Feeling sluggish? Skin lacking shine and substance? It might be time for a cleansing tonic.
When you think of a tonic for cleansing, what do you think of?
No, it’s not a carbonated beverage. That’s the wrong kind of tonic.
The definition is a substance (or ingredients) that provides a feeling of well-being. You might hear the term “liver tonic,” which is interchangeable with cleansing tonic. Either way, in this regard, a tonic invigorates and restores the body.
However, considering your body is pretty remarkable at detoxifying itself, why the need for such a tonic in the first place? After all, your liver, kidneys, lungs and colon are all working overtime as it is to rid your body of toxins.
Are “detoxing” and “cleansing” merely natural health propaganda catchphrases created to push sales of green drinks and other purifying products?
Well, considering how modern stressors bombard most people on a daily basis, perhaps there is a legitimate need for cleansing tonics.
Some of the culprits responsible for taxing your detox organs include:
- Synthetic chemicals that alter hormones
- Processed food
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Pesticides
- Working too much and not spending enough time in nature
Maybe you can relate to some of these modern societal ills. If you can, and if you are experiencing low energy, difficulty losing weight and poor skin tone, you might want to try a cleansing tonic.
Sometimes, your body might just need a detox assist. And cleansing tonics are easy to use. They can help purify your body for improved skin, digestion and other health benefits.
Cleansing Skin Tonics
When acne or blackheads strikes, don’t panic. And under no circumstances should you try to solve the problem by using harsh chemical pads. (Remember Oxy cleansing pads when you were a teen?) Your skin is a mirror of your internal body health. In other words, if you have healthy skin, your gut, where most of your immune system resides, is healthy. But if skin problems manifest, it’s usually an indication that something is wrong with your internal environment. Perhaps you don’t have enough good bacteria in the gut. You can also be deficient in stomach acid.
That’s why you may want to include probiotics and apple cider vinegar as part of your daily health routine. Taking probiotics can boost the beneficial bacteria in your gut. When you have more good bacteria fighting bad bacteria, your immune system will improve. Though you may have trouble making the connection between having a healthier immune system and clearer looking skin, the two play off each other.
In light of this, then, what’s a good cleansing tonic for the face? Try using witch hazel. Witch hazel contains anti acne medicinal botanicals. It can help regenerate your collagen. Collagen is a type of protein that when healthy, prevents your skin from sagging and getting wrinkly.
Many cleansing facial tonics that you can buy online contain cucumber extract and hyaluronic acid. These two natural ingredients can moisturize the skin and seal off your skin’s pores after you wash your skin.
Make sure that if you buy a cleansing face or skin toner that it does not include alcohol.
Liver Tonic for the Skin
In addition, you may also find that by taking a liver cleansing tonic, your skin will improve.
Liver tonics are most often in the form of a drink or supplement.
Although you don’t apply a liver tonic directly to your face, when your liver boosts its detoxification ability, you may notice your skin’s appearance improve.
That’s because when impurities burden the liver, the toxins frequently escape through the skin. Although you may hate your acne, be thankful that the poisons in your body has a place to escape rather than staying trapped in your liver. This could potentially create an environment for chronic disease including liver cancer.
Liver Cleanse Recipe
If you want to make your own liver detox and cleanse drink, here’s an easy way to do it.
In fact, out of the thousands of online recipes for liver cleanses, this one on Food.com contains only four ingredients:
- 1 carrot
- 1⁄2 beet
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 cucumber
To make the liver cleansing drink, first wash all vegetables well in pure water. Next, peel and cut the carrots and beets in chunks. You’ll then want to finely chop the celery and cucumber. If you have a Vitamix, this recipe will blend very easily. Other juicers should be effective as well. Because there is virtually no fat in this liver tonic, try to drink it right away. Fat prevents oxidation (spoilage). If you leave an apple out, you see how easily it oxidizes. The same is true with this liver tonic. So drink up!
Cleansing Tonic Drink
The above recipe is especially beneficial for the liver. Beets are well-known for their liver-purifying properties. But to cleanse the whole body, here’s a potent cleansing tonic drink based on the popular formula, Master Tonic.
The blended ingredients include:
- Garlic: You’re probably aware that garlic can protect you from germs. But is it proven to help detoxify? This study demonstrates that garlic protects against heavy metal poisoning. It can prevent the accumulation of heavy metals in the liver, kidneys, bones and testes. In fact, garlic proves to be more potent at detoxifying than a popular drug frequently used for lead poisoning.
- Onion: It’s so effective for detoxifying that it’s one food most often recommended for people who have recently quit smoking.
- Ginger: Not just a sushi topping, this study proves that ginger activates detoxification pathways in the body.
- Turmeric: This spice frequently used in Indian dishes contains a compound called curcumin. Curcumin provides turmeric with powerful detox properties, so much so that it can help with mercury exposure, according to this study.
- Apple Cider Vinegar
These are just some of the ingredients in the Master Tonic. There are other natural cleansing tonics that are even easier to use. One of them is dandelion tea. According to this study, dandelion root extract helps kill cancerous cells that would otherwise refuse to die. In fact, dandelion tea can kill off cancer cells that are resistant to chemotherapy.
How to use Cleansing Tonic
Let’s get back to using cleansing tonics for the skin….
The best way to use a cleansing tonic for your skin is by applying gentle strokes with a cotton pad and the facial toner of your choice. Do this every morning and evening. But do not rinse your face with water after applying the toner. The water may neutralize the cleansing effects.
Perhaps the easiest way to use a cleansing tonic is with rose water. Bottles of rose water are inexpensive. And all you have to do is spray it on your face. Rose water hydrates your skin. It also balances the pH level, making it neither too oily or dry.
Just make sure to purchase a rose water that contains no alcohol or harsh preservatives.
If you feel like you need to clean your face at night, remember that your skin also contains bacteria. And much of the bacteria on your skin is friendly. If you clean your skin everyday with soap, even all-natural soap, you may disrupt the balance between friendly and unfriendly skin bacteria.
In light of this, just splash some water on your face before using rose water or witch hazel or other facial cleanser. Or, when you do feel like washing your skin with soap, make sure it’s a pure castille variety like Dr. Bronner’s.
After you apply rose water or other facial toner, you can use a moisturizer that contains mostly all-natural ingredients such as Beauty Counter.
Cleansing Tonics: Conclusion
If you’re like most people and find it difficult to eat healthy all the time and manage stress, some of these cleansing and liver tonics may help. It’s up for debate whether or not multi-day cleanses and detoxes are necessary. Detox diets most often are much lower in calories than your everyday normal diet. Unless you can do a multi-day cleanse while relaxing on the beach, it might be too extreme to limit your calorie intake for several days. Therefore, sticking to a low carb diet and adding some of these cleansing tonics into your daily routine may boost your health and energy.
And as for your skin, by taking liver tonic supplements and drinks, you may very well notice that your skin’s appearance will approve.
