My skin used to really struggle throughout Canadian winters. I would wake up with such dry skin that I thought my face cracked. My skin would naturally try to quench it’s thirst to the point that my face looked shiny by the end of the day and my acne worsened. If your routine is not working like mine wasn’t, winter may be accelerating skin aging. I now know the importance of winter skincare steps, product quality and ingredients. You don’t need to suffer through until Summer to have goodskin! Here is a detailed list with links to the products that I found brought harmony to my skin, which is combination…
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Hair Loss: Treating the Root Cause + My Story
When getting to know my patients, I always ask about hair loss or thinning. Hair health is super important! It’s basically your body’s way of printing out data of your nutrition, disease state, aging rate and even your mental/emotional status. Now for my story… I always loved my hair and it became part of my identity, as it does for most people. Luscious hair is the ultimate sign of health, youth and beauty! Needless to say, when I experienced hair loss… it wasn’t fun. I’ve been meaning to write this story for many years now. Let’s face it.. nobody wants to feel vulnerable. After a bit of encouragement from my…
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Five Weird Ways to Use Activated Charcoal
It’s black, messy and almost creepy looking but the mineral power of activated charcoal can really improve your life in 5 big ways! My naturopath told me to pick up a bottle of Activated Charcoal capsules to bring with me to my trip to Asia last summer. If I was feeling a tummy ache after street food in Thailand or after a strange chicken curry in Bali, I popped one of these and felt better within a short amount of time and resisted a nasty food poisoning. I have been experimenting with this powerful black stuff since that trip. Here are 5 ways that I find activated charcoal useful: Acne…
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Anti-Dark Circle Eye Mask
It’s midterm week and my eyes are showing it! I love this simple, natural eye mask because I always have the ingredients and it really makes my eyes look less puffy and less dark! I couldn’t believe the difference it made the first time I tried it. A lot of women suffer from under-eye circles and darkness and even resort to expensive fillers that can leave bruising. There are a lot of product options on the market but many either have steroids or alcohol which will actually worsen the dark circles over time. I used to use Kiehls Midnight Recovery eye cream until I realized how much alcohol content it…
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Recovery Hair Mask Recipe
TIFF is here in Toronto and while everyone is looking at the fashion and the famous faces… I’m gawking over the fabulous HAIR! Everyone wants luscious locks with the perfect amount of shine and bounce just like what we’re seeing on the red carpets this week! In honour of this, I’m going to share my all-time favourite natural hair mask recipe. Here are some glossy hair goals from TIFF over the past few days that will inspire you to try the hair mask: I have used tons of expensive hair masks especially after travelling this summer and trying to fix the damage it caused. Sadly, I don’t like 90% of the hair…
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My Better-Than-Botox Secret
So the other day, one of my friends asked me if I’ve had Botox… when I answered no, she made me go through several facial expressions to prove that I wasn’t lying! I’ve never had anything injected into my face. My secret is COLLAGEN! Here’s how I discovered it: I tore a ligament in my ankle last summer and my colleague at school recommended that I try powdered collagen supplementation. Not only did this collagen product help my ankle recovery (my Chiro was amazed) but I noticed an amazing side effect– plumper skin! Collagen is an abundant protein that sits in the dermal layer of the skin. An adequate…
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10 Workouts to a Perkier Butt
Bikini, tight dresses and short-shorts season is just around the corner! What better way to prepare like trying out new and easy exercises to lift and tone your derrière! I asked my good friend Emily Ferris, a bikini body competitor, to give me her most effective workouts targeted to strengthen the glutes! Emily is an amazing workout partner, super motivating and her body is super inspiring! I love working out with fun people who know what they’re doing. Here’s a picture of Em that motivates me when I think I’m too tired to go to the gym… These exercises that we put together aren’t too complicated and we tried to make them look as…
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How To Get A Flat Tummy
Eat gut-friendly foods. The gut loves lean protein, healthy fats and a balanced bacterial flora. My favourite kind of food for the gut is anything with a dose of probiotics like fermented Sauerkraut and Kimchi. As a bonus, these two are made of cabbage which has a slight natural laxative effect. I like Bubbie’s Sauerkraut, $9 (only 3 ingredients: water, salt, cabbage- love it!) and Live Raw’s Kimchi, 10.99$. Gut-friendly foods involve every ingredient that is found in my “HealthyGut Salmon Salad”: Serves 2 people: Two big handfuls of a mix of spinach and arugula, 1 avocado, sliced cucumber, oyster or crimini mushrooms sautéed a bit in olive oil,…
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Why You Should Try Cold Water Treading
I’m a huge fan of hydrotherapy because it makes me feel so great for such easy and cheap treatments that address so many health concerns. Cold water treading is an old traditional secret from the 19th century. It is found to be beneficial for poor circulation, sinus congestion, varicose veins, runners with exhausted legs, insomnia, nervousness, people with occupations that involves a lot of standing, even general fatigue. I use it whenever I’m in on my feet all day or after wearing high heels. Ever since I learned about this treatment, I always do it when I come home from a night out in stilettos when my feet and legs feel swollen and heavy. I used…
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How to Get Glowing Skin
Everybody wants their skin to look smooth, bright and fresh. Your skin is the largest organ of the body and one of the first things that people notice. How your skin looks determines your appearance and plays a huge part in the first impression you set. Skin is the reflexion to the outside world of how healthy you are. Whatever problem is occurring inside the body, the skin expresses it. When you’re tired, under your eyes will get darker. When you’re stressed out, a pimple or two might pop up. If you’re not eating enough nutrients, the overall complexion appears pale. When you are happy, the skin looks more plump and your…