I am happy to be able to offer the Osmosis skin care line at my office, after many years of trying to find something to help heal my troubled skin. After surviving 20 brutal winters in Montreal and Ottawa, and being a redhead to boot, I was left with inflamed and rosacea-prone skin.  The stress of completing my program in homeopathy, and then moving across the country away from friends and family, lead to my developing acne on top of the rosacea.  I was determined to find a solution and one that didn’t include using pharmaceuticals.  I tried numerous natural salves, ointments, creams, serums and “cure-all” potions, but to no avail.    That’s when I was introduced to the Osmosis line by another natural health practitioner. Your skin can mirror the health problems you are struggling with on the inside.  In my case it was due to environmental and emotional stress.  For others, it could be due to an allergy or a candida infection.  Whatever the cause, skin problems can bring up a lot of insecurities; hence the reason why so many people shell out tons of money to try and fix their skin’s imperfections.

In my last post I talked about how when the primary pathways of elimination are not functioning very well, the body can use the skin as a detoxification route.  The liver is one of the primary pathways of elimination and plays a big role in metabolizing hormones and detoxifying toxins (e.g. environmental or internal). If it isn’t functioning properly, then you might start noticing any number of skin conditions begin to show up such as acne, rosacea and eczema.  In my practice, I always provide liver support for those patients struggling with skin issues.  I also make dietary recommendations, since there are so many foods that provide nutrients for the skin. I also suggest topical products to help heal the skin, which can speed up results. It’s important when selecting topical products, however, to ensure that they do not contain toxins such as parabens or synthetic fragrance, which can be carcinogenic and irritating to the skin.  These toxins can be absorbed into the bloodstream and wreak havoc on the body.  Check out the list of Dirty Dozen Cosmetic Ingredients to Avoid.

While researching conventional treatment options for rosacea and acne I discovered that many approaches, such as laser or antibiotics, were either too costly or risky.  From a holistic standpoint I knew that laser could damage the skin if used incorrectly and that regular use of antibiotics would wipe out my friendly flora and create potential future problems for my skin (not to mention digestive and immune issues).

The Osmosis line gave me the option of a natural medical-grade skin care line that provides corrective skin care therapy by delivering active ingredients into the dermal layer, where the majority of skin issues originate. This skin care line uses vitamins, minerals and herbs topically to correct the physiology of your skin. In addition, it does not expose you to the many stressors that a lot of other skin care products contain.

Here are the main principles of Osmosis Skin Care line:

• Use a natural transporter to be able to reach the deep dermal layer of the skin: This is done with a fat soluble compound called phosphatidylcholine, which can transport substances to the dermis but also move them across cell membrane into the skin cell.
• Allow vasodilation so that nutrients can be delivered and wastes can be excreted: This is done with niacinamide.
• Provide a substance that can remove waste products (these are the little garbage men!): This is done with beta glucan.
• Provide various nutrients to the surface as well as to the deeper layers of the skin to correct deep damage: This is done with various herbs, vitamins and minerals depending on what the skin condition requires to aid in building back a healthy skin physiology.
• Improve skin turn over so that healthier skin can prevail: This is done with retinaldehyde.

This approach creates the following benefits:

• Reduced inflammation and free radical damage
• Increases skins production of collagen/ elastin
• Improves skins ability to protect itself
• Anti-oxidant delivery and manufacturing
• Penetrates into the dermis and then into the cell to correct deep damage
• Removes scarring and debris,
• Restores the skin barrier
• Increases epidermal turnover
• Normalizes oil and moisture
• Improves repair response and UV protection

There are several different skin products to deal with the variety of skin conditions:

• Acne
• Rosacea
• Hyperpigmentation
• Aging
• Sensitive skin
• Dry skin
• Oily skin
• Lackluster skin

I have been using these products for over three years now with amazing results, so I feel confident recommending them to patients for a variety of skin conditions.