COPYRIGHT © BY Danny Elizabeth Neifert 2020

Relearning Skin Care

The Story of Skin & The New Way

All rights reserved

Edited by Brandon Jamil Kemp and E. Lee Caleca

Illustrated by Mark A. Jablonski

Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE: The Modern Skin Industry: The Perfect Storm 9

CHAPTER TWO: Physiology & History: The Landscape of Skin 13

Quick History Review 16

CHAPTER THREE Polarized Camps: Modern Clinic & Traditional Natural 18

CHAPTER FOUR: The Skin Harmonics™ method: The Best of Both Worlds 24

The Dermal Mattress 24

Skin Conditioners vs. Skin Food 25

CHAPTER FIVE: A New Flag of Peace for Skin 27

The Fundamentals 27

Food 27

Water 28

Protection 28

Release 28

The New Skin Types 28

Reactive Skin 28

Hyper-Sensitive Skin 28

Median Skin 29

CHAPTER SIX: Congestion: A Misunderstood Problem 30

Types of Congestion 30

CHAPTER SEVEN: Detoxification: A Perfect Healing Response 35

Phases of Detoxification 37

CHAPTER EIGHT: Solutions for Old Topics: A New Conversation 42

Hyper-Pigmentation 42

Skin Lightening & Bleaching 42

Collagen Volume Loss 43

Botox 43

Fillers & Volumizers 44

Exfoliation 44

Acne 45

Sun Damage & the Precursors for the Possible Precursors 45

Traditional Retinol Creams 46

CHAPTER NINE: The Modern Toxic Beauty Industry 47

CHAPTER TEN: Your Skin Health Bank: Withdrawals & Deposits 50

CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Future of Beauty: The New Way Now 53

This book is dedicated to the

Amaranthine brown skin of the Diné & their Hózhó

Alabaster white skin of my daughter

Freckled pink skin of my son

Cinnamon mocha skin of my fiancé

Wise traveled skin of my parents

Introduction

This book is a confession, an apology, a promise, and a love letter to skin everywhere — mine and yours. Over the past twenty years as a professional licensed aesthetician, mother, and beauty consumer, I’ve gathered invaluable experience and knowledge that I want to share with you.

Please note that I am not a physician or medical professional, and any information that I provide does not replace immediate medical care or attention.

The goal of this book is to share what I’ve learned the long hard way regarding how to care for something very important and close: our skin. I purposefully want to share these words to be unlike a dry technical document, and more like a window into my personal direct experience. I have tried my dangest to write to a wide audience: savvy-skin-beauty-nerds, their clueless partners, and field-tested skin professionals.

I’ve assisted thousands of clients over the years. In the beginning of my career, I will admit that I wasn’t always equipped to help everyone. Eventually, as my professional experience deepened, patterns began to appear. I started to solve problems by stepping out of the boxes and limitations which are considered industry

standards by revered skin care companies and educational institutions.

My opinions have been formed over time with great patience, scrutiny, and persistence which is a result of careful observation and listening. Did I just say listening?

Does our skin speak?

You can imagine how I was quite taken aback in the beginning of my journey with skin as I began to learn its language.

If our skin speaks then what the heck is it saying?

I will share this in the coming chapters. In the meantime, before we begin, a little about my background. At the age of six, I secretly stumbled into the discovery of my mother’s creams, oils, and bath salts. I was instantly mesmerized by the smells, textures, and colorful labels. As time went on my obsession with this niche-realm of beauty grew.

When I unexpectedly became a young mother some years later (that’s a story for a different book), I’ll never forget giving my newborn daughter her first bath. The miracle of this experience propelled me full force into the world of aromatherapy and home-made skin products.

During those years I also became a fairly decent gardener. I learned how to make every beauty and self-care product in my little kitchen using ingredients from my garden. All of this was made possible by following aromatherapy and old homesteading recipes.

To expand my knowledge and understanding, I took every local workshop in my area and attended a remote aromatherapy study-by-mail course. I read countless books on skincare and natural ingredients. I read every beauty product advertisement, any small print labels on bottles, and all the packaging I could get a hold of. As my children got older, they pleaded with me to purchase

soap and lotion at the grocery store the way “normal” mothers do. Still, my obsession persisted.

My early aromatherapy product line was named “Earth’s Soul & Song,” which I shared with friends, family, at local art shows, and with neighbors — while occasionally vending in front of the local health food store. I explored myriads of other occupations during this time until finally deciding to focus solely on skincare. I also began professional aesthetic training in my late twenties.

My inextinguishable interest, wonder, and curiosity for skin has been the torch for my journey, having lit my path at every dark turn and through every difficulty and hardship. This ongoing adventure with skin has shown me “The New Way”.

1

The Modern Skin Industry:

The Perfect Storm

There is an endless sea of products, services, spas, as well as an overwhelming amount of information on the subject of skincare; on what we should and can do to take care of our physical body from the outside. Some of this information comes from skincare companies, medi-spas, and dermatology offices; others from sponsored studies, Hollywood types, and celebrity doctor endorsements with all of their slick and seductive advertising campaigns.

There is a ton of information about how we can heal our skin from the inside out with collagen injections, pills, and powders; by consuming fruits, greens, and spices, while eliminating excess or “bad” fats from our diets — through exercising, drinking more water, eating more natural healthy oils, and much, much more. Some of this information is true and will work in the long term in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle.

However, no one seems to be addressing the egregious assault on skin by the modern skin industry: namely skin care products, procedures, and treatments that ultimately do more harm than good.

I once mused to a friend that after my professional training as an aesthetician, I would surely be armed to navigate this chaotic stormy ocean. Ironically, I discovered that the opposite was true. The noise level I experienced as a consumer easily tripled. I found myself inundated with even more choices and contradicting information. This combined with the complex emotional relationship we all have with perceived beauty, value, and health would leave any of us all feeling very overwhelmed and very confused. And of course, one cannot ignore the fact that we are all aging.

Tick tock, tick tock goes the clock. Moan.

This perfect storm is similar to what has been happening in the supplement and food industry — which is another major industry saturated with information, herbal miracle cures, studies, and experts who constantly contradict one another — especially when it comes to essential philosophy.

I became profoundly disappointed with my career choice at several points. Because, despite all that was available, I had mixed feelings about the results, and I was left mostly underwhelmed and dissatisfied.

I am fully aware that my voice could add to the pile of chaos, but my aim is to deliver simplicity, sanity, and much needed clarity within this madness. I want to share how this New Way allowed me to fall back in love with my skincare career choice, and how I ended my own disenchantment.

According to market research the global anti-aging market is projected to exceed more than $271 billion by 2024 and is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of eight percent.

InStyle magazine conducted a research study based on how much anti-aging cream is being purchased per year. On average, a woman begins using anti-aging products around the age of thirty, and will end up spending between $11,832–$197,880

during her lifetime (with costs dependent on brands, geographical locations, and factors such as weather).

In an article from health.costhelper.com, the counter daily regiments such as cleanser, toner, non-prescription medicated lotion, and acne treatments cost $30–$60 and upwards per month.

Prescription antibiotics, topical creams, ointments, hormone therapy, birth control pills, and more aggressive therapies such as microdermabrasion can cost $45–$200 per month. Laser treatments alone can cost $1030–$2330 per session.

Professional treatments such as chemical peels for acne treatment cost anywhere from $75–$200 per session (with one or multiple sessions required per month).

Please bear with me as it’s important to see the full scope of what we are up against, and how we are spending our hard-earned money and cherished time. Here are a few more unsavory statistics:

When it comes to skin cancers and their precursors, skin lesions are typically cut, scooped or burned from our skin in a minor procedure. If this procedure is conducted in a physician’s office it will cost less than $1,000. However, if the treatment requires surgery it can end up costing thousands of dollars.

On a national level and in a recent study, the cost of treating melanoma was $1.5 billion and non-melanoma was at $2.5 billion. The cost of skin cancer averages between $5 billion and $6 billion — these are only the financial costs.

So, what’s wrong? Why are women (and all genders) spending so much money on anti-aging products, skin treatments, and still not seeing optimal results? Why are sun related skin cancers on the rise? Who’s profiting from all this expenditure and why don’t we all have healthy glowing skin?

Read on. The answers are not in something you’re doing wrong. You’re not using products the wrong way or not using them often enough. It’s not you. The problem is with the industry itself.

With all of this money being spent one would think that our skin should be beaming with health, right?

Wrong. All of this just doesn’t add up, because we’re inefficiently addressing skin health. I’ve come to realize that only you as an informed and properly educated consumer have the power to change this dark storm.

We all witnessed this phenomenal change take place when consumers began demanding organics, ultimately forcing conventional grocery stores into supplying them. Today even large chains such as Walmart stock organic milk. Do you think Walmart would have implemented such changes on its own? It’s clear that consumers shape the market to a large degree.

It’s my goal to create and empower educated consumers who will demand superior products and services. I want to teach you how to order “off menu” so many times and so well that your skin health providers actually start listening.

Being true to my name Skin Harmonics, my aim is that together we can transform this looping chaotic storm into a harmonious field of healing.

2

Physiology & History:

The Landscape of Skin

Your skin provides a barrier for your internal body against the outside world. It protects you from harmful microorganisms and allows your body to efficiently dispose of toxins. Paradoxically it also absorbs things from the environment, as it is a permeable barrier. It is a complex biological organ, to be sure. Most of us are in a continual battle to keep our skin — our largest organ —healthy, beautiful, and disease-free.

So, in an effort to understand how products work on your skin, and why you might be having skin problems, or why your skin might be aging prematurely, let me provide you an overview of the basic structure.

There are two main layers to our skin, both of which sit on a layer of fat and connective tissue called the hypodermal layer which gives our skin support and shape.

The dermal layer is the deeper unseen layer of skin that exists below the surface. Unlike the surface layer, which is comprised of dead skin cells, the dermal layer is alive. It contains a network of nerve endings, capillaries, arteries, blood vessels, lymph vessels, collagen, and elastin. This layer produces the new skin cells that manufacture the epidermal layer. The dermal layer becomes thinner by about 1% a year starting at the age of twenty-five. The thinning and diminishment of this layer leads to the decline of overall skin health.

The new skin cells created in the deeper dermis quickly die and form the epidermal layer. The dead cells of the epidermal layer are a vital component of protection for the dermal layer. They act as a first line of defense against the onslaught of microbes that would otherwise invade and negatively impact our health. Our skin is hydrophobic, meaning it does not allow water into it and is 100% waterproof. This layer does thin but only minimally compared to the dermis. Any thinning in the epidermis is in response to a thinning dermis.

The overly-employed idea of constantly removing and reducing the epidermal layer of dead skin cells, only leads to an overworked and eventually exhausted and thinning dermis. Every time this upper layer is aggressively damaged, the deeper dermal layer must go into overtime making new skin cells to replace the damaged and departed cells. The main thing to understand is that a dermal layer that is constantly working overtime thins more quickly over time.

Think of your dermis as the light bulb and your epidermis as the light shade. Having a lampshade (epidermis) in superb fresh shape that can illuminate the glow of the bulb (dermis) is a good way to think about it. Doing everything you can to preserve and freshen the lampshade is more effective than wearing it down in any way.

Another important part of our skin is our lovely pores. It is important to note that pore size is genetic. That said, inflammation caused by excessive sun exposure or food allergies contributes to dehydration. The heat from chronic inflammation and histamine produced by allergies evaporates the moisture in the skin and pore size is altered. Left unchecked this can lead to chronic dehydration. Over time, chronic dehydration produces pore congestion.

The oil released from the sebaceous glands cannot make it out of a pore canal that is shriveled, closed or scraped away. Instead of staying liquid and exiting the pore and spreading across our skin to condition it — the oil forms a plug. The pores enlarge, stretch, and expand in an attempt to accommodate these plugs. Enlarged and clogged pores are therefore the result of a healthy and natural sequence of events becoming interrupted.

Sebaceous glands and the oil they produce are inherently genetically determined. Hormonal fluctuations, food allergies,

and chronic topical dehydration can cause them to be overstimulated. Natural oil production is a wonderful thing on its own, but it’s usually conflated with bacteria so it has received a bad rap. More about this later.

Quick History Review

Long ago in Egypt and later in Europe, people were beautifying their skin. Their focus was on the application of herbs and oils to soften, hydrate, and moisturize. The most intense common exfoliator was soured milk which was used as a gentle lactic acid to encourage the dissolving of the utmost dead skin cells. The use of clays and rough fabrics to exfoliate their skin was used minimally and carefully, so as not to harm their skin and risk exposing it to infection. The importance of maintaining, encouraging, and restoring the natural skin acid mantle is still widely accepted as skin wisdom in traditional European skincare. The skin acid mantle is a slightly acidic fine film that acts like a barrier to foreign bacteria, viruses and other potential contaminates. It is the combination of our own oil from our sebaceous glands and sweat. This invisible film is vital to our skin’s health. Today we refer to this ongoing act of encouraging, respecting, and maintaining our acid mantle as Barrier Restoration.

A new chapter in skincare began in 1903 when the first documented use of a phenol peel was recorded. Eventually, it was discovered that the dermis had the power to completely replace the epidermis if necessary. But just because the dermis can do this, it doesn’t mean that it should be forced to. In the 1930’s, Europe cocktailed a lighter and more tolerable phenol peel. Eventually, a trained European aesthetician moved to Los Angeles and introduced the new and improved version of the

phenol peel to the United States. She spread the practice of chemical peeling amongst dermatologists and plastic surgeons. Admittedly, there were many documented short-term benefits and traditional skin resurfacing as we know it today inside medi-spas was born.

Peels and the use of other harsh chemicals betray the essential philosophy of protecting our skin’s acid mantle (Barrier Restoration) established and upheld by our distant relatives.

Just wait, the plot thickens.

3

Polarized Camps:

Modern Clinical & Traditional Natural

In this section, I’ll describe some of the major issues with treatments used in the Modern Clinical Camp, and what contributions are available from the Traditional Natural Camp.

Since the Industrial Age, two camps have dominated the beauty and skincare industry. One side that champions all things science, technology, modern, and anything new, innovative or different than “old wisdom”. The other upholds the more traditional values of Barrier Restoration and trusts unequivocally in nature’s acumen.

Aromatherapy, Ayurveda, Integrative or Functional Medicine, the organic movement, and holistic natural European methods all belong to the Traditional Natural Camp. Words such as: gentle, healing, nourishing, moisturizing, organic, and relaxing are associated with this camp. Think of cucumber slices over the eyes and gentle natural essences to balance our skin.

Most Western medicine and other harsh corrective practices relied upon in the United States and elsewhere belong to the Modern Clinical Camp. Words like resurfacing, clinical, active, anti-aging, immediate results, and dermal remodeling — are all

terms associated with this camp. Think pain, inflammation, redness, stripping away and down time.

I began my journey with the Traditional Natural Camp and segued into the Modern Clinical Camp. I am going to go into more detail of this in the upcoming sections but first I want to lay down even more context. When I attended aesthetician school, I learned how to give chemical peels and microdermabrasion treatments. When I opened my skin-dedicated spa shortly thereafter, I offered both types of approaches for several years. I refer to this combination cheekily as the bi-polar approach because it vacillates between two polarizing extremes: gentle, harsh, gentle, harsh. The spa served as a living laboratory for both my clients and myself. I would soon develop a hybrid method which I now refer to as my own Skin Harmonics™ method. I will share the particulars about this in the next chapter.

I learned invaluable and very distinct information from both camps and eventually I strategically combined both approaches. Each solo parent camp on its own has limitations that I will explain soon in this same chapter. Imagine these two schools of thought produced a love child, one that inherited only the best traits from each parent camp. I only specialize in this method now, because I believe that it out-performs its parents!

I found it ironic and kind of sad that my organic and natural lifestyle was quickly thrown out the window as I reached for “the big guns” to cure my problematic, congested and aging skin. I proceeded, lured by the promises of instantly clearer, younger, and healthier looking skin. Who doesn’t want that?

I have had the privilege of seeing so many different types of skin over the years, and I quickly recognized that these miraculous result promises aren’t attainable for the vast majority of my clients nor for myself.

Game changing research was published in Dr. Ben Johnson’s 2010 book titled, Transform Your Skin, Naturally. In a nutshell,

Johnson documents how trauma-based procedures actually age skin in the long term. He also introduced something radically new — topical dermal nutrients — as his preferred way to increase cell turnover. I highly recommend this book. It confirmed my suspicions and made valuable information available to the masses while offering a vastly superior alternative solution.

Modern Clinical Camp

The Modern Clinical skincare techniques that attempt to heal struggling skin with the “cure” of trauma-based procedures are extremely short sighted and irresponsible. Especially in light of evidence showing that these methods lead to long term accelerated dysfunction and aging. I know, I know. This sounds like it just can’t be possible because everyone is doing it. The first time I heard this idea I rejected it. Eventually though, I had to take it more seriously because the more I worked with all types of skin, the more I couldn’t help but notice something: skin that was exposed regularly to clinical procedures appeared differently than skin that had not been.

Our skin responds to the controlled wounding of laser, microdermabrasion, and chemical peels with an increase of cell production. The increased cell turnover that occurs after one of the previously listed clinical procedures is, in fact, a trauma response. This trauma response forms the basis of what makes clinical skincare possible, as it forces the skin to actively replace the top layer epidermis at a faster rate. This hyper production of cells is the defining characteristic of clinical skincare. The pay-off of intentionally inflicting a controlled wound is the burst of new skin cells. This is obviously beneficial to the goal of quickly resurfacing the epidermal skin layer, but it is a double-edged sword.

The first problem with this approach is the accelerated thinning of the dermal layer. The second problem is that these procedures

also increase overall sun sensitivity which can lead to an increase of all of the challenges associated with prolonged sun exposure.

In my practice, I observed that clients who subjected their skin to these treatments; developed measurably more fragile skin overall than clients who did not undergo them. These observations only became apparent long term (within a 5 to 20-year period).

It’s true that hardier skin types with stronger constitutions have the ability to be impacted less intensely. Nonetheless, this skin still lacked a subtle or not so subtle luster and vibrancy once the short-term effects wore off. As if that isn’t enough, these procedures are also inherently dehydrating because of the inflammation that follows which indirectly encourages congestion.

Another defining characteristic of the Modern Clinical Camp is the agreed-upon common use of chemical peels and microdermabrasion for the treatment of acne. Astringents (or toners) such as witch hazel, tea tree, citrus essences, and benzoyl peroxide are also widely used. They are intended to “dry out” acne. In reality, I discovered that “drying out” only pushes the congestion down. Sadly, it doesn’t magically disappear as everyone would hope and like to naively believe. This massive dehydration campaign against skin only leads to long term complications.

These methods betray the essential philosophy of the Traditional Natural Camp: to preserve the acid mantle barrier. Disrupting this barrier leads to irritation and dehydration, and dehydration undermines any ability or even hope that our skin has for healing itself. Chronic dehydration is the first and foremost way we are sabotaging our skin.

As you can see, this exfoliation fixation and obsessive astringent use comes with many downsides. Still, there is that one enticing short-term upside for increased cell turn-over power. But what if the strange new-fangled topical dermal nutrients I mentioned

earlier actually could work and provide a better way to increase cell turnover?

Traditional Natural Camp

The main characteristics of the Traditional Natural Camp is a gentler overall approach with a greater understanding and respect for Barrier Restoration. Among the most important upsides to this approach are that it helps in guarding against accelerated aging and preventing both chronic dehydration and sun sensitivity.

Overall skin reactions from the use of harsh methods from the Modern Clinical Camp are practically non-existent and reduced skin stress levels allow for more equanimity. Think of the Traditional Natural Camp more like easy flat highway miles and the Modern Clinical Camp as tedious mountain city miles on our skin.

The huge downer, as many people might see it, including myself, is that there isn’t a highly accelerated cell turnover effect as there’s no exaggerated corrective potential with the Traditional Natural Camp. Instead, it requires time, the very thing we are racing against, in regards to collagen loss and aging in general.

There is a nuanced differentiation to be made within the natural camp. Even though many ingredients are technically natural and even organic, they can still be used in a corrosive and harsh way. For example, I consider natural glycolic acid or lavender bud microdermabrasion “beads” to belong to the harsh clinical camp, because anything that over stimulates the exfoliation process, whether it’s a natural product or not — causes damage. Don’t be fooled into thinking that just because something is natural it will be gentle.

Another widely accepted belief within the Traditional Natural Camp is the wise tried-and-true understanding that increased

circulation promotes healing. This increase in circulation must be carefully achieved without tipping it into inflammation, though.

Inflammation is essentially the equivalent of aging. Think of those easy highway miles. The more we can avoid inflaming ourselves, in general, the better the long-term outcome. This sweet spot between the two is where the healing magic happens. The Natural Traditional Camp also believes that our body has the innate under-tapped power to heal itself. Discovering how to support this genius in the right ways and in the right times is easier said than done but the worthy aim.

Summary

These two camps contraindicate one another yet they each have redeeming qualities. “Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water” comes to mind when I think of each of these polarized camps.

The unfolding phases of evolution for skin care began with Traditional Natural ways, then it changed into the Modern Clinical style as the industry standard today. The next evolutionary phase that I am describing in this book is a blending of these phases — an expansive ideology that embraces wise tradition and the intelligent use of technology. However, this wider, deeper understanding of our skin does come with an interesting twist, a catch that I will share later in this book in Chapter 7.

4

The Skin Harmonics™ method:

The Best of Both Worlds

The discovery of topical dermal nutrients that I mentioned in the previous chapter has indeed proven itself to be another way to achieve Increased Cell Turnover (ICT). (I promise this will be the only acronym I will use in this book!) These dermal nutrients quickly became the new ground for myself and my clients.

The Dermal Mattress

On a practical level, skin that has access to topical dermal nutrients forms a denser network of capillaries, arteries, veins, and blood vessels. In place of continuously relying upon the use of harsh micro corrosives to force our skin to produce accelerated new skin cells, we can confidently inspire (ICT) through the metabolization of actual nutrients.

The dermal mattress is an extension of our internal circulatory system. This dense network is responsible for manufacturing collagen, elastin, and new skin cells — while providing structural fibrous connective tissue for every layer of skin above it. Tissue loss from injury in this vital dermal layer is always noticeable. Our skin receives fundamental nourishment from this dense blood supply network. Fortunately, now there is an additional means of

nourishment! Topically applied dermal nutrients also provide much needed sustenance to supplement our dermal layer.

The dermal mattress provides nutrients to our skin in a similar way that a garden’s soil bed provides nutrients for a rose garden. Think of topical dermal nutrients as liquid fertilizer, like a natural Miracle Grow — applied from above for our skin; the rose garden. This added support of the right nutrients in the right way and in the right amounts has an extraordinary effect on skin. It translates into renewed vigor in the deeper causal layer. The final effect is a profound visual vibrancy.

The impact of the topical dermal nutrients on my own skin, and on the skin of my clients was apparent from the very beginning, even though it took me a while to recognize then magnify the depth of healing that was possible. This was a time of endless curiosity that practically overnight developed a life of its own. It has led me to ever-increasing discoveries right before my very eyes about the intricate process that our skin goes through as it heals.

Using dermal nutrients to increase cell turnover (ICT) is all about finding the right dose; too much will over stimulate the dermal mattress and cause undesirable inflammation and too little will not successfully trigger ICT and the blood flow necessary for healing.

Basically, we have two choices regarding how we are going to (ICT). Each choice has a very different long-term effect. We can trigger ICT that diminishes our skin’s dermal mattress over time with trauma or we can ICT by the metabolization of dermal nutrients which will fortify our skin’s dermal mattress. This is a no-brainer for me, especially after following both paths.

Skin Conditioners vs. Skin Food

There is a tremendous difference between skin conditioners and skin food, so this difference is vital to distinguish. Topical dermal nutrients are skin food. There is no substitute for food; it’s the only thing besides trauma that can elicit ICT.

Topical dermal nutrients provide you with a steady supply of new skin cells. But skin conditioners can only superficially affect, possibly protect, and coat the appearance of the skin cells you already have. In the end, both types are valuable in keeping the “lampshade” epidermis in optimal shape.

Examples of skin conditioners are essential oils, antioxidants and botanical extracts. I would also classify lipids (fats) like those found in avocado, evening primrose oil and cocoa butter — as types of skin conditioners. They work as a Barrier Restoration element. Skin conditioners cannot be converted into new skin cells though they may be conducive to healing in their own way with antibacterial, anti-fungal, and lubricating qualities.

Oxygen

Another point worth mentioning here, is that oxygen facials are not helpful for our skin. They irritate our skin enough to increase circulation, which we have established works, but we now know this is the wrong way to get our skin’s devotion. Oxygen applied to the dead epidermis layer during an oxygen facial is useless. This layer has no use for oxygen because these skin cells are dead. It is far more effective to increase our dermis’ native ability to circulate its own oxygen via a more robust dermal mattress. This is built over time and can be achieved with topical dermal nutrients.

Summary

I now believe that these clinical maneuvers, that I fully participated in for multiple years professionally, only lead to short-term gains and long-term damage. They are retrograde to the ultimate goal of long-term optimum health. Remember when I mentioned in my introduction that this book was part an apology letter...well...I am sorry.

5

The New Flag of Peace for Skin

I want to introduce to you the four major components to my Skin Harmonics method. These contain universal elements that all skin types require. Some skin needs more or less of these things at different times. It all depends on the skin type and what the problem is.

The whole is more than the sum of its parts. Cliché as this may sound, it describes so perfectly the magic of this combination when delivered in the right way. Each of these components synergistically work together to resurface our skin, purify its depths, slow aging and increase skin health — all the while creating skin that is more resilient to the sun; not less.

The following principles form the structural core of the Skin Harmonics method.

The Fundamentals

I’m declaring these The Basic Bill of Skin Rights.

Food (topical dermal nutrients) Provides Increased Cell Turnover (ICT) and actively pushes up old congestion. Stabilized dermal nutrients helps the skin heal without scarring from extractions (the removal of congestion). It also fortifies the deeper dermal living layer.

Water Maximizes hydration, plumps fine lines, and holds pore canals open so oil can pass through unobstructed while stabilizing sebaceous gland oil production.

Protection Actively encouraging the healthy acid mantle to peacefully exist as Barrier Restoration is a must. Protection from excessive sun exposure is vital to our skin’s health.

Release Supporting our skin’s necessary and inherent capacity to release congestion both old and new in every form.

The New Skin Types

Normal, dry, sensitive, oily and combination — none of these categories are useful within my method. I’ve constructed a more relevant way to categorize skin type; one that allows me to classify every type of skin, while customizing the above fundamental elements for the most efficient transformation. Allow me to explain.

1. Reactive Skin This type of skin gets pink from exercise, blushes easily, and reacts to even light stimulation. It is based simply on genetics. Reactive skin can be either of the other two types as well.

2. Hyper-sensitive Skin There are three main reasons our skin is sensitive:

• A.) Internal toxicity as an intestinal microbe imbalance. Basically, what is taking place within our gut has a direct effect on the overall quality of our skin’s health. For example, an overgrowth of intestinal candida is at the root of what causes acne and even rosacea.

For further in-depth reading on how the gut microbiome can affect all aspects of our health, read the online article “The Human Gut Microbiome in Health and Disease,” by Matthew J. Bull, BSc, PhD and Nigel T. Plummer, PhD. You may be astonished to discover how much influence this second brain (the gut) has on everything; from the way our bodies look and feel, to the state of our hearts and minds.

• B.) External environmental toxicity and food allergies. This can come from pesticides, chemical-laden self-care products, unfiltered water from your shower or sink, chlorinated swimming pools, the exhaust from your car, household cleaning products, formaldehyde from carpeting, countertops, and your workplace. I urge you to read Toxic: Heal Your Body from Mold Toxicity, Lyme Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, and Chronic Environmental Illness by Neil Nathan, MD.

Note: These two above factors of internal and external toxicity often aggravate one another.

• C.) Chronic topical or internal dehydration. The surface of our skin requires the right combination of both water and oil to be moist. Providing our skin with a hydrophilic element via a serum provides full and complete hydration. It’s important to understand that a moisturizer alone will not hydrate skin to its full potential. We must strategically provide a form of “concentrated water” utilizing a hydrophilic (water loving) serum. Maximizing topical hydration is achieved only when coordinating this hydrating serum strategically with a lipid rich moisturizer on top. Internal dehydration needs to be addressed by drinking water that is more likely to be absorbed into our bodies’ systems. Not all water is created equal, so I invite and challenge you to research water quality, if you haven’t already done so, and the importance of clean, living water.

3. Median Skin This final type of skin is not especially irritable or prone to chronic inflammation and is in general outwardly stable.

6

Congestion:

A Misunderstood Problem

What do I mean when I talk about congestion of our skin? Congestion is clogged skin that suffers from enlarged pores, blackheads, and milia. There exists a common misunderstanding about how and why congestion forms.

Congestion does not form because of dirt, sweat or even villainous surface bacteria, neither does it form solely due to excited sebaceous glands. Congestion forms because of a deeper intestinal microbiome or a hormone imbalance. Then, on the more surface level, it is made worse by chronically dehydrated skin that cannot release and disrupted barrier function.

Types of Congestion

There are two basic types of congestion:

1. Active Congestion This is present when the skin is actively producing and attempting to release trapped oil and puss. It shows up in the form of a basic pustule, zit or break out. It can be chronic, widespread or in a few isolated places. Active congestion will include redness and inflammation.

2. Inactive Congestion This is when old congestion is just lying dormant, quietly being stored without the volcano effect of active congestion. These show up as things like blackheads (compacted and uncompacted) and as clustered and un-clustered milia. Milia appear as “tiny white dots” just below the surface of our skin. Over time, these dots increase in size and become enmeshed within our skin. Most of the time, clients aren’t even aware that milia are in their skin. Inactive congestion can be stored almost indefinitely within our skin and it can be widespread or in a few isolated places. This type of congestion is more common with older skin types but certainly not in all cases. Inactive congestion will not include redness and inflammation.

Our skin is in its optimal state when it is soft, permeable, and upward-pushing with new skin cells. When skin reclaims its inherent capacity to release new congestion before it gets too complicated, it becomes self-cleansing.

Skin that must endure scrubbing, chemical peels, astringents, and oil free moisturizers goes into a holding pattern where it can’t function properly. Oil-free moisturizers do not moisturize, by the way, they only weakly and superficially condition our skin.

Skin that has endured these types of treatments often appears smooth at a casual glance. Under even the slightest magnification, however, pockets of inactive congestion become very noticeable.

Quite often, active congestion which leads to breakouts as a “volcanic emergency! Run for it!” in a last-ditch effort for release is also present.

Now it’s true that harmful surface bacteria can play a part in congestion. However, it is the bacteria inside our intestines — not superficially on the surface that is much more responsible for congestion, acne, and rosacea. Harmful surface bacteria are merely a side symptom and not the root cause — as many

mistakenly believe. Skin that is bolstered by the fundamentals I introduced in the previous chapter does not struggle with bacteria; it naturally profits from a healthy balance of protective bacteria. Healthy bacteria form the basis of all life positive sequences and are essential to a thriving positive microbiome in both places; skin and intestines.

Dehydrated skin is constantly screaming to the sebaceous gland: “Quick! Make more oil! It’s dry up here!” The surface needs to receive more oil from the lower glands, so that the oil can help trap and contain the existing water on our skin’s surface.

The main function of the sebaceous glands is to provide our skin with a thin layer of oil to trap the existing amount of water into our skin, thereby constructing the crucial healthy acid mantle. Constantly removing this acid mantle spins the sebaceous glands into over-production which is not helpful at all. Skin that has been harmonized with the Skin Harmonics fundamentals outlined in the previous chapter, will naturally find its own balanced genetic setting for oil production.

If our skin is dehydrated and the oil from our sebaceous glands cannot successfully be released to our skin’s surface it will become trapped and bacteria will grow. Our body will send white blood cells to this exact location as a normal healthy response to handle this localized infection. Again, if this tiny white puss that gathered cannot reach the surface of the skin, due to topical dehydration, our skin will just deal with it. It will simply isolate and store it while the days, weeks, years go by, the fluid will then become harder and harder overtime. This is how milia forms in our skin. Blackheads are hardened oil plugs without these hardened puss pockets. Often pores can be congested with both a milia and a black head connected together.

While I am on the subject of oil production, let’s talk some more about pores. Pores function optimally when they are given the same fundamentals just previously mentioned. Pores that are hydrated are open, clear, and have the ability to release oil

perfectly and easily. Dehydration, inflammation, sun damage, and congestion can all enlarge and damage our pores. Our natural, inherited, undisturbed pore size, and corresponding oil production levels are absolute perfection. Even the largest pores when harmonized by the fundamentals are a supremely sublime thing.

The biggest problem with congestion, besides the fact that it warps the natural exquisite texture of our skin, is that it encourages possible pre-cursors to form. I began to notice years ago that milia were quite often just underneath the surface of possible precursors. I am convinced that by preventing excessive congestion we can prevent the number and intensity of precursors from forming in the first place.

An astounding phenomenon surrounding congestion is that everyone wants its all to magically disappear. Simultaneously, we’ve launched an all-out war against congestion that is appallingly ineffective.

We scrub and cleanse obsessively, and we clay mask our skin to near dry dust. We’ve sucked out congestion with mini vacuums, melted with chemical peels, applied wax-like masks, and sand-blasted congestion on the surface without end. When we are finally successful at removing a portion of it with these circus-like antics, the dreadful truth is that it always, always, returns and often more pronounced than before. Taking into consideration that most of us haven’t addressed the underlying reasons why the congestion is forming in the first place, we should not be surprised.

The widely practiced methods are to push down, look the other way and distract with endless gimmicks and trends do everything except heal the texture of our skin.

I have worked with skin that has been lifted by plastic surgery, injected with volumizers, paralyzed by Botox, sand-blasted by microdermabrasion beads and subjected to top notch medical

grade peels. Do you know what? The skin on these clients was still filled with congestion. Dismally, on the lifted skin, the milia clumps are only about a quarter inch higher.

We are missing the boat. It’s obvious to me that none of these techniques actually increase skin health; even though at first glance this skin may appear alright — especially under makeup. Upon deeper inspection, this skin looks ironed flat, bloated, swollen, pink with irritation, and whimpering “help me,” like a prisoner in a war camp.

The war is real and it’s the toxic war of the current beauty industry.

7

Detoxification:

A Perfect Healing Response

Remember that catch I mentioned? Well it turns out that when our skin heals on a profound level it needs to release old congestion. Meeting our skin’s requirement here will begin resolving this congestion problem immediately. Years can go by trying to fight this phase rather than spending a much shorter time just going through it. So, how exactly do we stop ignoring this need and intelligently deal with this congestion as empowered grown-ups, informed consumers, and responsible skin care professionals?

Often, people want to skip forward to the blue-sky destination (more on this attainable place soon) and not journey the full route. I would love it if this were possible. But alas, we live in a world where all calories count. Wouldn’t it be great if we could lay around eating cheese puffs all day and still have a lean, muscled, killer body?

Alas, reality is reality, and we must all work with the natural laws of healing physics. What should be done with the congestion elephant in the room? I say, “Let’s meet it head on and have a tea party!”

Professional extractions help our skin to release the old congestion that has built up overtime from a lifetime of chronically dehydrated skin. It’s true that extractions performed improperly can be yet another trauma to our skin. Yet highly skilled extractions come with unparalleled benefit. When performed well, they are the short, positive micro trauma that ends the chronic longstanding trauma.

Removing the rocks from the garden soil, so to speak, has an enlivening effect on our skin. It serves the highest good for our skin in the long term. Dermal nutrients then give our skin an impressive extra superpower to heal superbly from extractions. Scarring is very rare with the additional help of dermal nutrients.

It is crucial that we remember that our skin, by definition and purpose, is a protection and release organ. In short, this means we must support it in its purpose to release so that it can protect us.

And what of detox?

Detox? What? Run for the hills!

If you are one of these people who are terrified by the notion, you needn’t be. Professional guidance can provide an efficient and effective detox.

A proper detox can be challenging for anyone, especially for the skin in dire need. However, many people experience very little, or no effects at all, of this detox phase and just the continuing health and glow of their skin. Often, the most well-meaning people complicate their skin’s condition and health by pursuing many of the quick fix options out there; falsely believing they have found a miracle detox or a product cure. It is very common that I hear back from these clients after several years of them trying and getting nowhere on their own, enlisting my help.

A trained and certified Skin Harmonics™ method provider will problem solve and expedite you through the most effective

process for your skin — one that is free of confusion and unnecessary set-backs.

I am often asked how long this process will take. In my experience, releasing and detoxing can last anywhere from a few weeks to two years. It depends on exactly how much congestion is in there. The duration of release is related to how long the congestion has been building up.

The first one to three months is always the most dynamic. Typically, this time period is when the majority of congestion is released. There are tricks to speed up the release or to slow it down as needed.

This dynamic process has filled me with so much awe and respect for our skin’s power and genius to heal itself. And like one of my mentors says, “Life sometimes isn’t pretty, but it sure is beautiful.”

What the process of the Skin Harmonics method does is trigger an intentional — temporary — healing reaction in order to arrive at skin that is clear, resilient and luminous. The motto that gets us there is, “Up and out, not down and in.”

Phases of Detoxification

1. Un-crusting In the beginning skin is often defensive, dry, and compacted from lack of water retention. My specialized home-care products will begin to reverse this immediately. Often, the products will initially slide around on top of the skin but soon they will begin to be absorbed. Persisting in this goodness creates skin that is bouncy, soft, and permeable. This is the first step to waking up all the layers for the task ahead — resurfacing.

Skin that has been continuously peeled and zapped is suspicious of anything that is put on it. Defensive skin will react even to the presence of purified water or organic aloe vera gel. This survival-based armoring is our skin’s

rightful and indignant response to enduring everything from the modern clinical tool box.

In time, with nurturing care, skin relearns how to receive, and thrive off of specialized quality ingredients. Guiding our skin beyond this phase requires nothing less than rightful action. This initial breakthrough is always a pleasure to witness.

2. Congestion migration During this phase, the older, deeper congestion begins its migration to the surface where it can more easily be removed. On occasion, this can appear to happen overnight, though it usually takes anywhere from a couple of weeks to a few months. Often, there is a fair amount of congestion that is already close enough to the surface for safe extractions. Waiting until the deeper congestion comes closer to the surface ensures ease of extractions and largely eliminates the risk of scarring.

3. First real cleaning and super dose of topical dermal nutrients The first pore irrigation session with a super dose of nutrients jumpstarts this detoxification and resurfacing process with gusto. The holding-pattern our skin has been in is interrupted and a new path way is activated. This is made possible by a combination of steam and pore irrigation, as well as a generous dose of dermal nutrients and finally a hefty dose of barrier repair cream.

The resulting swift release of congestion reassures our skin that there is a viable exit route for all that it has been holding onto and this finally allows it to yield successfully and regularly.

I’ve had clients at their initial session be astonished to discover that the “mole” that they’ve had for, in some cases, as many as twenty years, was really a festering

milia or cluster of milia the entire time! Skin has an ability to cope with and store stuff with astonishing patience.

I’m going to tell it to you straight: extractions during the pore irrigation treatment can be uncomfortable and downright painful at times. However, this is a small price to pay for the big freedom of more permanently clear skin.

4. Main release This temporary evacuation phase is all about the right home care and staying the course with the pore irrigation sessions to ensure that all of the old congestion is successfully removed. The duration of this stage can last anywhere from two weeks to one year.

There is a wide range of styles and timelines when it comes to this process. Some individuals may not experience a profoundly active release, instead, they may just notice that their skin experiences the occasional white head or breakout that resolves more quickly than before.

The main thing to understand during this phase is that the homecare products are not creating the congestion. They are making the congestion that already exists visible as it leaves our skin. The congestion comes and goes in waves. It’s common that skin will be mostly clear for weeks or months following a session, then it starts building up again. This is due to the congestion migration process that I just described in the previous section.

At this time, a client will be ready for another session. Adjusting the dermal nutrient amounts may be necessary to meet our skin’s appetite and to avoid overwhelming or underwhelming the skin during this dynamic process.

Skin becomes free in this phase and can shift and change overnight while it releases old congestion. Be forewarned that it can be far from glamorous but the end results are worth it. This process reorganizes our skin from the inside out and the transformation can be remarkable.

This interim phase requires an informed faith and surrender, especially a few days following a treatment. It is a deep practice into answering the questions, “where does my confidence come from?” and “am I still lovable now?” It is humbling to place our faith in this natural healing process and to give our skin the time it needs to heal while still being gentle with ourselves.

5. Final release This stage can last a few months or almost one year but it’s much less intense overall. The waves of congestion surfacing are less dramatic, less frequent and have a shorter duration period. Generally, the vast percentage of old congestion has been released but this last twenty percent or less often takes its sweet time, so be patient. Keep in mind that the oldest congestion surfaces and comes out last.

6. Completion and maintenance During this final stage of the Skin Harmonics method, the last waves are undetectable. Skin can now easily release a white head or two in an uneventful way. Any random breakouts move through without much notice and more speedily than ever before. The texture is smooth and gorgeous. The pores are clear and there is no congestion building up underneath as our skin is able to be in the present time — releasing any easy, small, soft and uncomplicated white or blackheads as it goes now.

One has the option of reducing the topical dermal nutrients now that the heavy lifting is over, though many choose to continue as the extra glow it gives is undeniable. Bi-annual or even just one annual session is recommended once on the other side of this deep detox. Annual sessions will maintain the results and stop the slow slide backwards. They keep our skin optimally clear and reset “all the moving parts” to this process. The focus away from both

sessions and homecare to only homecare is worth celebrating!

8

Solutions for Old Topics:

A New Conversation

Let’s look at the most common skin challenges and how we can more effectively manage them.

Hyper-pigmentation This is when skin takes on a darker color that’s often uneven and spotty. Skin that is fortified by the fundamentals is much less likely to develop hyper-pigmentation. Most pigmentation suppressor type products and trauma procedures promote a rebound hyper-pigmentation effect. Be wary of quick fixes as the long-term effect may leave you worse off.

A nontoxic sunscreen applied every two hours during prolonged exposure to the sun is crucial. The right amount and kind of Vitamin C delivery is also helpful. There are a few serums on the market that can block the sun’s rays to a significant extent. Be diligent and choose wisely.

Skin Lightening & Bleaching Practices such as skin lightening and bleaching will manipulate pigment production with varying degrees of success and rarely do so evenly. These creams are typically filled with the most toxic fillers of all of the skin products — skin reactions are common.

Collagen Volume Loss Applying collagen and consuming collagen will not replace the continued loss in normal aging. However, collagen powders are still beneficial for hair, nails, and gut lining. There is still no treatment that successfully stimulates enough collagen to justify the damage created by the Modern Clinical Camp procedures. I will give you a comprehensive list in Chapter 10.

With dermal nutrients, collagen production can be stimulated without having to wait for the other shoe to drop. Even so, this stimulation is not significant enough to counteract the collagen we are losing through prolonged sun exposure and normal aging. The best way to slow collagen loss is to protect it by minimizing sun exposure and by reapplying a nontoxic sunscreen every two hours.

Botox Buckling of the skin combined with collagen loss produces wrinkles. Botox temporarily paralyzes over-stressed and over-used facial muscles. By paralyzing these muscles, the skin has a chance to rest. However, think of this more like a coma than true rest.

There is an upside to “resting” the muscle: skin doesn’t buckle during this time period. Yet there are several downsides to this single upside. The possibility of punctured capillaries at needle entry, the promotion of muscle atrophy over time and diminished circulation of positive blood flow are some of these.

Long term Botox use can also cause headaches for some, particularly if injected between the eyebrows. The reason for this is that the muscle, which is now paralyzed, is still trying to contract but cannot. Thus, headaches may develop. Since Botox is often used to treat migraine headaches, this can cause a confusing loop for the people who find themselves trapped in it.

A viable option most of us have abandoned is just simply learning to relax, even if we can’t slow down. Trust me, I know that this can be easier said than done, but this is a better route for our

skin’s long-term health and for the wellbeing of our entire nervous system.

Fillers & Volumizers Fillers stretch and inflame the soft tissue of our skin. Yes, the skin will appear fuller but the long-term price is high. Fillers must be injected repeatedly and in ever increasing amounts in order to maintain the effect. This load of Hyaluronic Acid is an added burden that then needs to be processed away. I have clients who refuse to give them up. I may try fillers myself when I am much older — when the long-term effects are much less of an issue.

It’s common for administers to omit the mention of these downsides. “Stimulating collagen and elastin” is used to justify all trauma-based procedures and volumizers are no exception. These procedures are very effective in their illusion yet they will not result in healthier skin. So, all I’m saying is to approach with your eyes wide open to the reality of this fact and be fully acquainted with the before mentioned long term negative effects.

Exfoliation I recommend doing this only one or two times a month. This is truly all that is needed because we mustn’t rely on this as the primary way to increase cell turnover. New skin cells push their way enthusiastically to the top with dermal nutrients.

Exfoliating or “polishing” with daily aggressive cleansers, acid cleansers, weekly scrubs, masks, regular chemical peels, and microdermabrasion are counter-productive. As a general rule of thumb:

• Gel and scrub exfoliants are too dehydrating and must be avoided.

• Look for enzyme-based products instead, but not in a gel or paste form.

• Exfoliation in the morning before going out into the sun is never a good idea; therefore, reserve all exfoliation for the evening.

Through professionally administered super doses of topical dermal nutrients, the skin may visibly flake from time to time. The skin does this as it begins to make room for the newly made skin cells. This shedding process can last a few days or up to a week. In this case, gentle, and quick daily flash exfoliation is okay to manage visible flaking.

Acne Inflicted skin is the result of the complicated intersection of intestinal health, hormones, and genetics. The fundamentals outlined in chapter five, will help our skin release and cope with these factors in a better way. Receiving this external help can be the difference between night and day for acne-prone skin.

Sun Damage and the Precursors to the Possible Actinic (Sun) Precursors (I must use “possible” as I am not authorized to make a diagnosis.) Allow me to explain that mouthful of a title. Sun damage is comprised of a number of things: hyper-pigmentation, wrinkling due to collagen loss, and the development of possible sun cancer precursors. I believe that milia and congestion lead to possible precursor development, so I refer to them as the precursors for the possible precursors. They are part of the initial stage of dysfunction that snowballs over time.

Eliminating and minimizing congestion is an effective way to interrupt this unwanted sequence of events and helps to prevent the possible precursors from forming in the first place. I believe that this holistic proactive strategy largely has the power to prevent unwanted lesions from appearing.

Currently, most physicians wait to treat until the precursors have already formed or are in advanced stages. They are then forced to deal with them invasively and aggressively which increases the likelihood that tissue will be damaged and volume loss will occur.

It’s important to note that opting for intense burning of these lesions with nitrogen or other caustic substances creates skin that

is even more vulnerable to sun exposure, and this sets our skin up for greater problems going forward. This current strategy, though better than no strategy at all, still falls grievously short.

Traditional Retinol Creams These are a very inefficient way to increase cell turnover. Once again, they are unnecessarily aggressive and over the long term do more harm than good. Traditional retinol is outdated and should be made obsolete in the wake of what stabilized dermal nutrients can do. The inflammation and sun-sensitizing effects associated with the use of retinols are simply too cumbersome to be a net positive for our skin.

9

The Modern Toxic Beauty Industry

is a Dead End

There are many parallels between our skin, the environment, and the current toxic beauty industry. The industry is a deeper reflection of how far we must all collectively go to clean things up. There is a sea of plastic contaminants and single use containers and other items polluting the seas, oceans, and other bodies of water — not to mention land-fills and other terrestrial sites. Synthetic and irrelevant ingredients, preservatives, and additives pollute: produce, foods, hair care, and all manner of products.

Addiction loops, harmful and ineffective quick fix topicals and endless harsh procedures keep us in states of anxiety and instability. The vast amount of what occupies the skin care market stems from a single point strategy of inflicting trauma in an attempt to instantly beautify our skin.

Admittedly, it’s often difficult to get us humans to change, even when that change is going to be beneficial to our long-term health and well-being. The beauty industry works tirelessly to create packaging that’s irresistible to consumers. Women, in particular, are the target of these campaigns. And as regular consumers, many of us are powerless to resist the allure of a beautiful bottle

presented in the appealing packaging, especially one with a cleverly promised bonus “gift” with purchase.

I urge you to see beyond these shallow gimmicks and to search out products with more substance as well as suppliers with greater integrity.

Companies spend enormous amounts of money on marketing and the hiring of celebrities for endorsements, all while figuring out how to best lure consumers. Ultimately, they budget more for advertising than the ingredients themselves! When it comes to adept skin care lovers, much of this advertising falls on deaf ears as we are understandably jaded about “evolutionary” (eye roll) and over-the-top advertising campaigns.

The beauty industry is estimated to be worth $532 billion. This is a staggering amount of money spent on products and services that are loaded with toxic sabotaging chemicals as well as fillers and neutral ingredients that will never promote deep healing.

One of my objectives with this book is to immunize you to the belief in a single product miracle cure. Even the topical dermal nutrients that I’ve been raving about are limited on their own. Effectively addressing hydration, Barrier Restoration and eventually assisting our skin to release the old congestion are the other missing pieces to the skin health puzzle. If I ever formulate one product that will hydrate, provide accessible topical dermal nutrients, restore your skin’s barrier and magically cause all congestion to disappear, poof, I promise to send out an e-mail immediately! Perhaps this will be possible in a few hundred years? What I do know is that now is the time to become informed, empowered and to courageously demand more meaningful choices that are both nontoxic and transformative.

What is this mania — this static and superficial presentation of unattainable perfection at all costs? What is this unbelievable suppression and sabotage of our skin’s natural ability to heal?

The answer is twofold:

Firstly, the company giants are out of alignment with the long-term positive impacts that are possible. They rush to beat their competitors in a dizzying flurry of repackaging old ideas that have proven to sell. Familiarity and lack of ingenuity are amongst their crimes. In this hypnotic race to win, the needs of the consumer get left behind.

Secondly, because we live in a quick-fix disposable society, we are not willing to wait for most things. We want it all now. In this age of selfies, social media, and celebrity obsession, everyone wants to look like a star. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this but at what cost should it come?

The time has come to grow beyond this narrow developmental stage, both as an industry and as consumers, and to move towards true wellbeing and sustainability.

Ask yourself, what if, collectively, we could redefine perfection as perfectly imperfect? Something that is not perfectly still but rather perfectly alive with change and in a process of regeneration and simultaneous release. Together we can pull ourselves out of this damaging downward spiral. Let’s replace it with a rightfully aimed joyful arrow that points towards a new north star, a vibrant final destination. The route in arriving is albeit possibly temporary and messy but I believe it is immeasurably worth the extra trouble.

10

Your Skin Health Bank:

Withdrawals & Deposits

Imagine that you have a skin health bank. A conceptual bank where everything you do has an effect on your skin’s bottom line balance.

Continuing along this thread, the fundamentals from chapter five, that of water, food, protection, and release all weigh in as deposits; all of the harsh procedures and products from the Modern Clinical Camp are withdrawals. The idea is to end up in the green and not the red. When choosing a withdrawal, aim to find the least “costly” one but that still satisfies a particular issue. Always make enough ongoing deposits to mitigate the damage.

At times, even for me, special qualifying cases call for the use of something from the Modern Clinical Camp list. However, I minimize, prioritize, and always choose sparingly.

Becoming a more informed consumer will help you, as it did me, to navigate the mine field of the modern market with more clarity. We must remember that it is a long game and our precious skin is needed the entirety of our lives.

The following is a list examples of withdrawals and deposits to be aware of.

Withdrawals:

• Glycolic, Lactic, Salicylic, PCA acid peels • All chemical peels • Nitric acid • Laser treatments including fractal • Intense Pulse Light (IPL) • Botox • Volumizing injections • Microdermabrasion • Micro needling • Lightening and bleaching creams • Clay masks • Any mask that gets dry • Most essential oils in high doses (but not all) including

lavender and tea tree • Aggressive oil-stripping cleansers • Frequent, rigorous exfoliation • Gel exfoliators • Benzoyl peroxide • Traditional retinol creams • Astringents • Toners • Citrus essences – in high doses • Daily or frequent use of Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs) • Any procedure or products that dehydrates the skin • Any procedure or product that actively tears down the

epidermis of our skin or inflicts a controlled wound

Deposits:

• Stabilized dermal nutrients • Stabilized dermal antioxidants • Oil rich moisturizers to encourage Barrier Restoration • Enzymatic exfoliants that hydrate the skin • Hydration packs • Products that balance the natural bacterial flora

• Any product that encourages hydration and reduces inflammation

• Professional extractions • Micro-current sessions • Face yoga • Face acupuncture • Face cupping • Any type of facial massage

If consumers and professionals alike shift their preoccupations with excessive exfoliation and obsessive use of traditional retinol creams (among other things) towards how to dermally feed our skin with stabilized, bio-available topical dermal nutrients; we would have a healthier relationship with our skin!

While we are on this subject of upgrading strategies, locating a talented, skilled extraction expert with experience is invaluable. Instead of being dazzled by all the fancy high-tech laser treatments and complicated equipment with shiny gadgets and gizmos, get thrilled about these simple, highly effective methods and products.

One of the only types of devices that I recommend is a microcurrent device for home or spa use as it is an excellent way to tone and lift facial muscles. This will naturally add more volume in a way that increases skin health. Regular use will encourage optimal blood flow and circulation. Best of all, this technology works synergistically when combined with the Skin Harmonics method.

11

The Future of Beauty:

The New Way Now

The really good news is that knowledge is indeed power. New information and a wider understanding on the part of consumers, medical professionals, researchers, holistic practitioners, and beauty lovers can begin to change the old market landscape into a compost-rich, flower garden of possibilities. The relationship we have with our skin is identical to the relationship that earth herself has with her topsoil.

The beauty and wellness of our skin, of ourselves, and that of this wondrous planet and its many sacred beings — is indeed in our hands. Our actions have long lasting repercussions so we must choose wisely and act responsibly.

The Skin Harmonics™ method is the long overdue, integrative and functional approach to harmonizing our skin’s potential that we so acutely need.

• It provides a new gold standard for foundational skin care practices.

• It takes our need for natural non-toxic skin care one step further and delivers unprecedented results.

• It merges old wisdom with the new, smart engineering of natural ingredients together in a way that assists our skin’s innate healing power.

The New Way utilizes holistic active ingredients in cooperation with our authentic, spontaneous healing sequence. Our skin’s wild and fierce ability to heal is supported as we refocus on the health of our living skin layer. This causal layer has the power to heal the outer visible layer — just as nature in her wisdom engineered.

Harmonized skin glows with vibrancy and equanimity. It is lusciously soft, plump, and permeable, as it has reclaimed its natural capacity to release old congestion and renew itself abundantly. All skin can shine if encouraged into fresh-faced luminosity and sumptuous texture.

Ultimately, our skin is like the lampshade for our soul, which cannot be packaged, bottled or sold. Let’s learn to care for both skin and soul wisely and with generosity so as to keep them from dimming.

It is time for a new true and different skin story. Join me with the largest box of crayons ever, to color a more expansive way to arrive at beautiful health and freedom.

About the Author

Danny Elizabeth Neifert is a professionally trained aesthetician

who has developed a holistic dermal nutrient resurfacing process

that fundamentally challenges the foundation of modern skin care

practices. She was born on the Navajo reservation in Monument

Valley, Utah and has many experiences that prepared her to

embark on this illuminating journey to understanding our skin.

Danny is a mother of two adventurous adults and is a chocolate and bubble bath lover.

Visit Skin Harmonics at www.SkinHarmonics.com

Explore our sister site at www.EmbodiedHarmonics.com

Contact Danny at danny@skinharmonics.com

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2. Guy, Gery P Jr. PhD, MPH, Ekwueme, D U., PhD, et al. “Melanoma Treatment Costs.” PMC. NCBI, Jul 2015.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4495902/

3. Johnson, Ben, MD. Transform Your Skin Naturally: Groundbreaking Alternatives to Exfoliation and Other Damaging Anti-Aging Strategies. Boulder, Colorado: Active Interest Media, Inc. 2010

4. Moorhouse, Victoria. “How Much We Spend on Anti-Aging Cream Over a Lifetime is ASTOUNDING.” InStyle. Oct, 2018: InStyle. Accessed Oct 12. 2019.

5. Nathan, Neil, MD. Toxic: Heal Your Body from Mold Toxicity, Lyme Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, and Chronic Environmental Illness. Las Vegas, Nevada: Victory Belt Publishing, 2018–2019.

6. “Anti-aging Market Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2018–2024.” Market Research Engine. Nov. 2018. Accessed and retrieved Oct. 12, 2019 from:

https://www.marketresearchengine.com/reportdetails/anti-aging-market-report