I love helping women get healthy skin through holistic wellness. I have spent the past 10 years extensively studying how to get healthy glowing skin using natural, plant-based ingredients in natural skincare products that are tailored for acne-prone skin, as well as the role that holistic nutrition, stress and sleep plays when it comes to the skin.
I am a Certified Nutrition Practitioner (CNP) in Holistic Nutrition, Certified Nutritional Aesthetics Practitioner (CNAP) and a Certified Organic Skincare formulator.
In other words, I take a holistic view of the skin and look at both what you put ON the skin as well as what goes IN the body. My main focus is to help ensure that you are only putting non-toxic ingredients on and in your body that will help to promote overall health.
Many women don't realize that the products they use contain the Dirty Dozen and can cause harm including hormonal disruption and illness.
I love all things to do with the skin, our largest organ. That is why I became a natural skincare product formulator and started my own indie, small-batch skincare brand (indie means independently owned).
I care passionately about how to help women to get healthier skin at all ages, but especially in the midlife transition of (peri)menopause that can happen anywhere from 35-55.
I deal with many female clients who are frustrated and suffering with acne ~ whether they are in their teens, 20s, 30s, 40s or over 50!
Acne doesn't discriminate by age. It can plague anyone, male or female, at any age. And it can be complicated and deeply rooted in things such as poor digestive health or leaky gut, or it can be a simple fix such as switching up the products you use.
The big kicker is when you are a midlife woman dealing with all the hormonal and physical changes and then BAM! you get hit with menopausal acne too!
While there are many causes and sources of acne that are caused by some sort of imbalance, the one common denominator is the FRUSTRATION that women feel as a result.
What is the single biggest piece of advice for Acne Sufferers, for any age?
DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!!
And by lots I mean at least 64 ounces/2 litres a day plus plus plus.
Why is water so important?
⇨It helps to keep your digestion flowing and along with that it means you are (hopefully) pooping 💩 more regularly and thereby eliminating some toxins from your body.
⇨It helps to keep your skin hydrated. When your skin gets too dry then the dry skin cells form a layer that traps dirt and oils beneath the surface. This in turn causes an acne breakout to happen! (Tip: check your lips to see if they are chapped as that's a good sign that your whole body needs more hydration!)
Tips to drink more water:
Get yourself a big, fun water bottle or jug that you fill daily and track your 64 ounces/2 litres.
Don't love plain water? Try herbal tea, add fruit to water, drink sparkling water. Just get it in your body! Coffee doesn't count btw. 🤣
If you are really serious about wanting to get rid of acne once and for all, it may take more than just increasing the amount of water you drink each day.
Read on for a recent case study of a female client I worked with and the results we obtained after 45 days.
REAL RESULTS. SEE IT FOR YOURSELF!
Featured above is a client named Samantha (not her real name) who is 21 years old and has been struggling with acne for a long time. She was frustrated and felt she had tried so many things and lived a healthy lifestyle, but couldn't stop the cycle of these breakouts from returning month after month.
I used a combined approach of Natural Acne Skincare Products combined with Holistic Lifestyle recommendations to help calm the inflammation and heal her gut.
Why both? Can't topical solutions alone solve acne? NO!!!! Acne is a sign of inflammation or gut health imbalances caused by a multitude of factors.
Most often acne (and other skin ailments) are a sign of something else going on INSIDE the body. We always have to look at the level of stress one is facing AND what foods are being eaten (or which nutrients are missing) because that impacts the gut microbiome and causes inflammation, and thus acne breakouts.
It is all related: what goes IN your body, what goes ON your skin and also what is happening in your LIFE!
Here's the process we took to help heal her acne that could work for any woman at any age, including hormonal perimenopausal acne.
I created a customized, bio-individual plan for her based on what she felt was reasonable for her life and what I felt her body needed based on her health status and history at her intake.
1. She used our Clean Kiss 4-Step Acne Products exclusively for 45 days x2 daily or more (am & pm). Note that these products are not drying at all because adding moisture to the skin is crucial to heal and prevent acne.
2. She changed her hygiene habits by increasing to washing her face x2 daily (am & pm) or more if she worked out and after getting home from work.
3. She increased her water hydration significantly!
4. She stopped picking her pimples and touching her face.
5. She changed her pillow cases more frequently to reduce the bacteria that she rubbed against her face every night while sleeping.
6. We worked on a nutrition plan to help her get more of the nutrients her body needed to heal her acne (such as B Vitamins - Biotin), probiotics, and Omega 3 oils.
At Day 30, interestingly you can see that her acne looks a little more inflamed than when she started. She was sick at this time with mononucleosis, from the Epstein-Barr Virus and it impacts your immune system, lymph nodes and liver. Once again it seems to prove that what is happening inside your body shows up on your skin!
By Day 45 she reports that "her skin was less inflamed, acne has improved, her skin is healing. There is less redness and fewer breakouts!"
It was a pleasure to work with this client and to help her learn about her body, her hormones and how using food as medicine, calming stress and getting more sleep are all beneficial for skin health and an overall healthy body.
All of these principles apply to menopausal skin also but this is where a customized plan would be developed with each client after assessing your specific symptoms and after doing some diagnostic testing.
About the Author:
Jodie Pappas is a holistic lifestyle wellness practitioner helping ambitious menopausal women to feel great in their body. She helps women to find balance in their skin, gut and hormones through non-restrictive holistic nutrition, movement (yoga, pilates, barre, strength), and living toxin-free to promote healthy hormones.
Jodie uses her 3S approach to help women with problems related to skin, sleep and stress ~ because they are all related!
Jodie is a Certified Organic Skincare Formulator and Brand Founder of Clean Kiss Lifestyle, Certified Nutrition Practitioner (CNP-holistic nutritionist), Certified Nutritional Aesthetic Practitioner (CNAP), and a Yoga (250RYT) and Barre Teacher. She helps women to improve their skin issues, gut imbalances and hormonal issues in midlife by getting to the root causes.
Jodie offers 1:1 Health Consultations to clients as well as a Health Membership group, in-person workshops and retreats.
You can find Jodie on Instagram, LinkedIn and Youtube under @cleankisslifestyle.
