The Future of Healthy Skin Care

A Skin Care Line You Must Know About

Body Ecology recently had the opportunity to speak with the owner of an innovative skin care company called Golden Path Alchemy – an organic, green, and holistic skin care company that uses Chinese medicine as the foundation for their skin care line.

Owner Ashley Beckman met co-owner Minka Robinson as acupuncture students. Their common interest in pure, non-toxic skin care and mutual admiration for the potency and therapeutic spectrum found in whole herbs were what brought these two friends together as business partners.

And while its job is to protect us, most of the time what we put on our skin hinders rather than helps our skin do its job. For example, most cleansers contain harsh chemicals that literally strip away the protective acid mantle from the surface of the skin. This acid mantle, which usually falls around 5.0 on the pH scale, creates a natural barrier against pathogenic microorganisms.

When using skin products that contain a synthetic or an isolated chemical, even one that is naturally derived, our body gets used to the substance and builds up a response to it that can be detrimental to the skin and affect our internal balance.

Healthy, radiant skin is hard to miss! And it all starts with holistic skin care that uses essential oils to balance the complexion and naturally kill bacteria.

It is estimated that the number of bacteria living in and on the human body outnumber the body’s own cells 10 to 1.

• The surface of the skin harbors lipophilic bacteria.
• Lipophilic bacteria are fat-friendly microbes.
• This means that they consume the oil found naturally on our skin.
• What they leave behind is a thin, antimicrobial layer of fatty acids.
• When we wash our skin with certain products, we wash the protective oils away and become most susceptible to infection.

The oils naturally found on the surface of the skin, called sebum, contain medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). Lipophilic microbes consume the glycerol portion of skin oils and leave the fatty acids. These fatty acids that skin microbes leave behind are called medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs). They naturally kill pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

It is important to point out that medium-chain triglycerides, found in sebum and also coconut oil, are only antimicrobial when they are digested and converted into medium-chain fatty acids. Every time we wash our skin with harsh, synthetic soaps, we are also washing away medium-chain fatty acids that have already gone through the conversion process. 

A New Approach to Beautiful Skin

Golden Path Alchemy understands that to truly heal and nourish the skin, it is necessary to work with the intelligence already present in the skin. Many of Golden Path Alchemy’s products contain coconut oil, jojoba oil, and a variety of other oils that contribute to the natural chemical barrier of the skin. These oils, rather than making the skin oily, actually soothe inflamed and acne-prone skin.

• Coconut oil works with the friendly microbes on our skin.
• Jojoba oil is prized for its similarity to sebum and is also a potent fungicide.

The products for acne-prone skin are a part of the Purify skin care line. Ashley tells us that, “The fire element has to do a lot with heat. Oftentimes, heat in Chinese medicine is the cause of acne.” That’s why in addition to nourishing oils that support the natural acidic layer on the skin, Golden Path Alchemy uses a mixture of western and Chinese herbs to cool down the inflammatory response and return the skin back to a state of balance.

A Holistic Skin Care Approach That the Body Understands

When we use herbs, essential oils, and flower or gem essences, we are actually speaking in a language that the body understands and responds readily to. Ashley tells us that when using a Chinese herbal formula, for example, “You’re using your body’s own healing process to fix the problem.”

Herbs and herbal-based oils are infinitely fine-tuned to the variances of the human body. Chinese herbal medicine is a system that has been in place for over 2,000 years.

Who has had the experience of dry, flaky skin during the autumn and winter months? Or more acne during a seasonal fast, when the body is purging toxins accumulated over the year?

Our skin, just like the earth, changes according to the seasons. This why Ashley recommends using the Five Element Theory of Chinese Medicine in her skin care line with the changing seasons.

Golden Path Alchemy carries five skin care lines that correspond to the Chinese Five Elements of Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood. In using all Five Elements, it is possible to address the skin at any stage. This means each line specifically works with a certain skin type and contains botanicals that are known to balance each skin type.

You can learn more about Gold Path Alchemy at the website:

http://www.goldenpathalchemy.com/

SPECIAL DEAL! Enter coupon code BodyEcology at checkout for 15% off all products at www.goldenpathalchemy.com! The coupon is good until August 31, 2011.