Looking After Your Skin by the Vale Practice

‘Our skin is the organ in our body that is the most in touch with the outside world. It protects us from our environment, releases toxins, keeps our thermostat even by opening and closing pores and releasing sweat to cool the body.’ So says massage therapist and acupuncturist Bea Erler. She should know better than most how neglected and underappreciated our vital outer coating generally is.

Keeping Your Skin In Good Condition

To keep your skin in good condition, Vale Practice massage therapist Paul Smith has compiled the following checklist:

• Plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables in your diet help remove toxins from the body, feed the skin with essential nutrients and nourish damaged cells.
• To maintain good artery health, your diet should also include plenty of fruit, fish, potassium and calcium as well as a healthy balance of meats and good fats - olive oil, avocados, and nuts.
• Getting enough sleep is essential as it allows the body to fully relax and heal. At least 7-8 hours is recommended.
• Smoking causes the skin to dry out and lose moisture and its collagen growth, while drinking alcohol causes puffiness and toxin bulid up.
• Daily exercise, whether it is walking, yoga, pilates or swimming, is great for skin tone and helps shift or eliminating cellulite.
• Drink at least 2 litres of water per day, to cleanse the body of toxins and rehydrate your skin.
• Vitamin D, which gives the body melanin, is produced by the sun, so is good for the skin, but only in small doses. Try to incorporate a sun protection cream into your daily moisture routine.

When Things Go Wrong With Your Skin

Spots, sweating, hair loss, rashes are usually symptoms of other, deeper seated problems. Bea Erler says: Acne is often caused by a hormone imbalance. Acupuncture's subtle rebalancing effect, work well for hormonal imbalances and is a great therapy for acne, not only in teenagers.’

Sweating disorders including a lack of sweating or excess sweating can also be seriously improved through acupuncture. Says Bea: ‘Menopausal symptoms can include excess sweating and are treatable with acupuncture alongside other menopausal symptoms by nourishing and balancing the body's energies and meridians and to make the natural change of the hormonal system easier.’

Bea also uses acupuncture to help boost hair growth, at times when it arises, including during or after pregnancy. She says: ‘Hair loss can be caused by what is called in Chinese medicine the pathological energy of Heat. This can also lead to dryness, itching, redness, flaking of skin cells. With acupuncture this pathological heat will be dispersed out of the body, giving the skin and hair normal conditions to recover and re-grow.’

Homeopath Rosy Byatt says: ‘The skin is the largest organ of the body. The bowels excrete waste, the kidneys excrete fluids, lungs excrete gases, and skin excretes anything else. Therefore skin symptoms present when there is an imbalance in the body. Eczema, psoriasis and other skin conditions are treated effectively with homoeopathy as the underlying cause is addressed.’ She recommends a proper homeopathic consultation to resolve chronic problems, but says ‘in acute situations such as an allergy the remedy urtica urens is a good remedy to clear an itchy rash.’

Rashes are a frequent occurence in young children. As long as the rash vanishes, momentarily, when the affected area is pressed with fingers or the heel of the hand, (if it doesn’t, see your GP immediately), the following factors should be considered. Bea Erler says: ‘Skin rashes can be an allergic reaction to an outside agent (like perfumed soap, deodorants, washing powders, textiles, metals in clothing); they can result from foods or medications or drugs, or be a reaction to something the body does not tolerate. Rashes can be caused by ongoing internal imbalances, often related to the liver organ. If the rash is a reaction to an agent, this must be found out and eliminated. If the rash is a symptom of an internal imbalance, acupuncture rebalances the internal organs and meridians to clear the rash.’

Traditional Chinese herbal medicine (TCM) has long been regarded as a powerful treatment for eczema and psoriasis, and has been acknowledged as such by the NHS. Vale Practice acupuncturist and TCM expert Angelo D’Alberto says: ‘Chinese herbs are commonly used both internally and externally for skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis. It is also important to look at the diet and remove any possible foods that might be aggravating the problem - for example, dairy or shellfish.’

Mind Over Matter

Bernadette O’Brien, our counsellor and psychotherapist, knows there’s often more to skin problems than meets the eye. She says: ‘Our skin acts as a barrier or protection between our inner experience and the outer world. Occasionally skin conditions can be an outer manifestation of deeper rooted feelings that are hard to get at and understand. Working with a psychotherapist can help to gently unravel the belief systems that may be behind these conditions. How we feel 'in our skins' is as important as to how we think and feel - they are all interrelated.’

Hypnotherapist and Reiki therapist Jane Crowe has also had remarkable results from treating the mental component behind some skin conditions. She says: ‘I treated a young woman who had developed psoriasis within 24 hours of being attacked at a swimming pool. On a subconscious level she wanted to prevent anything like that happening again. The symptoms had lasted for three years, affecting her knees, elbows and most of her back and thighs. Topical treatments and other complementary therapies hadn’t helped in her case. A series of hypnotherapy sessions helped her develop a “virtual protective layer” that empowered her to feel she had regained her sense of personal safety. Of course she continued to take care that she didn’t put herself knowingly in harm’s way. Feeling safe and secure in her mind the need for the psoriasis faded away. After four sessions her symptoms had also faded away – they were no longer needed.’

The Vale Practice was founded in 2000 by osteopath Amberin Fur, who felt that there was a strong requirement for an integrated compementary medical practice to serve South East London. She has hand-picked an excellent, highly qualified and motivated team of practitioners, to offer a full, holistic range of therapies from hypnotherapy to acupuncture. Working to the highest standards, the practice aims to offer a tailored treatment programme to maximise the clients’ health and wellbeing.