Remember this our plan to heal our gut. Consult your doctor before beginning any program. Adjust to your own body and needs. We have done our own research and have come to these steps to help us in our journey to heal our stomach issues. Please do your own research before starting anything new. We are not really sure how long we plan to do this program. And over time we might be changing things depending on how our bodies are doing. We plan to share just about everything as we heal, so we apologize now if some things are TMI. We want to be honest as we are using our blog as our journal.
My Tuesday workout was: 5 minute plank as warm-up. Followed by a Tone it Up Arm workout for #loveyourbody challenge. Great arm workout! Arms are making progress.
Michelle did not workout as she was traveling all day to California!
Michelle’s 12 day of healing recap:
My day started at 2:45 am eastern time!
Trying to look awake this early in the morning. Do you think we have enough bags?
We had an early flight out to California with one stop. We had a lot of bags to check so we got there a little early to make sure we were not rushed at airport.
Lots of coffee and bananas were enjoyed on my journey across the country plus enjoyed 2 movies. Thank goodness for iPads! I finally got to see Hunger Games and wow, what a movie. The other movie I have seen 3 times now – Snow White and the Huntsman love that movie.
I did very poorly in the water depart, due to traveling and not being around clean bathrooms (it’s hard for me to keep up with water for some reason when traveling when I know I need it the most). I still smiled and made the most out of my day of travel.
We finally made it to California!
We did manage to do a little grocery shopping at Trader Joes while running around Orange County getting things we need for the Disney event.
I enjoyed a coconut water to help hydrate me 🙂
I am here with Raw Threads for the Disney Tinker Bell half marathon weekend. I will be here for a few days working.
Overall my day 12 was not the best to be honest. I did not feel good majority of the day. I ended up going to bed really early because of it. Hopefully after a good night sleep I can have a better day 13 on my journey to heal gut! Sorry not much else to say about my day besides it not being my ideal day and no bathroom success.
Lori’s 12 day of healing recap:
I took my morning probiotic, fish oil pill and l-glutamine.
Plus my gelatin finally came! So planning on have 1 tbsp twice a day, once in morning and once in evening. Excited to try it out as I have heard great things about it.
First meal was soooo good. I enjoyed some Japanese sweet potatoes (about 4oz) along with some sautéed greens and zucchini, 2 whole eggs. Seasoned with cinnamon and turmeric and 1 tbsp coconut oil. Love love japanese sweet potatoes. So sweet and satisfying!
Next I enjoyed about 16oz of fresh juice. This one I made a little more green than normal. Trying to increase my dark leafy greens when I can. Juice was half cucumber, 4 carrots, kale, parsley, basil, 4 radishes, fresh ginger and a lemon.
Juice was good. A little bitter from the greens but the lemon helped.
Snacked on pulp crackers throughout the day and enjoyed one grapefruit a little after my juice.
Mid-afternoon snack was steamed brussel sprouts with more pulp crackers. Topped with cinnamon and 1 tbsp coconut oil.
Also made myself some coco thin mints from our Purely Classic Cookbook. It is coconut flour based and instead of cacao I used carob powder (since I am avoiding chocolate for a little bit). While making the thin mints I enjoyed 2 cups peppermint tea.
I took my pre-dinner pills: fish oil, l-glutamine, quercitin, licorice, digestive enzyme.
Dinner was pan sautéed mahi mahi (about 4oz), with broccoli/carrot slaw, handful of greens,roasted turnips (about a cup), half avocado, sauerkraut, mustard and 1 tbsp coconut oil.
Enjoyed one carob thin mint a little bit after dinner. So good, not my dark chocolate but it always hits the spot as I do love carob.
Before bed I did my magnesium oil on my body and cleaned my back with the witch hazel – thyme toner.
Lori: Day 12 recap –
Bathroom: yes!!!
Energy: good, never really felt too tired
Gas: a little late in the night but no major complaints, no extra bloating
Skin: no major improvements
Water intake – 10 cups (does not include juice)
Day 12 was another good day. No huge improvements besides having a great bowel movement in the morning. That always feels great 🙂
Moving onto another health issue that I have been dealing with for a few years now. I have made some changes to my face routine in the sense I now do oil cleansing on my face.
I have been washing my face with oils and manuka honey for a very long time, so putting oils on my face to wash was no big change. The change was doing the steaming of the face cloth to open my pores even more. I did a video describing it all. The video I did with no make-up on so you can see what my face normally looks like lately with no make-up.
SEE AN UPDATED OIL CLEANSING FOR ACNE FREE SKIN
Oil Pulling mixture: this is the one that I use, please feel free to create your own oil blend
- 2 tablespoons castor oil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon jojoba oil
- extra add-ins: thyme, rose, lavender or even tea tree essential oils
Place all oils and essential oils into a glass jar and mix together with hands.
Spread onto face at night and massage in for 1-2 minutes.
Next take a clean cloth and get it wet with hot water. Ring out extra water.
Place hot cloth (not too hot as you don’t want to burn your face either) over face and let the steam open your pores. Wait until the cloth becomes cold and gently pat face. Leave face as is or moisturize.
Like I mentioned in the video, this is what I have been doing for a few weeks and I am loving it. My skin seems to be loving it. Give it a try and let me know how you do!
Plus here are some before and after pictures to show my face progress.
Hard to believe my face was like that and more back in 2011. When my cystic acne was as its all time worse! Hard for me to look at those pictures from that acne post, but also amazing to see where I am today!!!!
I went through many ups and downs over the years with my face. I had good months and bad months even though my face was slowly getting better.
**sorry the picture on the right is my face January 2013 not 2012. Typo on my part.
I got to the point of being really disappointed that I had to take antibiotics and other face medicine a few months ago to help my face be less inflamed.
But now I am getting my confidence back with my face. I still get one or two pimples from time to time. But NOTHING like it was back in 2011!!!!!
And this is where I am today!
Like I mentioned: still have scarring to heal but feel this oil pulling will help my scars over time. It took me a good 2 years to stop the cystic acne so I know the scars might take longer, but not giving up! I will get there!
Thanks again everyone for letting me share my skin issues with you all. I can remember how sad and depressed I was a few years ago because of my face, every day I cried. But now – every day I smile. I smile knowing that I am strong and my beauty shines from within. Not sure what my future will be with my face, but I am more confident now on what to do if something happens. Along with a fairly clean diet, water, good exercise and now oil pulling my face is healing.
Twins question: Have you tried oil pulling for the teeth or for the face? Would you ever give it a try?
UPDATE HERE –> HOW MY SKIN IS DOING
til next time,
xoxo
purelytwins
64 comments
I think it’s pretty amazing that you ladies are doing everything you can to be healthy inside and out! I wish I had as much drive as you do!
thanks Lindsay! xoxo
your skin looks amazing now! I definitely want to try this out, do you use this every night?
Thanks! And yes I do the oil pulling every night. If that changes I will let everyone know, but right now I have been doing it every night.
Wow–that’s amazing how much improvement you’ve had. I’ve heard of oil pulling, but have never tried it. And for your teeth? I’ll have to google that . . . I’m really curious as to what that’s about.
What does the gelatin help with?
Right now we are using it for an easier way to get some protein into our diet. It does other great things for the body
http://wellnessmama.com/7419/12-uses-for-gelatin/
Girl, Your skin looks GLOWING!! I’m so happy for you….I think supplements play such a role on how your skin is, that’s really what changed mine around.
You are gorgeous Lori, keep inspiring and shining! xxoo
thanks Kris!!! HUGS
I feel your pain with this! Your face has made such an improvement though! I’ll have to try this as mine is so out of control and keeps getting worse as time goes on.
thanks Christy! Yes give it a shot, a in a few weeks (even within a few days) you should notice a difference! HUGS
Girl you are beautiful! That is so amazing how your skin is improved; I can totally see how less inflamed it is and it’s looking great. Think I may try the “skin pulling” technique myself.
thanks Robyn!!! yes give it a try and let me know what you think! HUGS
Hi there:
Colagen? How did you hear about it and how do you plan on taking it and is this recommended for joint issues such as osteoarthiritis? Thanks for your help in advance.
Are you taking about the gelatin.
http://wellnessmama.com/7419/12-uses-for-gelatin/
article that talks more about it
Yes I was. Thanks for the link. Your skin look beautiful by the way. Love your blog! Keep it up. Thank you!
I have been using the oil cleansing method for a while now, and I really like it..
Just wanted to thank you so much for your openness and honesty about your cystic acne. I so related to this post as I have had major cystic acne for the past 3 years due to going off the pill. I went from a twenty-something girl with relatively great skin to having severe acne and scarring in a short amount of time. It made me cry every day and ruined my self-confidence. It’s amazing to see your skin clearing up but more-so your confidence shining through in your posts.
Fortunately I was able to find skin care products that work, a diet that suits me and my skin, microdermabrasion for the scarring and learning to show self-compassion towards myself. Thank you both for your inspiring posts! xo
thank you Dani!!! we appreciate the love and support! so happy that you have found something that works for YOU and your skin!! yay!! HUGS
Lori, your face looks AHHHHMAZING!!!! I’m so proud of you for sticking with it and being strong when it was so bad (my brother had horrible acne in high school, and it was heartbreaking him to watch him go through that period but now his skin is beautiful and he’s a total stud muffin!). As always, thanks, Lori and Michelle for posting and sharing your journey. hugs!
Thanks Amanda, so happy to hear that your brother’s face is better 🙂 YAY
Michelle – I hope you feel better today!
Lori – Wow! Your skin looks great! I might try the oil thing too since I get a lot more pimples now that I’m off the pill…
Thanks Alexe, yes give it a try!
Thank you for sharing your diet and skin experiments with us. I have suffered from acne since I was about 14-yrs-old (23 now), with it fluctuating over time. I know mine is at least partially diet-related, and I’ve been struggling to get my diet super clean again (difficult when I’m living with Mom & Dad who eat unhealthy!) I definitely want to try this oil-pulling method, as I know my skin is sensitive to cleansers (have yet to find something that works well for me). And also, thank you to Lori for being brave about going without make up. I know I am definitely self-conscious about that, too! Thanks to you both for continuing to be an inspiration! <3
thank you Sara!!!! HUGS thanks for the sweet words! and yes give the oil pulling a try, I think your skin will like it.
I have been reading about oil pulling for the last week and just got my castor oil today. I am excited to start tonight and stop spending money on trying to find a good skin care line. I love natural ways way more and I feel better putting less chemicals on my skin. Keep up with the amazing posts and you keeping inspiring me to be a better me. You both are so gorgeous!! xoxo
Awesome Michelle, castor oil is the best. xoxo
Hello Purely Lovelies!
I wanted to ask you both if you’ve heard of/tried the 30day Banana Girl diet challenge?
If not, it might be a useful route to help heal the gut as well as solve the root of the skin problems..
Cheers, and happy new year!
Juliette
Yes we have heard of it.
I’ve never tried oil pulling, but it’s something I know so many people swear by. I love how open you have been with your acne struggles and posting such REAL pictures. I don’t have this problem, but it’s always so refreshing to see this type of transparency and I know how helpful this is to those going through the same struggles.
Thanks Heather HUGS
Hey came accross this for acne and thought I would pass it along. I haven’t tried it myself as I no longer have acne issues but it is a natural way of treating acne.
For acne: Mix three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder until it forms a paste. Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it off the next morning with warm water. When done daily for two weeks, it removes all pimples from the root.
thanks for the idea.
I have been doing the oil pulling method on my face for at least 2.5 months now. I must say I have noticed no difference for the better.
I do not suffer from bad acne but I do get pimples everyday and I will be 40 this year! My skin has actually gotten worse but I am not sure if that is just the hot weather here at the moment or that my skin does not like this method. But I will continue on and give it more time. I add a few drops of tea tree oil to mine.
I do splash my face with cold water after though, to close back up my pores.
Thanks Teniel, yay I have heard the oil pulling does not work the best for everyone, maybe you might have to play around with different oils till you find the oil that works best for your skin. I know it is hard to be doing something natural and still getting a few issues. My skin is no where perfect yet, as I still get very small pimples on my face and still have redness to deal with, but I hope that once I find the right oils and ratio my face will get better. Good luck
Howdy Ladies! I have been a blog follower for awhile but have yet to post (I think…).
Anywho, I have struggled with bad skin for YEARS and have gone through many fazes with it. A few years ago someone turned me on to Himalaya Herbals Organique (now Botanique line). They contain a mix of soliga forest honey and essential oils (organic, vegan, GF, sulfate free, paraben free, pthalate free) that help balance the PH in your skin. I started using the Invigorating face wash and Nourishing Face Moisturizing lotion (along with a clean diet) and had GREAT success! After about a year I wanted to try something more mainstream as I thought maybe it was my diet… SO WRONG! My face got very painful and full of the nasty stuff (acne). Now I’m back on and still “recovering” but amazingly better! I cannot believe I went off of it. I haven’t tried oil pulling but see that it is very similar to what these products do. I am going to stick to what works for now but I wanted to pass it along to anyone who may be interested in trying products still or if the oil pulling doesn’t give you the best results for you 🙂
Lori, you look AWESOME by the way! I totally have been in your shoes and understand how great it feels when you finally see the messiness subside 🙂
Michelle, I have seen your booths at IDEA Health & Fitness Expo. Not sure if you were there but what a fun line to work for!!! I’m definitely purchasing in the future (once I run my first 1/2 that is ;-))
thanks Kerri for the product info, so happy to hear that you have found what makes your skin beautiful! 🙂
OH and make sure it’s the Himalaya Herbals Botanique line if you are looking it up online. There is also a Himalayan Herbals (notice the N at the end) not the same AT ALL!
michelle, i want your hair! it looks gorgeous in those airport shots! lori–do you have a local vietnamese restaurant near you? there is a dish called pho and the stock is made from beef bones. it’s a wonderfully nourishing bone broth that i love to drink for all of its healthy properties including gelatin! so in case you run out, you can always get it through this source.
i have never done oil pulling but do wash my face AM: cleansing milk (sweet red rose from eminence) and PM: stone crop gel (also eminence). the most important thing for me is to rub gently and pat dry being sure to moisturize. when i treat my skin very gently, it stays clear. this is weird but i pretend my face is as thin as the skin on a tomato and i don’t want to disrupt the smoothness of it so i don’t scrub too hard or attempt to pick at anything or else i would mar the surface. does that make sense?
Oh girl you are too sweet about the hair! thanks.
And for Lori and vietnamese place she said she will have to look one up.
and yes makes total sense! we have to be gentle with our faces as well.
Great to hear your skin is doing so well! Question though: what are you using to remove your makeup at night if you are not washing your face?
letting the oils take off my makeup, castor oil really does a great job off getting it off
OK, I live in OC & did not even know about this half marathon! :O I guess I live in a bubble! 😉
AMAZING on your face! You ladies live it & I am so in awe!!!
You are absolutely beautiful without makeup….beautiful inside and out!
Michelle – So crazy…. I just received my gelatin powder in the mail two days ago (the same exact one!).
Lori – I do oil pulling for both my teeth and face, and it has helped me so much. As long as I do that, stay away from grains/sugar, and avoid fruit… my skin is under control. I feel your pain and frustration though—if I veer off my plan even a little, I pay for it! People just don’t understand why it’s so important to me, but really, a clear complexion is such a great feeling to achieve when you know you’ve worked hard for it!
It’s really nice to read about your journey–it makes me feel less alone on this path!
thanks Lisa!!! always nice to have someone else out there who understands it all!!! and yay for gelatin, so far we are liking it. Excited to see your thoughts on it!
Wow, your skin looks amazing! So healthy & glowing! I’ve been cleansing with oil (jojoba, castor, and a couple drops of tea tree) for about a year with great results for my acne but I’ve never tried oil pulling. I definitely want to give it a shot!
Do you find that just steaming your face gets all of the oil off? Or do you have to scrub the remaining oil off after the towel cools?
it leaves a little bit of oil on face but I like that, as I feel it helps moisturize and nourish my skin even more.
I’ve been following your blog for quite awhile now but this is my first time commenting. I just wanted to say thank you for sharing so openly the issues that you face, particularly with respect to Lori’s acne. I had never heard of oil cleansing/pulling until this post and it immediately piqued my interest. I’m 29 and have always had acne somewhere on my face – nothing crazy but enough to be extremely frustrating. After reading this post, I immediately went out and purchased some castor and jojoba oils and started oil cleansing. And I love it!! My skin is looking so much better – and it feels so much smoother! Thank you so much for sharing this method – I might never have known about it otherwise. Best wishes to both of you in your journey to find your happy place of health 🙂
thank you Heather!!!! love hearing this!!!
yay for liking oil pulling – keep it up!
xoxo
I LOVE this stuff!! I found it on a different site a few months ago and gave it a try (even though I didn’t have all the right oils) and I can’t believe how well it worked or how soft it made my skin! Almost two years ago I was forced to change me diet (for health reasons) and before that I have very, very bad acne and nothing helped my skin. Along with my drastic diet change and my new life style, my face started to clear up but I was left with nasty scares and nothing worked to get rid of them…until I tried this! I can’t believe how well it works!! Thanks again for your always inspiring stories and amazingly yummy recipes! I am very much looking forward to continuing using this recipe. =) God bless!
Hi pretty girls! first of all I love you! Here’s the better post to post this question on!
Secondly, I have a question about oil pulling!
So I’ve been loving up but am a bit confused…tell me if this is right…
I massage the mixture on my face with clean hands and make-up still on and everything. Then I place the hot washcloth on top to let the oil soak in. But here’s my question…so when I pull the cloth away I see my make-up on the washcloth, if it’s a light colored cloth. That’s where I’m confused, is the make-up soaking into my pores as well with the hot towel or is it just removing it? Should I wash my face prior or remove the make-up in some way first? use witch hazel like I do in the mornings? Really loving this evening routine & I think my skin is too, just want to make sure I’m doing it right! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing routine with me! I love you guys!
love,
katie
I will do a video on how to do it here soon, but the hot towel is removing the makeup, you can do the hot towel part twice if you like to really make sure you get all the makeup off, but usally doing the hot towel part is enough to get your skin clean.
thank you so much for getting back to me!! do you wipe with the towel or just set it there?
I lightly pat my face with the towel when it starts getting cool, while the towel is still warm I live sitting on face, then pat.
cool so you never wipe it across face to get it off, just the patting should get it okay? I just saw the make-up on the towel and got worried!
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! xo
I just discovered your website and love it! Thank you for your honesty and daring to bare your face au natural. You’re very brave for doing it and i can sympathize with your battle with adult acne. I’ve always had really bad skin and now that i am 30 and just recently off birth control, I’ve been dealing with cystic acne again. Thanks for your updates, I’ll be sure to try this oil pulling method.
I think you girls are so genuine, keep up the great work 🙂
I’m confused!
“Oil Pulling” (OP) is a 5,000 year old ancient Indian tradition of putting oil in your mouth and swishing around for 15 minutes. (lots of grat health benefits) “Oil Cleansing Method” (OCM) is the process of cleaning your face with an oil mixture, which is an excellent way to cleanse your face.
Which method are you speaking of in this post. While they are both very good to do, they are very different processes indeed?
Alicia sorry yep oil cleansing.
I have a couple friends who have had great success with using apple cider vinegar for acne/face cleansing. Have you ever heard of this or tried it?
Kelly yep, we have and tried it a few years ago. And liked it, guess we will try it again, thanks for the reminder.
tried to drink organic apple juice 5 glasses a day for a week or longer. your acne should be gone. many people did it and worked.
I’m so happy I found your blog and I realize we have had a smiliar problem with the acne. I’ve been try so many cosmetic products and creams and even esthetical treatment. Nothing was working out and I was used to wear a lot of make up to cover my imperfection. Till I found jojoba oil , then everything changed. I can stay it’s been two months now that I’m using the oil and it’s completely amazing. It improved so much my acne skin and the scars are almost all gone. O get a pimple now and then but it doesn’t happen very often. I see you mix the different oils but on my skin i didn’t try that so I just use the pure jojoba oil. I finally can go shopping without using make up and without felling uncomfortable. I rightly recommend it to the girls with the acne skin but ladies do not forget about your daily care and make sure you know what your skin needs and you gonna have just a perfect skin. It’s just a matter of being patient and not giving up, it might take few time till you see the results but trust me it’s worth it. Much worth it than the shitty creams they want to sell.
Marcy, so glad jojoba works so well for your skin, yay!! It is a great oil. Michelle’s face loves jojoba, mine not so much. And yes being patient and never giving up is so important! xo