Step into any grocery, drug or department store and you will quickly see that the personal care industry is BIG business.

Entire aisles and store sections are devoted to an array of lotions, creams, shampoos, conditioners, cleansers, toners, scrubs, etc.

And the manufacturers of these products know darn well that people are willing to spend large amounts of money and do practically anything to look good. I swear that a personal care company could bottle used motor oil and market it as a moisturizer! 

Now, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good! Feeling attractive on the outside can certainly boost confidence and self-esteem, and help lift your mood, among other things.

But what many people don’t realize (and the personal care companies are hoping it stays that way) is that the real key to glowing, smooth skin and shiny, silky hair comes from within.

Sure, personal care products can certainly help improve your appearance to a degree, but the true secret lies within you.

To help you see the connection between your inner health and your outward appearance, let’s start by looking at some…

Fun skin and hair facts

Your skin

Your skin accounts for about 7 percent of your bodyweight and varies in thickness from about 4/100ths to 16/100ths of an inch.

If you were to "slide out” of your skin and lay it flat on the ground, it would cover about 21 square feet--the size of a twin bed mattress!

Even though it's thin, your skin is made up of 3 layers.

The top one is the epidermis, which is your main protective shield. Your nails are also part of your epidermis, so when we’re talking about skin health, that also includes your nails!

The next layer down is the dermis. New skin cells are born in the dermis and migrate up to the epidermis, plus your oil and sweat glands live in the dermis too.

The boundaries between the epidermis and dermis are not always smooth. For example, in your fingertips these boundaries are studded with bumps and ridges--this is how your fingerprints are created.

Your innermost skin layer--the subcutaneous layer--is below the dermis and binds your skin to your tissues and bone. It’s also where your fat cells reside.

Your hair

The average full adult head of hair has about 100,000 hairs on the scalp, and each hair lives about 4 years before it falls out.

The roots of your hair lie in the dermis (middle) layer of the skin, but the pits from where your hair grows (the follicles) are in the epidermis.

The visible part of your hair is called the shaft, and shafts come in 3 styles:

- Round shafts produce straight hair. 
- Oval shafts produce wavy hair. 
- Shafts that are flat like ribbons produce tight, curly hair.

Your hair color comes from cells called melanocytes at the base of the hair follicles. These melanocytes secrete a blend of colors (yellow, red, brown and black) which becomes your hair color.

Unfortunately, melanocytes die off as we age...and our hair turns gray, white or salt-and-pepper.

Makes yours shine and glow!

Here are some highly effective ways you can help create smooth, soft skin and shiny, lustrous hair from within:

Nourish your skin and hair 

Having a healthy diet of nutritious real foods is a must. Like they used to say in the computer industry, garbage in, garbage out. If you put junk inside of you, trust me, the outside of you will clearly reflect that fact.

Stick to fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, poultry and fish, eggs, real butter, olive oil and coconut oil. At the same time, avoid seed and vegetable oils, refined grains and all ultra-processed foods.

Although all nutrients are important in their own way, the superstars for healthy skin and hair are:

• Biotin

• Vitamin D

• Vitamin B6

• Vitamin C

• Vitamin E

• Zinc

If you want to make sure you have those important nutrient bases covered, Super Core multi-vitamin formula is just what you need!

Super Core contains health-supporting doses of all those nutrients, plus antioxidants which help counteract premature aging from free radicals, and anti-inflammatories which support skin health!

Get enough Omega-3 essential fatty acids

You need proper levels of Omega-3 essential fatty acids to maintain healthy cell membranes--and that includes hair and skin cells!

In addition to eating more fatty fish (like wild salmon), VitalMega-3 fish oil formula can help support your body’s Omega-3 EFA needs.

VitalMega-3 provides a soothing 1,200 mg of pure, pharmaceutical-grade Omega-3 fats in every daily 2-capsule dose.

And in addition to supporting hair and skin health, VitalMega-3 can help encourage lower blood pressure and healthy cholesterol levels too!

Drink enough water

Water provides natural moisture and carries needed nutrients to your skin and hair, and it sweeps away waste products, both of which in turn help keep your skin smooth and clear.

Strive to drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of filtered water a day.

An easy way to tell if you're drinking enough water is to look in the toilet bowl. Your urine should be relatively clear and very light yellow. If it's opaque and dark yellow (at any time other than first thing in the morning), chances are good you need to drink more water.

Get your thyroid tested

Dry skin, hair loss and brittle nails are all signs of low-functioning thyroid (hypothyroidism). See your doctor if you suspect this is an issue for you.

Ask your doctor to run a TRH Stimulation test (also known as a TRH Challenge test). The standard go-to TSH test can miss several cases of hypothyroidism, whereas the TRH test is much more sensitive and thorough.

If your doctor is not familiar with the TRH test, in addition to the standard TSH test, insist that he/she run a complete battery of thyroid tests including:

• Free T4 and Free T3

• Total T4 and Total T3

• Thyroid Antibody Testing

• Reverse T3

Quit smoking

This should be obvious—if you smoke, QUIT.

Nothing will destroy your skin and hair (as well as age you) faster than smoking.

There are many stop smoking programs and aids out there, so pick one and get going.

(Note that I must caution you against resorting to Chantix. Its list of side effects reads like a horror movie script and includes anger, anxiety, nightmares, behavioral changes, panic and suicidal thoughts.)

Choose the right topical products

Choose skin and hair care products that contain hemp seed oil. Hemp seed oil contains essential fatty acids, amino acids, natural proteins, vitamins and nutrients that are all vital for healthy skin and hair.

And for a facial moisturizer, nothing beats vitamin C cream! I’ve been using Avalon Organics Vitamin C cream for over 15 years, and I’d never use anything else on my face!

To help your hair and skin look their absolute best, remember you need to take care of them on the inside and outside!

I bet you’ll see a difference very soon.

To your health,

Sherry Brescia