If there is one question I get asked more often than any others, it is this:

Ironically enough, I guess I would have to say..."Just my diet".

Make-up artists and hairstylists always tell me how easy I make their job, and they ask me what I use as well. I tell them that I am a raw vegan, and they just don't believe that it could be the answer. IT IS.

Even in the realms of the organic beauty industry, I believe there is one fundamental piece missing.
As long as you put poor foods INTO your body, nothing that you put ONTO your body will really matter.

No cremes or lotions or magic potions ever made a difference for me. It was not until I cut out dairy and cooked oils that my acne cleared up. Everyone talks about putting cucumbers on their eyes to reduce puffiness...how about EATING the cucumbers? I try to eat at least 1 cucumber a day, maybe 2.

I do believe the external products can help a little. But if we're feeding our skin, hair, and nails nothing but nasty foods, no topical raw, organic or vegan product will help us.

When we get into the cycle of using products, its hard to get off. Here is an example. We take lots of showers and usually always wash our hair. We strip out the natural oils by doing this. Then we have to re-condition our hair. Same with facial products. We use cremes to help with acne but by doing so, dry our skin out, and then we have to buy expensive moisturizers. Let the body do its thing... know what I mean?!

A big "Ah-ha!" moment about this subject happened before I went raw. I was eating healthier at that point, but was not quite there yet. I was on a road trip out to Oregon and lived on mostly peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and some carrot juice. Probably 32 oz of carrot juice a day. My feet, hands, and face started to turn orange.

Simple logic demonstrated that what I was consuming through my mouth was showing up on the surface of my skin. At last, I made the connection. So what happened when I drank 32 oz of milk a day? Oily, pimply skin.

When I was a teenager, my dermatologist told me not to take my acne medication with milk because another patient of his drank milk with his medicine, and the doctor figured that the milk was blocking the medicine from being absorbed, therefore halting any progress he would have made.

When I look back, I think just drinking the milk in general was keeping him from the clear skin. Not the simple fact that he was taking it with his medicine. An interesting thought.

For some it may be a little more complex. I know hormones affect the skin as well, especially in estrogen imbalances (high estrogen increases sebum production and taxes the liver). The roots of imbalances can be caused when taking oral birth control (though it works, the body doesn't understand what it is and what to do with it), eating soy products (gmo + high in estrogen), and a overworked liver which detoxifies everything (support your liver with dandelion, artichoke, milk thistle- when your liver is over worked- your body will use the skin as organ of elimination).  Also, for women as they age they tend not to drop an egg every month- which also is a culprit of throwing the hormones out of whack (when an egg is dropped a corpus luteum is formed which is the natural progesterone to balance out the estrogen).

So yes, it can be a little more complex, but on the whole, the use of beauty foods will consistently make a strong difference, much more than a bad diet coupled with beauty products ever could in my opinion.

So, what to eat?

Like I mentioned before, cucumbers seem to do wonders for me, and there are many female actresses that swear by them as well. I would also recommend awesome raw plant fats that will moisturize from the inside out.

Coconuts and avocados are amazing, and I'm big fan of hemp products too. Every so often I put coconut oil on my face and in my hair for some extra shine, maybe once every 2 weeks.

Any spicy greens like arugula and mustard greens. We are looking for sulfur. Sulfur is the element that is mainly responsible for building hair, skin, and nails. That is why taking MSM is so helpful for people with joint and skin issues.

And believe it or not, anything with fiber is good. It helps you eliminate more which will push toxins out through your colon instead of out through your skin. If you can get to the point of 3 eliminations a day, there should be some big changes happening in your outside appearance by then.

Beauty must come from the inside out. You have to cultivate beauty, just like you have to cultivate disease. We choose our path, whether consciously or not. When you realize that you are beautiful, you will treat yourself that way and eat that way.

We are beautiful, and beauty must be how we define ourselves. We are beauty. Make it your mantra. Cultivate it from the inside-out, and use some external products for "icing on the cake".

Just remember... it comes from within...

Peace and Love,
Anthony the Raw Model