Find Your Skin’s ‘Power 3’

It may not come as a surprise that we talk a lot about skin here at the NAA. While chatting about the aspects of Nutritional Aesthetics™ that most influence the state of our own skin health, we realized that the answers are a little different for everyone. Nutritional Aesthetics™, by nature, can be very personal. When our skin is less than glowing, one of us points a finger at sugar, and another feels that green smoothies are the solution. To put a name on this concept of the top three non-negotiable, must-have elements to great skin in our lives, we came up with ‘Power 3.’

Below, the NAA founders share their own personal Power 3 lineups, and the reasons that their chosen three areas make such a huge impact on their overall skin health. We hope you’ll find—and share—your own Power 3 as well.

Jolene Hart, Co-Founder

“When my skin’s a little off balance, the first thing I see in the mirror is redness. Inflammation turns my fair complexion fiery from the inside out, and by now I know exactly where to look for the culprits:

Digestive health. Years of undiagnosed food allergies and extended use of antibiotics for acne in my twenties has made me very conscious of my digestive health. I often feel that there is no greater influence on the state of my skin than the health of my gut. When my skin needs help getting back in balance, I make sure I’m diligent about probiotics, daily fermented foods, spacing out my meals for proper digestion, and removing sugar and processed foods that compromise the health of my microbiome.
A fresh, whole food diet. My skin bounces back more quickly if I supply it with fresh, whole, anti-inflammatory foods. When I sit down to a meal, I make sure that at least half of my plate is veggies, I’m using plenty of fresh herbs and spices, and that I include healthy fats and proteins. But If I run out of fresh vegetables and don’t have time to make it to the grocery store for a few days, my skin visibly suffers!
Stress levels in check. Stress is the sneaky factor that really messes with my complexion. My type A personality, combined with the natural load of responsibilities shouldered by any mother and entrepreneur, means that my stress often builds even as my self-care gets shoved out of the picture. When I start to see the effects of stress on my skin, I know that I really need to prioritize meditation, a long walk, extra hours of sleep, unscheduled down time, or maybe even a massage to get myself back on track. No excuses.”

Rachael Pontillo, NAA President

“My Power 3 for optimal skin health are green smoothies, probiotics (either in supplement form while on the go, or my homemade cultured veggies or kombucha when at home), and a cleansing facial oil. Here’s why these are my Power 3:

Smoothies. Green smoothies were the first real healthy change I made to my diet years ago, when I was overweight with severe acne that made a real difference in how I looked and felt. It’s something I don’t like to go without now even when I travel. For road trips, I freeze several mason jars full of green smoothies ahead of time and bring them in a cooler, or I pack my Nutri-Bullet for smoothies on the go when visiting friends and family.
Probiotics. Introducing probiotics into my daily diet is also something that I know made a huge difference in my skin and gut health. I prefer live fermented foods as my source of probiotic (my kitchen’s been affectionately named ‘the biology lab’ as I often have cultured veggies, kombucha, and sourdough starter fermenting at once) nutrition, but a high quality supplement is fine for on the go.
Skin Care. Finally, I can’t live without my cleansing oil. I use jojoba oil to remove makeup, cleanse my skin, and also as a moisturizer on the go. For me nightly makeup removal is an absolute non-negotiable, and jojoba oil effectively removes even the most stubborn eyeliner and mascara, without stripping my skin or causing irritation.”

Tisha Jill Palmer, Co-Founder

“When I look in the mirror and find myself less than thrilled about the status of my skin, I ask myself three simple questions to help get my glow back. Honest answers to these questions, and a willingness to respond with changes to my behavior, have proven effective in getting back on a healthy skin track, no matter how far off course I have strayed!

My Power 3:

What is my ‘sugar situation?’ I don’t do well moderating my sugar consumption. (Actually, I don’t do ‘moderate’ as an approach to most anything!) I do best with a zero tolerance rule for refined sugar in my home, and special-occasions-only status for ‘good-for-you goodies’ like maple syrup, raw honey, dark chocolate and high glycemic fruits. When my sugar consumption gets out of hand and I have declared every day to be a food holiday, the red rosacea flare-ups and dry, flaky candida patches are sure to start an after-party on my skin. It’s then that I remind myself how sweet my life is without sugar while I sip on lemon water.
Is my self-talk serving me well? Left unmonitored, my self-talk can get a tad harsh and my inner critic can be unrealistically demanding. It might be that I’m responding to the pressures of perfectionism with overwhelm and defeatism, but a single negative thought can snowball into full-blown self-sabotage! So I like to remind myself, ‘I am the boss of me,’ and then check to see if I am doing the job justice through my self-talk. A good boss praises accomplishments as much as they preach accountability and respects effort as well as outcomes.
Am I sleeping soundly? Often I find myself proclaiming that ‘I slept for 8 hours’ when it would be more accurate to say, ‘I was physically in the vicinity of the bed for 8 hours.’ I most likely spent: 18 minutes surfing the web from my smart phone, 7 minutes wrestling the covers from my dogs, 11 minutes fretting about my to-do list, 24 minutes pondering the merits of a new creative idea and 7 hours in some semblance of restless sleep. That’s when I know it might be time to return to nighttime rituals that truly support my beauty rest!”