By Ashleigh Nay - Nutritionist (BPubHlthNutr)
For those of you who follow our Vayda Organics social accounts or have read our About Us page on the website, you would know a bit about the Vayda Organics background story and why I created this beautiful skincare range.
But for those who don’t…
Four years ago in my early twenties I broke out in acne all around my mouth, checks, chin and jaw line. Up until this point I had never experienced acne, so when I broke out this was a whole new experience for me as I found it really hard to cover up and hide with makeup. I was very self-conscious about my skin at this time.
A lot of you who have acne or who have had acne could probably relate when I say makeup made it worse... Although at the time my skin was extremely sensitive, dry and flaky it was also very oily in areas around my chin and on my forehead. This made it hard to cover up as it was bumpy and uneven. Up until this point I didn’t realise the effect that breakouts and bad skin could have on your self-esteem. I was so worried about what people would think or say that a lot of the time I didn’t want to leave the house or see anyone.
Like most people do, I immediately started using harsh chemical products as I thought that scrubbing, exfoliating, masking and toning would fix everything. Of course these types of skincare routines have their place, but for inflamed acne prone skin, it just made things worse.
This was when I started to research organic and natural ingredients. I was completing my Nutrition degree at the time so this gave me the perfect opportunity to look at internal causes while also addressing lifestyle factors such as diet, stress, sleeping habits and exercise. I also looked at what I was putting on my skin and the chemicals in my skincare and makeup products. The information I found on this was quite alarming, with statistics showing that chemicals in a lot of skincare and makeup products can affect your hormones and overall health. I encourage you all to look into this as it’s very interesting!
After this, I stopped using my conventional products and started blending together a selection of high quality oil based ingredients which I used to cleanse, nourish and soothe my face. This is called the oil cleansing method and is an Ayurvedic holistic healing approach for improving the health of your skin.
I continued to use this blend for the first month and started to see a huge reduction in the redness and inflammation of my acne. Around the sixth week I noticed that my acne stopped reappearing. Around the tenth week my acne had completely healed and the scarring had drastically faded. My family and friends noticed the change in my skin and asked what I had been doing differently. I explained what I had been doing and a lot of them asked me to make some up for them. After hearing the wonderful feedback from others I decided to have the products professionally manufactured using all Australian Certified Organic ingredients and within 12-18 months I created Vayda Organics and built a brand that I am truly passionate about.
I still continue to use all three Vayda Organics products daily. Other things that I implemented into my routine that definitely helped with the healing of my skin was:
Eating Clean Foods & Staying Hydrated - This included lots of fruits and vegetables, grass fed meats, free range eggs and limiting my dairy, gluten and refined sugar intake. Of course I still eat sweets, take outs and occasionally drink alcohol, I just do it all in moderation.
Getting At Least 9 Hours Of Sleep Per Night - I didn’t realise how important sleep was for your health. I encourage you all to go and do your own research on this as well as it’s so interesting - Shawn Stevenson provides fantastic information on the benefits of sleep and backs it up with scientific evidence.
Daily Exercise - When I was younger I would spend hours in the gym as I thought this was what I had to do to stay in shape. I was so fearful of gaining weight, that the guilt and shame I would put on myself if I missed a day or over ate was horrible. From this I’ve realised that It is so important to have a healthy mindset around exercise and food… It may take time to master but definitely keep trying to maintain a positive body image… Now all I do is a mixture of walking, yoga and light weights. Not only am I the healthiest I’ve ever been but I’m also the happiest!
Keeping Stress Levels Down - This was a big one for me and one that was ingrained so deep into my subconscious that I didn’t even realise how stressed out I was. Over the last few years I’ve worked really hard on being kinder to myself and not having such high unrealistic expectations of myself. This was a really negative pattern that I had when I was younger and the internal stress was debilitating. I found that once I got a handle on this and lowered my stress and anxiety levels, my skin also calmed down. This is definitely something I highly recommend you look into.
In conclusion…
I wrote this blog post to give you all an insight into Vayda Organics and why I created this beautiful skincare range. My hope is that you can take away these few lifestyle practices and implement them into your daily lives.
When sharing skin health information on my socials, with nutrition clients or at events I always encourage people to look at their life as a whole. Yes high quality skincare will help with your skin and reduce your chemical load but it is only one piece of the puzzle. In order to be the healthiest and happiest version of you, you must address not only one but all lifestyle factors and see how you can make positive changes that are right for you!
You’ll find that once you start eating healthier, drinking more water, exercising, sleeping better, using good quality skincare products, keeping stress levels down, removing negativity and being kinder to yourself - Your skin and your overall physical and mental health will thrive!
*Disclaimer -The information provided is for educational purposes only. No therapeutic or medical claims are being made. This blog contains my own opinions and the information provided is accurate and true to the best of my knowledge. In no way should this information replace the advice provided by your medical practitioner nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease.
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