By Gritty Pretty
@gritty_pretty
What do Charlotte Tilbury, Sienna Miller, Kate Bosworth, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Penélope Cruz have in common?
Aside from the fact they’re all decidedly gorgeous, their skin is tended to by one Dr. Nigma Talib, a world-renowned naturopathic doctor.
The job of a naturopathic doctor, explains Dr. Talib, is to examine the body at a cellular level and determine the root cause (often dietary) of your skin concerns including wrinkles, dark-under eye bags, acne and red, puffy cheeks.
With this in mind, here are the top three tips she preaches to her clients:
1. Everlasting youth should NOT be your beauty goal
“Both my clients and me have progressed from the cliché of everlasting youth and the obsession to look young,” says Dr. Talib. “Instead the focus has shifted to beauty at every age. Each cycle of your life comes with unique beauty that needs to be celebrated and projected as positively as possible. Nutrition, lifestyle and gut health are the first subjects that get addressed in my patient’s ‘beauty’ paths.” Which leads straight into her next point…
2. Your anti-aging regime starts in your gut
In her book Younger Skin Starts In The Gut, Dr. Talib details how what we eat is clearly identifiable in our skin woes. Just by looking at her clients’ faces, she can instantly tell you what foods are ageing your skin and need to be eliminated from your diet.
DAIRY faces-
show symptoms of swollen eyelids, pale cheeks, are more prone to under eye bags and dark circles and widespread acne and congested spots on chin.
GLUTEN faces –
are predisposed to breakouts on the forehead, cheeks and puffy and red cheeks, as well as dark patches around the chin.
SUGAR faces –
are susceptible to forehead lines, sagging under the eyes, thinning of skin, dull skin and will get spots all over the face.
WINE faces –
tend to get enlarged pores, droopy eyelids, deep folds around the nose, a reddish skin tone and dehydrated skin and feathery lines around the cheek.
By eradicating the right irritants and intolerances for at least 28 days, and then limiting these from her clients’ lifestyles, she sees visible results from clearer skin complexions to more energy. “A healthy glow is the foundation for the work that follows,” she adds.
3. Use science-driven skincare treatments
One of the star skincare ingredients you’ll ever use is hyaluronic acid, which is involved in keeping the skin hydrated but levels drop as we age making it more important to use topically in a serum or moisturiser. “I particularly like to use it on top of [an antioxidant serum] as this helps push them deep into the skin where they can work effectively,” writes Dr. Talib in her book.
Controversially, she’s also an opponent of using skincare oils, especially on dry skin. Hear her out: “The skin likes to live in balance – if you apply oil to it externally it gets a message that it doesn’t need to produce oils of its own. This means your skin can actually start to dry out as you use it…”
To supplement a good-skin diet and target persistent skin concerns, Dr. Talib also provides her clients non-intrusive topical treatments at her clinics around the world. She’s also just release her own skincare brand, Dr. Nigma, to market (available exclusively on Net-A-Porter). We’ll bet her celebrity clients are all over it.
