How I'm Healing my Skin with Healthy Lifestyle

Healing takes time. Every single time I post about my skin- someone mistakes it as an open invitation for a sales pitch for their product and a “quick fix”. It doesn’t bother me, however I know it offends many others. (My tip: Unless someone posts and says, “I need help” or “Looking for recommendations” I would steer clear of unsolicited advice especially when it’s a product you sell.) I want to make it clear that I am not looking for a solution, because I’ve already found one. Hence my literal use of the word healing.

This is what healing looks like.

This is what healing looks like.

I just wanted to reduce my rosacea without medication or harsh chemicals, that’s how all of this started. I am a blogger in the beauty industry- so believe me when I say- I’ve tried IT ALL. ⁣⁣⁣

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I’ve struggled for years with acne. My rosacea popped up recently. It went away with antibiotics & treatments. It easily covered with makeup, but I knew I needed long term restoration. I needed more than a pill, laser, product, or topical ointment (which all worked temporarily) to get to the root of it, for good. ⁣⁣⁣
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One thing led to another and before I knew it, I realized it’s not just ONE THING that’s the answer to HEALING... ⁣⁣⁣
It’s everything. ⁣⁣⁣
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It’s HOW you think. ⁣⁣⁣
It’s WHO you surround yourself with.⁣⁣
It’s HOW you treat yourself. ⁣⁣⁣
It’s WHAT you eat/drink.⁣⁣⁣
It’s limiting screen time.⁣⁣
It’s getting more sleep. ⁣⁣
It’s what you use TOPICALLY. ⁣⁣⁣

So what have I done?

DIET:

  • water water water

  • intermittent fasting (I eat between 11a-7p)

  • breaking fast with celery juice

  • zero alcohol (huge trigger for my flare ups)

  • dairy & gluten limited

NUTRITION:

  • I began a complete supplement regimen customized by a stool test, it was fascinating to see what was going on internally. I highly recommend a consultation with @DetoxingwithDani

  • Beachbody Vegan Shakes from the BEST COACH ever @kimhamilton.fit

CLEAN MAKEUP:

  • What sits on our face allllll day is super important. I was always a MAC girl and I am shocked to find clean replacements without compromising coverage.

CLEAN SKINCARE:

  • You might not know, I am a rep for Monat. I am a hairstylist, so initially the draw was the incredible results for the haircare. When we launched Skincare I was nervous because my skin is so sensitive & problematic. What if I used it and hated it? yikes. LUCKILY- its substantially helped. My face cannot tolerate our fabulous Rewind Nectar, but my neck and hands have aged backwards thanks to the scientific natural blend. My overall texture has improved and I am so excited to find Naturally based products that work for my SUPER SENSITIVE skin.

DM ME FOR CONSULTATION www.instagram.com/christinaasmallwood

POSITIVE MINDSET:

  • Be Kind to yourself and the way you talk about yourself. You would be surprised the changes that begin to happen when you LOVE yourself more. Look into the mirror, into your own eyes. Tell yourself YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. Do it until you believe it.

  • Let go of ANGER. Rosacea is linked to feelings of resentment & frustration. Consult with a therapist and see if you’re hiding any of those emotions that are coming out in your skin.

I have had so many people reach out that suffer with Rosacea, YOU CAN make changes with Healthy Lifestyle. It takes commitment to CHANGE, which is scary, I know. But understand, you’re not alone.

Transitioning to CLEAN MAKEUP

The older I get, the more I realize the importance of WHAT we are using on our face. Occasionally I sleep with my makeup on, I hate to admit it- but its the TRUTH. By the end of the day sometimes I’m just too DARN tired to go wash my face lol. If you’ve followed along with me for awhile, this should not come as a shock to you.

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I have opened up about my Rosacea and received SO MANY tips: from Celery Juice to Goat Milk Kefir Masks (“ROSACEA THINGS” BLOG COMING SOON).

CLICK THE PIC TO CONTACT JEN DIRECTLY FOR YOUR FREE CONSULTATION

CLICK THE PIC TO CONTACT JEN DIRECTLY FOR YOUR FREE CONSULTATION

it’s a real obsession now!

I fell in LOVE with this BEAUTY COUNTER Makeup! My girlfriend Jen is the BEST consultant and I suggest a consultation with her for custom matching and suggestions based on your skin tone. For your convenience I’ve linked alllll my favorites here!

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some more favorites available in my amazon shop!

The breakdown of Tamra & Shannon's RHOC gallery Hairstyles.

IF you HAD to vote for your favorite look, who wold it be? I know, Shannon & Tamra!

(They got my votes! LOL!)

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I am so lucky that glammin up these two babes was my job that day! It’s always FULL of laughs & never a dull moment. They are a TRUE JOY to work with.

I wanted to breakdown the looks so you can recreate them at home!

Let’s start with Tamra.

To achieve Tamra’s OLD HOLLYWOOD GLAM LOOK I did soft waves with my GHD 1” Classic Flat Iron. This bad boy has one setting so you’re not gonna over-heat your hair - it also only takes about a minute to get hot. It also has a really nice long chord. One of my favorite things about this tool is that it doesn’t snag your hair at all, providing the perfect element of GLIDE for your curls or waves.


Tamra loves a lot of soft movement in her hair, so I avoid sticky hairsprays. I work a lot with powders (especially for all day shoots) this one from Monat is THE BEST! It’s a conditioning Dry Shampoo that leaves the hair shiny & soft. It is my GO TO DRY SHAMPOO.


Now on to Shannon.

So Shannon was game for something super fun and different- I opted for a fun WAVY ‘do! For this look I opted to use my GHD Creative Curl Wand. It’s not perfectly round so thats why the waves are waves and not spirals! The tool is a really rad shape with one single button. It heats up in a matter of seconds and distributes the heat perfectly for the most amazing final result.

In order for this textured do to stay full of fresh life all day- I worked my favorite Texturizer into it. Another Monat GEM!! It creates the perfect amount of stick and separation without weight the hair down. Because you spray it into your hands first, it lasts forever- making it worth every single penny!





safer haircare that really works

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WHAT YOU PUT ON YOUR HAIR & SKIN MATTERS…

“Your skin absorbs 60% of what you put on it and 26% of what you put on it is absorbed into your blood stream within 26 seconds,” isn’t that bonkers?!

When your child has a Life Changing Diagnosis, you really evaluate the things that matter. ETHICAL BEAUTY PRODUCTS is one of them- especially with a gorgeous Mane like Fin’s.

When Fin was a baby- I was all about Honest and the organic goodies from the store- but finding a NATURALLY BASED product that was good for you and WORKS good for you is a whole other ball game.

We LOVE using Beauty Counter Body wash in the TUB, and find that those don’t leave a film or residue on ur skin.
but, let’s talk hair….

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BUT, LETS TALK HAIR….

I’ll never forget our first wash with these Botanically Based products… HOLY MOLY!! The Brush went through Finley’s super tangly hair like butter! BUTTER! I had to make a video or else no one would believe me and this goodness…

VIP: HOW TO WASH YOUR HAIR WHEN USING MONAT *Be prepared to shampoo your hair twice. ✌🏼 *First, Get it really, really wet. And don't wring out the water before you add shampoo. 💦 *"STEP 1"- Rub a nickel size amount of your shampoo between your hands until your palms are alllllll emulsified with shampoo- and then massage into scalp.

Finley is five years old and I use adult products on her, because

  1. THEY ARE SAFE & FREE OF HARSH CHEMICALS

  2. SHE HAS MORE HAIR THAN AN ADULT

    what we love about monat

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MONAT products are produced using the highest quality food and pharmaceutical grade botanical extracts, essential oils, vitamins and minerals. We do not use industrial grade vitamins that are found in most body care products on the market today.

The company keeps track of their quality by enforcing “Small batch manufacturing” as it assures that the products are consistent. Being the #1 Luxury Haircare company in the US you would assume a huge factory dispenses products into bottles in mass quantities with no regard for quality control- but even though its costly to continue- the company maintains their integrity and standards. This might just be my favorite thing!!

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The products are never boiled. Which I’m sure you’re like- okayyy…. but this assures that the natural, health giving vitamins and botanical extracts will not lose their nutritional values. Most cosmetics are manufactured in large steam pressurization vats that boil the products at high temperatures, which causes them to turn to a liquid or cream state. This is equivalent to boiling your vegetables too long, taking away all of the nutrients.

These products are one of the BEST things you can use on you hair no matter you hair needs- there’s tons of products to choose from as they are problem specific. If you’re curios and wanna give them a try for yourself feel free to take my free hair quiz.


Whether your hair is:

THICK & FRIZZY

FINE & FLAT

THIN & THINNING

CURLY & CRAZY

we have a regimen for you!!

I am truly obsessed with these products. I am SO GLAD they exist- they’ve helped many of my customers with psoriasis, dandruff, unmanageable hair, and also- the shine they give the hair is truly incredible. If you have a kiddo that you would like to try the MONAT JUNIOR line on, I highly recommend starting ASAP!!! You won’t regret it!

FOLLOW MY PERSONAL ACCOUNT ON IG - DM ME IF YOU”RE INTERESTED IN FINDING THE RIGHT REGIMEN FOR YOU!

Or EMAIL ME:

SmallwoodStudiosINC@gmail.com