Great tip from fabulous esthetician

I just got back from my facial (for you San Diegans - Ana Maria at Beauty Kliniek is amazing!). I have used some really great products recommended by Ana Maria but I recently learned where one of them is manufactured so I thought I would pass this along.

A great way to get breakouts under control - especially for those of you who are detoxing (drinking more water, working on eating healthier, modifying your medications, etc.) is to use Epicuren Bulgaricum Probiotic Mask Powder - but you can easily make it yourself for much less!

I'm giving you the ingredients that I've tracked down versus spending $50 for the Epicuren products I've been buying.

Get Natren's Digest-a-lac (you can get it online here at Natren Inc. - Official Site for Natren Probiotics or buy it at Whole Foods. Mix one capsule (or about 1/4 teaspoon if you buy the powder) with about the same amount of pure aloe vera gel (I like Aubreys but it doesn't really matter as long as it doesn't have chemicals in it). Mix enough to cover your face lightly. Make it into a paste and use it as a mask left on for 15 minutes. You can do it 2 or 3 times per week as it's really gentle.

IMPORTANT - make sure you refridgerate the probiotics.

Basically, as Ana Marie explained to me - as toxins are eliminated from your body through the skin (the largest organ), the toxins can get trapped in your skin causing temporary breakouts. Regular use of probiotics on your skin will help it flush the toxins out.

Natren's Digest-a-lac is used in a few Epicuren products (they actually source it from Natren which is known to have very stringent controls in place); however, if you buy it from Natren instead of from Epicuren you will save about $40 per bottle. You could probably try a different brand of probiotic as long as it's L. bulgaricus (2 billion cfu per gram).

Ana Marie told me today that you can also put plain yogurt on your face (again, only if it doesn't have other stuff in it - it should have only 3-4 natural ingredients so you have to buy it at the health food store) with kind of the same effect. You can even put just a little bit of honey on your face, wash it off, and then put the yogurt. Note - I haven't tried this yet, but this woman really knows her stuff.

Anyway - these are two good ways to get the benefits of the expensive facial products with less cost.

Great tips! Thanks Natasha- I'll have to look into this...

I'd really like to get off my BC since I've been on it for 10 years. I'm just scared because of all the breakouts I had last time I tried. This might be a solution. Thanks for the info!

Yikes, the shipping on that site is as much as the product! (12.95 for the Digesta Lac and 12.95 for two day shipping, which is the cheapest shipping method). I think I will go look for it at Whole Foods.

Also, where do you get your Aloe Vera?

You can get great aloe from Whole Foods too. I think they have Aubreys but you can ask them which one they think would be best. They don't deviate from each other very much.

Oh - and btw - if your local Whole Foods doesn't have Digest-a-lac, most will order it. If not, any smaller health food chain will definitely order it for you. It's expensive shipping because they have to keep it refridgerated.

Also, you might consider taking probiotics, too while you're stopping BC. I'm always really hesitant about recommending medications to people so you should check with your doctor, but I'm amazed at how much it helped me. The Trinity mix from Natren is a comprehensive combination. Alternatively, you can eat natural yogurt (don't get yoplait - it has a ton of crap in it).

Thanks for posting Natasha! I take probiotics to help support my gut while I am on so many antibiotics. I was just wondering if you knew what the Digesta Lac is made of. I currently take Acidophillus, and it has to be refridgerated. Let me know if you can find out more info of what is in it. They didn't give any info on the website, although I could have missed it.

Thank you Natasha, I will def have to try this.