fat content which locks in moisture, making your skin look more radiant. Another product that can be used to improve wound healing is putting a little bit of honey on any blemishes. Honey exhibits anti-bacterial and anti-microbial benefits and so assists in your skin barrier's natural process of getting rid of blemishes.
### **The Sacred Skincare Products:**
As well as the products just mentioned above, there are a couple in particular that must be singled out that are particularly good at improving your skin. The products are the following, all of which are available online: Sulfur Cream, The Masque (containing Diatomaceous Earth) and The Gel.
**Sulfur cream** is an absolute game-changer for acne. It is a powerful element that works overnight at eliminating any cystic acne. Sulfur has an incredible ability to dive deep into the pores, drying out excess oil and neutralizing the bacteria that cause breakouts. Ancient civilizations revered sulfur for its mystical healing properties and for good reason.
**The Masque from Gagnon Essentials** is a masterpiece of skincare, in that it contains an ingredient called bentonite clay. Bentonite clay, formed from volcanic ash, has a deep connection with the earth's energetic fields. When applied to the skin, it works like a magnet for impurities, pulling toxins, heavy metals, and pollution out from deep within the pores. It’s the strongest possible detox for your skin, leaving it completely in sync with its natural rhythm. It also contains Diatomaceous earth, another sacred product. This fine powder, composed of fossilized algae, soaks up oil and sebum (that cause acne and blemishes) incredibly and thus leaves the skin purified and mattified. It pulls toxins and impurities out of your pores and resets your skin's natural balance whilst exfoliating dead skin cells
**The Gel from Gagnon Essentials** is the pinnacle of the three sacred products, featuring a powerful blend of homeopathic and energetic ingredients that work miracles on the skin. This formula is enriched with Caesium Salts, which harmonize skin pH, ward off bacteria, and support natural healing. Calendula soothes irritation, reducing redness and promoting recovery, making it perfect for sensitive skin. With ingredients like Rhus Tox and Ledum, it calms inflammation, while Apis further reduces redness with its anti-inflammatory properties. Ruta enhances skin strength and elasticity, leaving it smooth and resilient. Finally, Carbomer creates a luxurious texture, ensuring every ingredient is evenly applied for a seamless, deeply effective skincare experience.
### **Address Your Gut Health and Deficiences:**
**The Importance of The Gut-Skin Axis:**
There is a very strong connection between the health of your gut and the appearance of your skin, a relationship known as the 'gut-skin axis'. Essentially, if your gut is imbalanced due to issues like dysbiosis (an imbalance of good and bad bacteria), leaky gut, or chronic inflammation, this can lead to increased systemic inflammation and trigger your acne. Your gut is also very responsible for eliminating toxins from the body. If your gut is not healthy, it will struggle to do this, causing these toxins to accumulate and escape through the skin, via clogged pores and acne. Finally, the gut is where all of the nutrients you consume are absorbed into the body, and so if the gut is dysfunctional, it could lead to nutrient deficiencies, many of which are linked to worsened skin (more on that later).
**The Steps to Improving Gut Health:**
You can find a very in-depth full guide to gut health in the healthmaxxing courses, but the essential jist of it is the following (taken from The Basic Guide to Gut Health):
- **Practice SSF (My fasting method, see healthmaxxing guide)**: Fasting gives the gut a break, allowing it to repair itself, reduce inflammation, and promote the growth of beneficial bacteria. Fasting triggers autophagy, which helps clear out damaged cells in the gut lining, improving the gut barrier health.
- **Chew Your Food** **Properly:** Proper chewing aids digestion by breaking down food into smaller particles and mixing it with digestive enzymes, improving nutrient absorption. Chew food thoroughly (20-30 times per bite).
- **Consume Probiotics**: Eating probiotic-rich foods like raw yogurt, raw kefir, raw sauerkraut, and bone broth helps improve gut health by boosting beneficial bacteria and improving the gut lining. Try to get these foods in their raw, unpasteurized forms to preserve beneficial microbes and immunoglobulins, which support a healthy gut.
- **Manage Stress and Sleep**: Stress disrupts the gut-brain connection, leading to inflammation and skin issues. Manage stress through practices like meditation, time grounded in nature with sunlight, social interaction, supplementing adaptogens like Rhodiola, and prioritizing quality sleep. Follow the full sleep guide in the healthmaxxing section.
### **Nutrient Deficiencies: Another Hidden Cause of Bad Skin.**
As I've mentioned, poor skin is simply a manifestation of poor health, something that often comes about due to deficiencies. Within the body, there are many key nutrients that many are deficient in, but that also play a key role in healthy skin. See the list below, why these nutrients are crucial for skin, and how to incorporate more of them into the body:
- if you are following our diet guide, you will have sufficient levels of these nutrients anyway...
- Sunlight (yes, its a nutrient)
- Vitamin D3
- Zinc
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- B Vitamins (B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B12)
- Selenium
- Vitamin E
With this in mind, just make sure you are following the diet guide 100%. That is the beauty of the diet - it covers your bases on most of these nutrients anyway.