EFR 896: How to Look 10 Years Younger! Science-Based Skincare Routines for Men in Their 20's, 30's, and 40's with Katie Stewart

00:00 - Chase (Host) The following is an Operation Podcast production.

00:03 - Katie (Guest) Hi, I'm Katie Stewart, registered holistic nutritionist and founder of the Clear Skin Solution. I am here on EverForward Radio where we are talking all things skin health, to make sure you men are putting your best face forward.

00:13 - Chase (Host) Hey, friends, by tuning into my conversation here today with Katie Stewart, you are also tuning into a masterclass, really, in learning how much our skin reflects what's going on internally inside of the body. And one of the most overlooked ways to support both skin health and general health, daily wellness and longevity is by focusing on the right fats in your diet. And that's where today's sponsor, fatty 15, comes in. See, Fatty 15 is the first and only supplement with C15, a science-backed essential fatty acid that our bodies need but probably aren't getting enough of. See, healthy fats like C15 are key for supporting our cell membranes, which means stronger skin barriers, less inflammation and a foundation for long-term skin health. But it doesn't stop there, see, c15 actually has been clinically proven to support things like heart, liver and brain health, helping you feel as good as you look. So if you've been looking for a simple way to upgrade your nutrition for both skin care and whole body wellness, this is it skincare and whole body wellness, this is it. Head to fatty15.com. Slash ever forward to grab your 90 day starter kit. And this is my favorite part, because you're part of the ever forward community. You're actually going to save an additional 15% off that 90 day starter kit. So all you got to do is head to fatty15.com slash everford that's F-A-T-T-Y one fivecom slash everford. Grab the 90 day starter kit. Or if you find your way to the website some other way, I check out use code everford for an additional 15% off savings. Feed your cells, fuel your skin and live a life ever forward with fatty 15 linked for you.

02:07 As always in the show notes today under episode resources, and to everyone listening right now, I just want to say thank you. Thank you so much for pushing eight years now of supporting this show. If you've been with me from the beginning, if you're new, of course, welcome. And the biggest thanks I could ever ask for, the biggest ask I could ever put out there, is if you found value in today's episode or value in any content I've ever put out, hitting that thumbs up button.

02:32 If you're watching or listening on YouTube, subscribing to the channel or just following along on Apple, spotify or wherever. Wherever you're tuning in here right now by following to the show, subscribing to the show, it does tremendous things to not only help the show grow but, more importantly, helps me with my mission of helping as many people as possible with their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being by helping them live a life ever forward. It truly does help the show grow and reach new listeners. So for following the show I say thank you. Why do you think most guys don't prioritize skincare as much as it seems women do?

03:17 - Katie (Guest) Well, I kind of think it's a generational thing, right, when I feel like we're finally in this generation, this space in society, where it's okay for men to want to care about their appearance and to, you know, even start being more open with their emotions and they don't have to be this like stoic man that we would have seen maybe 50 years ago or a hundred years ago and it was always looked at that women take care of themselves.

03:39 It's about their appearance and how they feel. It's more of a I think it's more because it was seen as a feminine thing to do with their skin health. And now that we've kind of moved into this, like I want to say, new wave of society, for men to be able to want to take care of themselves and to look good and be okay with their emotions, I think now they're slowly starting to be like okay, like I think I can take care of my skin because I don't know about your dad or so many dads out there Like my skin because I don't know about your dad or so many dads out there like were they doing their skincare routine at night, when I think my dad in skincare.

04:09 - Chase (Host) I just two words pop up old spice exactly maybe that's showing my age a little bit, but I feel like my dad and my uncle, my grandfather. It was just the most generic classic old school.

04:19 - Katie (Guest) I don't even know what this stuff is, but it smells like it could melt, to be honest, oh no, I know what it is. I don't even know, but it smells like it could melt. I don't know what Old Spice is, to be honest, oh no, oh no, I know what it is. I don't even know what it does, what it actually is.

04:26 - Chase (Host) It was Old Spice, aftershave and cologne and shaving gel and all this stuff. And it's just, why do we do it? I don't know. It's because what my dad did.

04:32 - Katie (Guest) It's what your dad did and I think that's for generations, as you've always done, what your age of the internet and social media and everybody is getting exposed to skincare into seeing it in their ads, and I think it's just more of an like. It's just more open and acceptable maybe for men to want to take care of their skin.

04:51 - Chase (Host) Okay, uh, I want to also just recognize. I think this is just the universe laughing at me. I was going to sit down today with a skincare expert and I woke up yesterday with just you know, maybe you can't see it. Well, this is 4k video. You can see everything I got this planet. I feel like growing in between my okay.

05:06 Well, shout out to my wife. I use her like ice roller this morning last two days to kind of like reduce inflammation, and you know I I think I have a pretty good skincare routine. Maybe we can get into it later. But I also am a new dad and I got a little lazy a couple of days ago and I went to bed without washing my face, having on two applications of sunscreen, and then I wore. I wear a blackout eye mask and exactly where the brim of that mask is, I woke up two days ago and it's just got this bump where it was just like rubbing up and down, which is exactly where I put it up and down when I wake up in the middle of the night to feed my son.

05:44 And I was like damn it Chase you know better than this. So walk us through. Why does that happen? Why can we have such a great skincare routine and we're human for one night we go to bed, we don't wash our face or we kind of maybe have something. We're prioritizing our sleep health and it just does this dirty quite literally Absolutely Well.

06:03 - Katie (Guest) well, because you had that two layers of spf on right, that's already going to be clogging your pores. And when you're letting it sit there and then you're putting the mask on top, maybe you're getting a little sweaty while you're sleeping and it's just trapping that bacteria and voila, you're going to get a pimple do you think wearing a blackout eye mask, wearing anything on your face at night, is I'm okay with it?

06:22 I wear it because, um, I have two small children, so since I had kids, I no longer sleep deep. I am a very light sleeper. So I need the air machine going, I need like the face mask, I need earplugs, like I need it all, or else I'm not falling asleep.

06:35 - Chase (Host) I'm with you. I used to be the hardest sleeper I've. I was in the military and I've literally slept through like mortars and gunfire. Uh, you learn to kind of navigate that when you need to get at least a couple hours sleep, uh. And then my wife used to joke. I mean, we, we a robber, could break into our house and like she would be awake and I would be dead as asleep. Now I'm right there with you.

06:53 - Katie (Guest) Yeah, cause you. It's like you're as a parent. You're never fully off.

06:56 - Chase (Host) Yeah, it's like you're just in neutral at all times waiting to hear that cry.

07:00 I want to kind of piggyback off of that first question and kind of dive deeper into where I think some guys might be curious about starting a skincare routine. And if you are in a relationship with a woman, you know you got a girlfriend, a wife. I have a wife. I see a lot of things in our medicine cabinet, in the bathroom, in all the drawers. You know it's masks, it's serums, it's toners, it's this and that. What do you think is in our girlfriend or wife's stash of skincare products that guys secretly love using the most?

07:30 - Katie (Guest) now I gotta ask this first do you have any space in the bathroom vanity?

07:35 - Chase (Host) I have, uh, in the two cabinets I have the lower right quadrant like half of a shelf on the first one and half of a shelf on the second one, and then a dop kit.

07:45 - Katie (Guest) That's it, yeah. All the rest is her, though the other two drawers.

07:47 - Chase (Host) The other rest of the shelves in the bottles.

07:49 - Katie (Guest) Yeah, yeah, that's me. My husband has actually no space in our bathroom vanity. But I think when you're looking at, well, what could like, what would a husband or a boyfriend really want to be using in there? I think you're for men. They may not know quite as much about skin care for average man and of course I think you'd be a little more gravitated to like okay, maybe I know what a cleanser does. That's pretty self-explanatory. I know what a cream does. That's pretty self-explanatory. But I think maybe that intrigue could come in, like all of those different lotions and potions that we seem to have just hanging out in there.

08:17 - Chase (Host) They all have such amazing names. I'm like I want everything. I want whatever this one does, I want whatever that one does. Is there one that maybe you think is most appealing to guys? And you know, is it just clever marketing? Or do we feel secretly like oh, this is actually what my skin needs?

08:32 - Katie (Guest) Yeah, I think it's going to be generational right, depending where you're at. So if you're like that millennial man, you're in your thirties or fortiesoothing, so I think that would kind of pique the interest a little bit. Or it's again going to be dependent on the individual. So if you're somebody that you know wants more of an even complexion because they have maybe dark spots or sunspots, something like a niacinamide or vitamin C serum is going to be really brightening for the skin.

08:59 - Chase (Host) Serums were a new thing for me up until a couple of years ago.

09:02 Uh, I, I for one just can't not say serum and just crack up it's just a funny word to me but and so that kind of threw me off as like a skincare item. But that was really the first thing I ever tried beyond just washing my face, and actually I've been a long time user of like under eye cream. But the first real daily extra quote skincare item I ever tried and still use is a multifunction serum. What is going on with serum world? Um, I've had great experience with it, the one that I use. Do you think most guys could benefit from using a serum? What? What is different and beneficial about a serum? That could be very appealing for a guy.

09:38 - Katie (Guest) When we look at a serum, this is really that targeted treatment that you're after, right, the cleanser step one, so you're washing all the impurities, the SPF, whatever is off, and then the cream is where you're hydrating. But that middle step it's like kind of the peanut butter and jelly of the sandwich is going to be the serum and that's going to be a targeted treatment specific to what you want to do. So if it's like I need more hydration, I need brightening, I need fine lines, I need whatever it is, that's where you're going to use a really targeted serum for that specific purpose.

10:03 - Chase (Host) And now is this something we should be using daily, evening, morning.

10:07 - Katie (Guest) Morning and night.

10:08 - Chase (Host) And like what is the process? Where does it fall in line with skincare routine? It's going to be step two.

10:12 - Katie (Guest) So I like to tell men because I don't know if any men listening are like my husband. He needs very simple, clear. I actually label his skincare one, two, three. So he knows what order to put them in, or else he would that's actually amazing yeah one, it's like sharpie one, two, three.

10:26 - Chase (Host) We're very coachable. I think most of us are very coachable. You guys are very. You gotta lay it out for us yeah, I know.

10:31 - Katie (Guest) Uh, my husband needed a lot of training but he's he's been doing very well with it. We've been together for 15 years and he's fully coming around to it. So for men, really keeping it simple, just a cleanser, a serum, um and a, and then, if you're going to be going out in the day, and SPF. I think those are four easy things to start with for men, because you can get crazy. And there's like the nine step Korean skincare routines, but I don't know many men that would do that. I'm sure there's some out there, but I don't think many men would be spending 40 minutes on their skin every day.

10:58 - Chase (Host) No, uh, I have a couple of times.

11:00 - Katie (Guest) I'll be totally honest with you, anything.

11:02 - Chase (Host) I do in my life, I share, you know, on the show Um, and I got to tell you, man, the Korean skincare stuff is next level. We actually have quite a few Korean friends that go back to Korea a couple of times a year and we just give them like here, take $500 and just you know, whatever you can pack in your carry on, bring it back Um, like snail masks.

11:21 - Katie (Guest) Yes, I've used those.

11:22 - Chase (Host) That is the most hydrating, quenching amazing thing and I have no shame in my snail mask game. It's unreal. But I digress. I want to go back to kind of this. You know our girlfriend or wife stash here. What do you think are top three products in their stash of skincare items that you think most guys could benefit from using daily?

11:45 you know we already talked about the serum but, let's think most women might have five times more than a guy. What else is in there that you think we could be benefiting from? Three products daily for a guy?

11:56 - Katie (Guest) spf for sure, because spf is going to be really great for helping to preventing any of that accelerated aging, any of the dark spots, the sun spots, and you want to just be protecting your face when you're going out, so so for sure. A facial SPF, because we don't often want to be using the same SPF for the body on the face, because it's just a much more delicate skin, we're more likely to clog pores. So, using a specific facial SPF, which I'm sure is going to be in there. Um, we already talked about the serum, but I think, just like a lot of men just aren't even cleansing their skin, what Like so many of my, like my husband or his friends? They're like, well, I get shampoo on my face in the shower, so like that's gotta be it, right? I'm like, no, we need to like use a physical cleanser, cause I feel like you're a little more advanced than most men I meet in the skincare game, which I absolutely love.

12:37 - Chase (Host) I think so. I think actually, and I tell them like my face wash. And they're like what do you mean? Just like you said like oh well, yeah, I get shampoo in my face, or when I'm in the shower, I just rub water on my face. I got a friend I won't call him out and I don't think to date he's ever washed his face like with an actual cleanser. Let's start here. I think this is the most foundational, fundamental, basic thing a guy could do and should do. Why, why don't you think, first and foremost, most guys? Why don't you think they wash?

13:12 - Katie (Guest) their face with an actual cleanser and then convince them convince them to use a face wash, to wash their face daily, why, well, it's been taking me years to get my husband to do it. So I feel like I'm a good person to ask this question of. We have to remember that cleansers are there to wash away any of the impurities. So if you're like out sweating and cutting the grass or you're at work, you have like a labor intensive job we want to be making sure that you're getting rid of all of the dirt and bacteria from the day and the SPF that you're wearing, just to help cleanse and get rid of any of those impurities.

13:35 And I think so many men haven't, you know, used a cleanser because they didn't grow up seeing their dads use a cleanser or see, you know, their friends using cleansers. If you played sports growing up like it wasn't the uh, I don't want to say calm. I guess it wasn't common for men to be like bringing in cleanser with them to the gym or anything like you see girls doing. So I think it's this very slow shift in society where we're starting to see more men taking care of their skin.

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14:47 Simple, effective and shampoo, shower and shaving products simple, effective and quick everything. So if you've been wondering where to start or you're ready to upgrade your routine, make the same choice I did years ago and go with Caldera lab. And because you're a part of the ever forward community, you can actually save big time on your entire first purchase. See, when you head to calderalabcom, you scoop up any or all of the products of your choice and at checkout you use code EVERFORWARD. You're actually going to save 20%. That's huge. I want you to save money and I want you to put your best face forward. Calderalabcom C-A-L-D-E-R-A-L-A-Bcom, checkout code EVERFORWARD for 20% off your entire first purchase, linked for you as always in the show notes today under episode resources yeah, it's definitely been a through line already.

15:40 Is just this what model was set for us as a guy? Absolutely that influences our behavior and I think if we, you know, kind of pull out to the collective well-being of, what other daily habits, practices do we have in our physical, mental, emotional, spiritual well-being? You know, what other daily wellness habits do we have? I'd be willing to bet a lot of them started with.

16:01 They were modeled by someone that you looked up to absolutely a parent, a mom, a dad, and there definitely is truth to be had in the like, depending on the source, like more kind of like female focus or female oriented or male oriented.

16:14 Whether you're a female or male, I think you kind of naturally gravitate towards emulating those most or or sooner, or they or they stick longer. The only real skincare thing I can think of that was emulated to me, like I said, beyond old spice, you know, and my dad teaching me how to shave was amongst my peers as a teenager growing up, kind of you know battling, you know pimples and acne and stuff. It was just, you know those like harsh wipes every guy knew like in their gym bag. It was just an Oxy pad in their backpack and it was like multiple times a day like, oh I'm oily, oh I'm sweaty, and we, we all thought, I thought that's what we're doing, because we would see like, oh, look at this dirt, look at all this, yeah that's like the only thing that was emulated to me for skin health as a guy growing up yeah, and I think it's because the marketing around the Oxypads were so big like um.

16:57 I'm assuming you grew up like 90s yeah, I was born in 85, okay, 89, 39, same.

17:02 - Katie (Guest) I think we had so much marketing for the Oxy pads and like for girls. It was like the St Ives apricot scrub but like those those Oxy pads were all over television.

17:10 There was commercials everywhere, so I think that's when that started to be a shift for guys like oh, like I need that, because they're getting it marketed to them and then their friends are showing up in the like at gym class and like using it. But it it's such a harsh product for the skin so it's like no wonder we were getting more oily because we're just stripping the skin of all of the nutrients that it needs.

17:28 But I could see all the dirt but you can see all the dirt gone. That's bad, that's good, right yeah.

17:32 - Chase (Host) What do you think is going on right now? Uh, generationally, in skin health, habits that you really like, that you know most likely the next generation is going to be emulating. And what is one that? Maybe what it's like, the what's the OxyPAD of this generation?

17:46 - Katie (Guest) What's the old spice of this generation. Um, I think the OxyPAD of this generation is TikTok, because you just see the most crazy recommendations on there, like the things I have seen as an acne practitioner of like what people are being recommended to do.

18:01 - Chase (Host) What's the craziest thing you've seen on TikTok for skin I?

18:03 - Katie (Guest) have two. One is using your own urine as a toner to balance the pH. I'm sorry, what, yeah? And the second one is using menstrual blood as a face mask. Those are the two that I've seen on TikTok.

18:14 - Chase (Host) And I was like this is a no, Is there any validity to either of those?

18:18 - Katie (Guest) No. So the idea is that the urine is balancing the pH, but that's going to be a no. And then the idea is that using your menstrual blood is kind of like doing a PRP, but that's also a no. So we're just going to steer clear of using bodily fluids for our skincare.

18:30 - Chase (Host) I mean, I've heard of, uh, I think it's called the golden diet. There there is a diet, there is a group of people, uh, that will do like cleanses or fast drinking only their urine. It has a name and people swear by it.

18:48 - Katie (Guest) It's going to be a no for me. I think it's a hard no for me also.

18:52 - Chase (Host) It has a name.

18:53 - Katie (Guest) I'm going to have to Google this after.

18:54 - Chase (Host) Yeah, it's a thing I'd say look it up or maybe don't look it up?

18:57 - Katie (Guest) Yeah, maybe don't. Then my algorithm is going to get all over here.

19:00 - Chase (Host) It's a thing. Why do you think people believe that?

19:04 - Katie (Guest) I think because, like when I deal with women acne sufferers, they just want to feel confident in their skin, like they don't feel good in their own bodies. Whether you're a man or you're a woman, when you're dealing with acne it's really impacting your self-confidence, your self-esteem. We have people that don't want to leave their houses, so they are so desperate to feel better that they're literally willing to try anything. And I think when they go on and like, oh my gosh, this thing worked for this person, I'm going to try it out as well.

19:29 - Chase (Host) So while we're on the kind of topic of crazy things, that may or may not work, but it's a no for us. What do you see as the most evidence-based types of skincare products that men would benefit most from using?

19:41 - Katie (Guest) I already talked about the retinaldehyde. I think that would be really great, especially if you're that millennial man and you want to work on that anti-aging game, because that's going to be really great for those fine lines Um like retin-A retinol.

19:53 Retinol is something that everybody most people have heard of, and retinaldehyde is actually one step or a couple of steps closer in the conversion process that your skin needs to utilize it. So with a retinol you're going to get a lot of purging, you're going to get dryness and it kind of goes through like a period where you're like what am I doing to get to the other side. But a retinaldehyde actually doesn't have that drying, purging process and it's much more potent because it's closer to what the skin needs.

20:16 - Chase (Host) Is that something we can just get over the counter? Yeah, you can get that.

20:19 - Katie (Guest) You know it's you. We're going to find that in like a higher end medical grade product because you're really paying for the science and the technology. So I always tell people that if you're going to spend money on anything in your skincare, let it be the serums, because that's where the technology is.

20:32 - Chase (Host) So now I want to break it down generationally, and I know this is kind of your expertise. You know, when we look at specifically nutrition, but you know the body, man or woman we go through really wild hormonal changes about every 10 years and within those decades there are certain things I believe that we could be doing to really best serve that period of our time, but also to set up the next generation. Well, our next generation, our next kind of, you know, 10 or 20s, 30s, 40s jump. So what can we do? Most to be thinking about the current age bracket that we're in, but then also to set ourselves up for success.

21:07 Next, talking specifically about a guy in his 20s, what can a guy in his 20s do to serve the skincare needs, hormonal needs, balance needs of a guy in his 20s but also kind of begin to think about I'm going to be in my 30s in a few years.

21:21 - Katie (Guest) Absolutely. So. I always tell people that when you're working on your skin health, no matter what your issue is, we have to remember that your skin, whatever's going on, is a symptom of something going on inside, and so when we work to rebalance the body to clear up that symptom, we're also getting our organs working well, our body systems working better whether it's your gut, your detox organs, your hormones which is actually going to reduce your risk for disease later on in life.

21:44 So, while the what you're looking at is skin health, but what you're really doing is rebalancing the body for more optimal health, health, health like health, health in general because we have so many clients that are like I have acne but I painful periods and headaches and this and, oh my gosh, when I fixed what I needed for my acne, all of those other symptoms went away.

22:01 So I think, just keeping that in the back of your mind, that what you're doing now isn't just skin related but it's going to be health related. And for men in their twenties, you know if I could go back and tell my friends and husband like, hey, let's maybe start balancing our blood sugar a little bit. Like, can we be making sure that we are having like protein, fiber and healthy fats at each meal? I know for most men protein's an easy one to get into, but making sure you're getting enough of the healthy fibers and healthy fats because we want to be having that stable blood sugar levels and reducing the alcohol consumption, I think especially would be huge for a lot of people in their 20s. I know us millennials. We really partied quite hard back in the day, so I don't know if that generation still does I don't think they do.

22:38 - Chase (Host) I don't think it's not a thing anymore.

22:40 - Katie (Guest) No, I know so they're probably it.

22:41 - Chase (Host) Okay, we did it enough for both generations, literally both.

22:44 - Katie (Guest) Yeah, we party hard for all of you guys. So I think, if you are somebody that consumes alcohol, reducing the alcohol consumption is going to be really great because it's so taxing to your body. It's going to be taxing to your gut and your hormones and your detoxification system. So pulling back on that as well, I think because so many of you know, when you're a teenager you eat such a processed, heavily refined diet with sugars and so we often see or whether they're taking medications like antibiotics and then they're throwing off their microbiome where maybe they have an overgrowth of candida or a bacteria.

23:17 I think rebalancing the microbiome could be so huge for future success huge for future success.

23:26 - Chase (Host) I hear a lot of people, men and women, talk about how they're kind of unfortunately dealing with a lot of skin health problems now, particularly hormone like cystic acne stuff, and they kind of trace it back to whether on their own or working with a functional you know nutritionist or doctor to. Oh yeah, like as a teenager in my twenties I was on a lot of harsh antibiotics for a long term. Maybe it was like actually treatment for acne at the time. Can you walk us through someone maybe who is getting prescribed or using these very intense gut health disrupting supplements, foods, particularly medications that might solve the problem in one generation in your twenties, but you're actually setting yourself up for potential failure in the next?

24:08 - Katie (Guest) Absolutely. I think number one would be antibiotics, and you know we should be grateful for antibiotics because they are truly life-saving in the right circumstance. But we um, especially growing up in the nineties, like we were given it like candy. It's like you got a sniffle, here's an antibiotic. So I think when we start to look back at these medications that are basically a nuclear bomb for our gut, where that antibiotic is going in and wiping out the good and bad bacteria and throwing off that microbiome balance for you.

24:33 And then, if we're taking other harsh things like, say, an Accutane, a lot of teenage boys are going to be taking Accutane and this is a systemic drug that is going to be having a huge impact throughout your body. So I think it's just really having that informed knowledge, when you do take a medication, what really can happen to my body, and just being able to make that decision for yourself. So we have clients coming in that have actually taken antibiotics for seven years straight with no break, come on Seven years straight and when we're like okay, well, why were we?

25:03 on it for seven years and she that and she's like, oh well, he just had an open prescription and never checked back in on it, so I just kept taking it.

25:09 - Chase (Host) We're like, okay, well what damage is that really doing? Why? Why is that? She's like both kind of like eyes wide open, I know, when I heard.

25:17 - Katie (Guest) I've heard that a few times and every time I hear it it's just mind-blowing to me because she's like now, when I come off of of it, I have severe gut issues. My acne is 10 times worse. I have this issue going on and that issue I don't sleep. And it's because when we look at the gut, like the gut is not just for digesting food. It's doing a lot of different things. Like even in your gut you have this unique subset of microbes that helps to metabolize and regulate your estrogen. So if your gut is off, your estrogen is going to be off and your hormones are going to be thrown off of balance.

25:47 So I think when we are really looking at, like, what are those medications doing? Is it's having this really big impact? And, of course, we know about the gut skin, the gut brain skin access, where the health of our gut is actually going to be impacting the health of our of our brain. So we see a lot of acne sufferers struggling with mental health issues. They've been on antibiotics long-term, so is there a link there as well?

26:08 - Chase (Host) Let's kind of put ourselves in the shoes of and I know you've been there yourself of you know we're in our twenties, we're maybe stepping out from college or stepping into the workforce, where we're doing our own thing, become our own person, man or woman here. And uh, you know we just want to look good. You know we're putting literally trying to put our best face forward to start our career, start relationships, start thriving, start partying. You know be be happy enough, you know to go out and party. Um, and we, we just do whatever works now because we want to put our best face forward absolutely.

26:39 Is there anything we can really be doing, you know, to be really mindful of? Okay, yes, I can use this to solve a problem now, quite literally solve a problem but also to help my mental health and my emotional state to not just, you know, be so afraid to go out in public or to be on camera. That's not going to really be doing as much damage down the road Like. I want to solve the problem here and now, but I also don't want to set myself up for failure later. Does that exist?

27:05 - Katie (Guest) Yeah. So you know, we always tell clients, like whether you're on a medication or not, like we're still able to help you because ultimately it's going to be your decision about your health. So when we're looking at what are some things we could be doing to help reduce what's going on the outside, this is where your diet is going to be heavily coming into play. So we really love to recommend, as a foundation and anti-inflammatory diet. So we're moving those very pro-inflammatory foods like the conventional gluten, the conventional dairy, the refined sugars, the seed oils those are causing such massive inflammation in your body which is going to be leading to topical issues like acne or that redness and inflammation, and really working to bring it down with anti-inflammatory foods.

27:42 So this is where we love to see that plethora of protein. Whether you're an omnivore or you're plant-based, we're getting into lots of different rainbow fruits and vegetables. So really making sure we're eating that rainbow throughout the week, because each one of the colors of the rainbow is going to have different nutrients in the food that you're eating. And then making sure we're getting in, like those nuts and seeds and the fiber and the healthy fats, and using the avocado oils and the olive oils instead of using those like canola oils. So really looking at your day to day nutrition and thinking of this as a way to live and not a diet.

28:11 Right Because we never want to be put on a diet that feels restrictive. So this is where you know it's not going to happen overnight. I came from growing up eating like fettuccine, alfredo and Kraft dinner and all of these different things. I didn't eat vegetables, didn't drink water, and here I am a nutritionist, so I get it when you're changing your diet over can seem scary. So do this, you know, over a few months or even a year, where, as you run out of things that are your favorites, let's try finding a healthier alternative for what that favorite comfort food is, because that's when it doesn't feel restrictive, when you're able to replace it with those foods and in today's world, like you, have so many options of healthier alternatives that we didn't have 10, 20 years ago. And then from there, making sure you're staying hydrated, of course, because your body needs hydration to function, limiting that alcohol consumption, and then whether you're working with some type of functional practitioner to see, okay, where are those imbalances in my body that I can start working to fix.

29:04 - Chase (Host) So while we're still here in our twenties and again, I think for a lot of 20 year olds or people in their twenties now, this isn't as much of a thing. But you know, I was having fun. Oh yeah, too much fun I was partying, I was drinking, I was out in the sun all the time. I was, you know, doing all the anti, probably, things I'm doing now. To a certain degree, I've always been kind of, you know, pretty health, wellness conscious, but I would also swing the other way.

29:29 - Katie (Guest) Absolutely.

29:31 - Chase (Host) Hey friends, quick break to talk about one of my favorite partners and contributions to the skincare game over here at Everford radio and in my personal pantry. That's collagen peptides from today's sponsor, bubz Naturals. One of the biggest takeaways from my conversation today with katie stewart is that healthy skin starts from the inside out, and one of the best ways to do that, I have found personally, is by adding collagen to your daily routine. For me, that's a scoop of bubs naturals collagen peptides in my coffee, in my water, in my smoothie. I seriously have not found an easy way, a delicious way, to add it into my routine. See, collagen isn't just about joint or muscle recovery. It's also a powerhouse for your skin. It supports things like elasticity, hydration and even helps reduce fine lines. So you're not just feeling younger, you're actually looking younger too.

30:27 Katie has reminded us today that what we put in our bodies shows up on our skin, and collagen is one of the simplest, most effective ways to support both. Like I said, what I love most about Bubz is it's so easy to use, it's flavorless, it mixes into coffee, smoothies, even water Sidebar, what I've been doing for years. Before my wife caught on, I would put a scoop of Bubz collagen peptides in her water and mix it up and give it to her. She never knew the difference, because you couldn't taste it, you couldn't see it, it just tasted like water. But she was getting gram after gram after gram of clean, nourishing skin, health producing collagen peptides, and it's sourced from grass fed pasture, raised cows, clean, effective and easy way to use it every day.

31:18 So if you're ready to upgrade your skin and overall health, go to bubsnaturalscom. Use code ever forward at checkout to save 20% off your entire purchase. Linked for you as always in the show notes today under episode resources. But again, that's B-U-B-S-N-A-T-U-R-A-L-S, bubsnaturalscom, and at checkout, use code EVERFORWARD to save 20% off your entire purchase. Let's put your best face forward inside and out with Bubz Naturals. What can someone do now that? Let me rephrase that question. I think I just lost my train of thought. The 20s, 20s, 20s oh dad brain.

32:10 - Katie (Guest) Tired dad brain, brain, oh, what was it?

32:12 - Chase (Host) they're partying, they're doing all the bad things. Yeah, okay, okay, okay. So let's say we're in our 20s now and we're still.

32:19 We're thriving, we're having fun, we're doing whatever we want, you know invincible, exactly, yeah maybe we're not sleeping as much, we're drinking alcohol, we're out in the sun with not enough spf or any um. What can we do if that's our choice? Uh, what can we do to really try to thwart as much as possible any negative impacts that might have, so that we're not in our 30s and finally deciding to settle down with?

32:42 - Katie (Guest) a skincare routine and be like damn it the last 10 years.

32:45 - Chase (Host) I goofed yeah.

32:46 - Katie (Guest) Because you can't go back in time and tell your younger self, hey, you should do this, because I would make a lot of different decisions that I did.

32:51 But hey, we are here. So I think when you have control, like giving yourself that balance. So if you are going to live that fun lifestyle, you're going out and doing the things, maybe when you're at home and you have control over your lifestyle a little bit more, that's where I'm like okay, maybe I'm going to make some healthier choices with what I'm eating, I'm going to make sure I go to bed on time, maybe I won't drink alcohol seven days a week. So I think when you can find that you know almost that like 80-20 balance, where 80% of the time when you're living your normal life, you're going to work, you're doing things with your family, that's when we're going to try to put a little bit more focus and reminder on what we can be doing for our health, and then taking that 20% if you're going to go to concerts and travel and go and do whatever you want to do, just to give your body some type of thing that it can hold on to and maybe a multivitamin we can throw in there.

33:35 Bare bones, yeah, Bare bones a multivitamin, maybe a probiotic, making sure we're drinking water, I think, just those really foundational things, and especially looking at like stress reduction and sleep, because I think people forget that lifestyle habits are just as important as the food you're eating and the supplements you're taking, because if you're not sleeping, you're like you're. Unless you know a parent, that's not an option. But if you're in your twenties, like trying to get quality sleep will go a really long way for you.

34:01 - Chase (Host) How important is a probiotic. I heard you mention how important is a probiotic for skin health, and should everyone be taking one?

34:08 - Katie (Guest) For our clients that come in. We almost always have them on a probiotic, but it's going to be different depending on the person, because we know there's hundreds of different strains for hundreds of different purposes. So we don't want someone coming in who's dealing with one issue and they're taking the wrong strain and maybe it's giving them terrible bloating or constipation. So we want to be looking at what's the right probiotic going to be for them, what's the right CFUs, so like is it 10 billion, is it 50 billion? And really making sure that they're taking the right one.

34:33 - Chase (Host) Yeah, what should someone be looking for? I know every literally everybody is different here, but let's say my audience members right now, like I would love to get on a probiotic. What should I be looking for as like a good start that I can, you know, fairly try, you know, give it 30 days and go like, yes, this was for me or this wasn't.

34:51 - Katie (Guest) Yeah, I would say maybe let's start with a lower CFU, so maybe around like five to 10 billion, because we find sometimes when clients just jump right in and start taking like a hundred billion, it's going to lead to some not so fun symptoms. Their body just isn't ready for it. So maybe starting with something that'll say five to 10 billion and it'll say right on the label it's called CFU, so colony forming units, and making sure that there's no added fillers in the probiotics themselves, so like turning the label over and making sure like there's no added like sucrose.

35:19 - Chase (Host) Yeah, I think an even better question here is what should we be looking for to not be in our postbiotic? That's actually going to move the needle most for us.

35:26 - Katie (Guest) I would say making sure there's not any of the additives like corn or extra dairy or sucrose or anything like that. That is just going to be like tamping down the effectiveness of the probiotic.

35:36 - Chase (Host) Do you think someone in their 20s would benefit most to set themselves up for success in their 30s? Yes, every 20 something should be taking a postbiotic, a probiotic.

35:44 - Katie (Guest) Probiotic absolutely, and we also like to recommend swapping the probiotics out. So every three months could you be changing your probiotics around? Because we want to be making sure you're getting different strains into your gut, Because if you're just taking the same strains over and over and over again, you're not getting that variety that your microbiome needs.

35:59 - Chase (Host) So changing the strain not necessarily. So changing the strain, not necessarily. I tried this brand for three months and then another brand for three months.

36:04 - Katie (Guest) Well, the brands will differ from like strains to strains. If you go into a health food store or supplement store and you turn it like all over the probiotics, you'll see they're all different combinations. You'll often see lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidobacterium these are going to be two really common ones in it. But then we're going to be seeing some that has like roteri or some like they just have, like some that has streptococcus, some that has maybe saschomyces boulardii. There's going to be different kind of combinations of probiotics.

36:29 - Chase (Host) I'm a big fan of acromantia.

36:32 - Katie (Guest) Oh, I love that one.

36:33 - Chase (Host) I personally have had great results with it. It's the only one I've ever taken that I'm like oh, I actually feel the difference.

36:48 - Katie (Guest) Walk us through acromantia in terms of, like skin health benefits. Yeah, we find a lot. Why do you like it as a as a postbiotic? Well, probiotic, excuse me. We find that a lot of our clients. They are dealing with an imbalance in their gut and it it just really helps to go in and feed the gut with the right types of bacteria.

36:56 - Chase (Host) That's going to be loving up the like, just the gut health in general uh, so would you say that one as a standalone strain, or I haven't seen it in a lot of probiotics.

37:07 - Katie (Guest) Yeah, I haven't seen it in a lot Like you could have it as like sometimes we will have clients taking two separate probiotics, so like a blended one, maybe an Acromantia or a blended one in the Sasha Myosin Spillardi, which is a beneficial yeast. It's, it's, it's that combination that comes down what's really happening in their gut. And if somebody is like, well, how do I figure out what's happening, we really love running a GI map or some type of stool test that can be looking at the specific species in your gut and matching up to what you need.

37:32 - Chase (Host) Yeah, getting labs is always going to be the best thing. You're starting from a much better starting point than just you know, throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what's. You might get success that way. Maybe, you might feel a anything is crucial, I believe absolutely.

37:50 - Katie (Guest) you know, with acne sufferers especially. They've tried everything, they've spent thousands and thousands of dollars on their skin and they're just wasting money because they don't know what's happening inside. And it's really only been in the last handful of years where people are starting to realize that their acne is a symptom and something is off. But when you're going off of tiktok and instagram, that's like, oh, you need this hormone balancing supplement, you need this, this probiotic, you this skincare. And they're trying and it's not working. Or they're told I need to eat a carnivore diet, I need to be plant-based, I need to be this diet, and it doesn't work for them. They feel defeated and hopeless because they're like I tried eating healthy, I tried taking supplements. That didn't work. That's where the labs really do come in handy, because it's going to be giving you what is the imbalances inside that is causing your symptoms to occur.

38:34 - Chase (Host) Absolutely. Cannot agree more. Let's tiptoe into our thirties. What is going on in our thirties that you think we should be doing that is going to serve this generation the most? My thirties to forties, or, and then also set myself up for success most for my thirties.

38:49 - Katie (Guest) Yeah, I think you know, especially from your thirties right now, was we talked about. You spent a lot of time partying like we weren't living our healthiest life back then. So I think it's starting to catch up with us a little bit now. Right, we're, and now we're realizing, okay, we're not as young as we used to be, we are getting a little bit older, we have some fine lines popping up. I want to take care of the issue now. So I think this is where we can again take the things that we would have been doing in our 20s ideally. So making sure we're getting the protein, the fiber, the healthy fats, focusing on the anti-inflammatory nutrition, kind of looking at our sleep as well. But this is where I think stress reduction is going to be really, really key for a lot of people, because in your 30s it's a very stressful time. You most likely where a lot of people maybe if they have small humans that they take care of, or pets, or they're caregiving for somebody, or maybe they have parents where their parents are getting older and they're dealing with illnesses. So you're kind of in this like middle ground where you have people on both sides of you that you're taking care of and then you're also working full time, you have a house, you're dealing with mortgage rates and like all of these things that we don't want to be dealing with as an adult, because adulting isn't fun.

39:58 It's really stressful in our 30s and I think this is where, if we can be getting stress reduction practices in or we're setting boundaries as well. I know for a lot of women they have a lot of trouble setting boundaries and saying no to things, but finding something that allows you to disconnect. I know my husband has been really trying something to reduce his stress because he's like I don't. You know my friends don't do this, so I don't really have anyone to talk to about this. So what can I be doing? So it's going to be different for every person. Maybe one person really gravitates to breath work, or another person likes grounding, or someone likes tapping, or someone you know just wants to meditate. Whatever that stress reduction practice is. I think if we can be weaving that into the day, it's really going to be so, so helpful.

40:37 - Chase (Host) Would you really recommend a meditation or a breathwork practice for someone suffering with skin health issues and acne? To focus on A hundred percent.

40:45 - Katie (Guest) So we work with the five acne clearing pillars with our clients, which is gut detox, hormones, emotional wellbeing and skincare. Clearing pillars with our clients, which is gut detox, hormones, emotional wellbeing and skincare. The emotional wellbeing piece is so incredibly critical to the health of your skin because we have that gut, brain, skin access, where each one of these areas is going to be impacting our health. And when we are struggling with acne, the anxiety is high, Our self-confidence is low, Our self-esteem is low, we're bullying ourselves. The negative self-talk like it's almost all consuming and overwhelming. So when we can be, you know, learning to speak, kinder to ourselves, taking a minute to you know, bring those cortisol levels down, because so many acne sufferers have crazy cortisol and when their cortisol is sent on that joy ride it's actually going to trigger an overproduction of sebum in the skin and lead to more breakouts. So when we can really be rebalancing our mentally emotional wellbeing, like we have seen, borderline miracles occur for clients.

41:37 - Chase (Host) Really, that's impressive. That's impressive. I mean, it all makes sense to me. You know I live in this world and walk it as well, but I think it's a it's a harder sell for someone, cause you know, when you're out there in the world, literally with this being the first thing, people see most often, and you go like I want something to treat it, I want to have clear, healthier skin.

41:58 What good is a breathwork class going to do me? What good is meditation? What good is just, you know, de-stressing, like how can I not stress about what's going on?

42:07 - Katie (Guest) Absolutely, because it's like this feedback loop where you're stressed about your skin and your health, but then that also stresses you and you're just stuck in this loop. But we have to remember that our health isn't the result of just one thing that we're doing. It's not this magic bullet or this cure-all. It's a combination of everything we're doing in our life, from the food that we're eating, the supplements we take, the lifestyle habits that we have. That together combines to make that picture of health.

42:28 - Chase (Host) Yeah, absolutely, to make that picture of health. Yeah, absolutely, guys, kind of shifting gears into guys and nutrition, I think, because I've been a typical guys guy where I just eat whatever I want whenever I want. Typically, this coincided more with my twenties because we could just get a lot. We could get away with a lot more back then.

42:44 But I think, guys, it's going to be a harder sell for most men to go hey, you should maybe eat more of this, less of that kind of thing, if you want to be conscious of again your skin health. What do you think is one type of food? Or food group you think men would have the most difficulty with letting go of if they knew how potentially bad it was for their skin.

43:05 - Katie (Guest) Oh, that's a hard one, it's. It's such a toss up Cause you know some of my husband's friends. They've been lately coming to me like kate, like what can I do? Like?

43:11 - Chase (Host) like don't, don't make me give up my nachos or my wings or my pizza or my beer, like you know. Yeah, the beer probably um is there a collective food or food group um that we should be focusing I would say like the conventional dairy.

43:24 - Katie (Guest) So that highly processed dairy is just going to be so inflammatory to the body. Um, so that's generally one, but you know, I guys like no dairy, yeah, so like guys love their pizza.

43:35 So I would say, if you're wanting to really improve your skin health, let's give yourself like 90 days of like removing those really inflammatory things like the, say, a gluten or a dairy, and seeing how that inflammation comes down. Because I'd like to give it a 90 days to really truly see it, because I feel like a few weeks just isn't long enough. So, thinking of my husband's friends, I would say when I'm like, okay, guys, let's maybe like cut down the gluten a little bit, but but my pizza, my pizza, I'm like, well, let's find other alternatives. But, um, you know, we really want to see them eating protein. So they're always happy Like, okay, I can keep my protein, I keep my steak, I can keep my my this and that, but I think it would probably be the gluten or the dairy would be the biggest ones I see.

44:12 - Chase (Host) Yeah, I was actually really surprised a little while ago. I kind of just did some swaps just to like see of going gluten-free, like gluten-free pasta, gluten-free this and that, and I was really amazed of like how different I felt. Better I felt, and I wouldn't say that before. You know, by eating gluten regularly. I don't really eat a lot of processed foods to begin with, which is where you see a lot of gluten, but by going gluten-free, especially on like pasta night or certain dishes, or even just like if I'm out, if I see a gluten-free option, I'll, I'll entertain it I feel so much better and it's like walking around I didn't know like I actually had some bloating. I didn't know like I actually had some bloating. I didn't know I was walking around with kind of feeling like distended stomach or, like you know, gastrointestinal issues. Same thing with, not dairy collectively, but certain dairies especially.

45:00 You know I've been, you know, exercising for decades now and I think, like every other guy out there, we just we love our protein shakes and we just pound a protein shake, typically a whey protein shake, and like four-ish years ago I switched to a lactose-free whey shout out Legion Athletics and I was like, oh my God, I don't have. We call them the bubble guts. I don't have, like you know, the protein burps or like just feeling like I assumed it was just me having to metabolize more protein to get you know the muscle mass or the strength or to hit my macros or whatever it was, and I think a lot of guys can relate to that Absolutely. But I switched to lactose-free whey and I was like, oh, I don't have to feel that way.

45:38 Right, I don't have to feel that way and anytime we feel better with the food choices, like our decisions, but then also quite literally, how we feel better because of the foods that we eat. That is definitely serving every system, including our skin health, right.

45:50 - Katie (Guest) Absolutely. And I think when people are eating the same thing they've always eaten growing up. They've eaten the gluten and the dairy and all of these things you're like, oh no, I feel fine. But, you don't realize how much better you can actually feel. So this prime example is my husband, where when he's at home, he lives with a nutritionist, so he's eating very, very healthy, is he like? Sneaking in the kitchen. It's Katie watching. Yeah, oh my gosh. But. I see our credit card statement.

46:15 So I see those like pizza statements every once in a while on that bill and he will always come back. He's like, oh, my stomach. I'm like, well, what did you eat today? He's like, well, I got completely off. So I think when you can start to make that connection between let's try removing something for a period of time 30 to 90 days and then let's add it back in and see how your body responds, and I think, when then you're like, oh man, like, yeah, my stomach really does hurt, or I got a headache, I have brain fog, I'm not sleeping well, that's when you can start to make those connections between the food that I'm eating is actually making me not feel great absolutely, absolutely.

46:55 - Chase (Host) I think a lot of guys might struggle more than women with alcohol yes is it really as bad for a guy's skin as they say it is?

47:02 - Katie (Guest) yes, I hate to be the bearer of bad news like please don't egg my house or slash my tires, because my husband's also a beer drinker. I get it it, but again it's heavy, gluten-based, so it's going to give that like kind of beer belly that so many men get. Also, just the alcohol in your system alone is going to be impacting our liver health. Of course it's going to be impacting our gut lining. So you know, my husband still drinks beer. I let him have his beer, but he drinks it much, much less than he used to. And I do try to make sure that he's getting an organic beer as well, just to reduce the pesticides.

47:33 - Chase (Host) Okay, what about hormonal acne? I know this is a big area of your work and how you help people. Do men get the same type of hormonal acne as women? What causes it and what are best practices for treating it?

47:48 - Katie (Guest) So I think when we're looking at hormonal acne, we're so used to only thinking sex hormones, Like we're like it's estrogen based, it's testosterone based, it's progesterone based, but we forget that our blood sugar and or sorry, our insulin and our cortisol are also hormones in the body that can be impacting our skin. So when we're looking at the blood sugar, that's where if we're eating a very heavily refined diet, lots of carbohydrate, like refined carbohydrates, refined sugars, not eating consistent meals, this is where we're going to see our blood sugar and insulin kind of go off. And if we're leaving that, leading that really stressful lifestyle, the cortisol as well. So when we can be reducing the stress, getting our blood sugar happy, that's going to be positively impacting our hormones as a whole. And then, looking on the sex hormone side, we often see with men it's going to be very androgen based, especially in their teens. So this is where we're going to be seeing that testosterone coming through.

48:31 - Chase (Host) Um, what about that might open up again. I'm trying to think if I want to go down this road Um, you mentioned kind of just estrogen testosterone debating if I want to kind of bring up men and women will, you know, go through a hormonal replacement therapy, hrt, trt, um, yeah, okay, all right, so some guys might choose to go on testosterone replacement therapy.

49:01 I've been there. I was on for 14, 15 months ish. Uh, I've been off entirely for like two years now and, uh, I did notice some changes in my skin health by being on TRT. Typically, in my experience, it was correlated to a higher estrogen. It was in like an estrogen imbalance, and once you kind of get that sorted out, then it gets a lot better and it goes away.

49:21 And so when a guy is maybe choosing to go on TRT or, you know, feels like he has to actually or like clinically low T, no motivation, no sex drive, all these things and TRT like can really save a lot of people's lives, absolutely Hormone placement therapy.

49:36 - Katie (Guest) Yeah, it's wonders.

49:36 - Chase (Host) My wife does it every day. You know she's a hormone specialist in telehealth and uh, but then we suffer. Our skin health might suffer If we're going the TRT route. What can we do to really work on that? Is there anything we can do or does it need to be really finessed with our medical provider?

49:52 - Katie (Guest) I think a little bit of both. Like we want to be finessing it with the medical provider because they're going to be able to make sure that you're taking the right amount, and then, just like we've been talking about, is supporting your body as a whole so that your body can properly regulate, metabolize these hormones. So whether we're looking at supporting our liver health, so like we're reducing that alcohol consumption and I already talked about that cortisol, so when we're dealing with testosterone, sometimes we'll see that overproduction of the sebum in the skin, so making sure we're doing other things to reduce that impact. So that's where, again, the blood sugar and the cortisol are going to be really, really helpful, because that's going to also increase the androgen sebum production as well.

50:26 - Chase (Host) Okay, now let's say we're on the other side of the pendulum here. We know we went from no skincare routine. Yes, the guy said, okay, fine, you finally convinced me. I'm washing my face, I'm doing the serums.

50:36 I'm doing the things, and now we're going on the complete other side and now, like our side of the the, the medicine cabinet is overflowing and we've got the serums, the moisturizers, the masks, the all the things Is there. So is there such a thing as too much a guy can be doing to negatively impact their skin health? If, seemingly, it's all great?

50:55 - Katie (Guest) Absolutely. I think there can always be too much of a good thing where we want to find that balance, and we see this a lot with acne sufferers, men and women, where they're so desperate. So I want to do all the things. Give me like a 14-step routine I'm using acids, I'm using retinols, I'm using peroxides, using acids, I'm using retinols, I'm using peroxides, I'm using all of these really harsh ingredients.

51:13 So I think when we start to overdo it because we want those results, this is where we're going to start to destroy our skin barrier, so that protective barrier on our skin. We're going to start to impact that. We're going to see more inflammation, more redness, more sensitivity or sensitized skin. So we want to be making sure that we're not overdoing it, especially with the acids, because if we're putting acids like acetylsalicylic acid or BHA, aha, and we're putting it in the cleanser, the serum, all of the things we're putting on, we're just really impacting it. So this is where we want to be looking at our skincare making sure that, okay, we have a. If we have a nourishing cleanser, our treatment can maybe have an acid in it and then we have, like a nourishing cream and an SPF. So that way we're protecting it as well.

51:51 - Chase (Host) Okay, yeah, I'm team SPF. I've got melanoma in my family, so I use it every day, and if I don't, my mom yells at me. Convince a guy right now to wear sunscreen on his face every day.

52:03 - Katie (Guest) Well, do you want to age faster than your wife or your partner Like? Do you want your partner to look like 20 years younger than you when you're like in your 50s and 60s?

52:11 - Chase (Host) So you're saying not so much. First and foremost, we think you know SPF and we think, oh, I'm not going to get a sunburn. You're saying guys should focus on sunscreen for anti-aging.

52:19 - Katie (Guest) Yeah, absolutely, because the sun's going to be aging you, right? Of course, we want to be wearing SPF for, like melanoma, skincare issues, but we also are doing it to prevent and reduce the reduction of increased aging. So, like those fine lines and like you know, like if you're baking out in the sun with no protection, you're really going to be aging your skin. So if you want to be looking younger in the future, this is where SPF is really going to come in handy, and it's also going to prevent discoloration of the skin. So the sun spots as well.

52:45 - Chase (Host) So would you say, is this the number one recommendation? Is this the number one recommendation for men's anti-aging skincare routine?

52:53 - Katie (Guest) I would say it's the simplest right. It's SPF. It's something that you want to be doing anyways to prevent any types of cancers. So if we're just putting it on anyways, we're going to be getting that anti-aging benefits as well.

53:04 - Chase (Host) And I've also heard a lot of people promote shaving as a great exfoliant for guys. If you shave every day, you're exfoliating your skin, you get, you know, you can cleanse it more closely. Uh, I clearly don't shave every day. I'll trim my beard or grow it out. You know I, I, I straight razor shave baby face, maybe maybe a couple of times a year. Um, should a guy be shaving daily or more frequently, to have, I don't know, more cellular turnover, to detoxify, to exfoliate? Is there any correlation between men shaving their face and better skin health?

53:38 - Katie (Guest) Um, I think you could just use an exfoliator, right Like I have. Most of my guy friends have beards, so like they're not shaving their beard down, looking like they're 15 again, they want to keep it. So this is where you could be using an exfoliant, whether you're using a physical exfoliant, so this would be ones that have like this is my technical term the little scrubbies in it little scrubby do's, so that'll physically exfoliate the dead skin, but if you're using a chemical exfoliant, that would be something that has ahas or bhas in it.

54:02 So it's an ingredient that is like sloughing away the dead skin, say, in one of your serums. That's going to do a great job of exfoliating, even if you have the just like. Make sure you get it in there.

54:10 - Chase (Host) What is a good frequency? You would recommend for most men to use an exfoliant.

54:14 - Katie (Guest) Depending on their skin, anywhere from one to three times a week.

54:17 - Chase (Host) One to three times a week. Okay, okay, what about? What about extracurricular activities? We'll say you know we want to. We've got the skincare routine down, but we want to go a step further. We want to look at getting a professional facial. We want to use, maybe, photobiomodulation therapy, those wild, crazy face masks. I see my wife use red light, blue light, all these different things. Is there any benefit for a guy's skin health to be using these biohacking tools or going to a spa or sauna and getting these more intensive skin health routine?

54:46 - Katie (Guest) experiences. My husband's just beginning on this because he's just turned 39. So he's like okay to like start doing some things here and sure I have one of those, those masks, uh like it's crazy.

54:56 - Chase (Host) My kids think I look like Iron man when I wear it. I need I told my wife I was like I need you to tell me when you're gonna be using it, because I'll turn the corner in the house and I'm like, ah, it's very wild.

55:07 - Katie (Guest) Yeah, even my dogs are like what is happening with you, but I've noticed my husband's been like doing it himself, where he just like puts the mask on while he's watching like hockey at night, and I'm like you are hilarious right now. So I think any red light therapy is going to be great, whether it's a mask or a panel.

55:22 - Chase (Host) Why? What is so special about red light therapy? That's great for men's skin health.

55:26 - Katie (Guest) It's so great for collagen production. So as we age, we want to be making sure we're having a good amount of collagen production. That's going to be smoothing and plumping the skin. So, again, that anti-aging component. It's going to be reducing redness and inflammation. So if you have a lot of redness in your face, it's going to be really great for that. And you know, say you're using one of those panels as well. It's going to be great for mitochondria, for sleep, for mood.

55:44 - Chase (Host) So I think there's Is timing preferred with red light therapy? I heard you say your husband uses it at night, whenever it fits in your day.

55:54 - Katie (Guest) It's because we have kids. So by the time we sit down, it's like 10 o'clock and I'm like, oh, it's nice to see you in a day. So that's when he has time to like sit with, because he's such a hands-on dad so he's playing with them like nonstop. So at night is when he has the time in his schedule.

56:07 - Chase (Host) Uh, what about if we want to go, you know, get a facial? Can we go too far with like peels and exfoliants and the microdermabrasion or all of these things?

56:15 - Katie (Guest) This is where I think it's really important to work with a really good medical esthetician that knows your, that can see your skin and what your goals are. So my son or my husband, he's gone for an IPL, which is those laser facials. Um, you know he spent a lot of time out the sun traveling South America, so lots of freckles, um, so you know he was doing that to help even his skin tone out. So that could be really great for somebody. Or maybe you are somebody who had acne and you have those deep pitted scars. This is where, say, a microneedling can be really helpful to help, um, smooth the skin out a little bit more. You could be going for just your average facial, where you're, you know, to getting the hydration, but really working with somebody that can walk you through the best treatment for your goals.

56:52 - Chase (Host) I'll say a quick shout out. I love Bijou Beauty here in. La I go every couple of months, shout out Lauren and James and the crew over there and I love it. One, I think, to your point earlier it's a great, just guaranteed six, 45 to 75 minutes where I can relax.

57:11 - Katie (Guest) You can just shut your brain off.

57:12 - Chase (Host) I can shut my brain off, I can lay down. The ambience is amazing. You know, Bijou, beauty or any other typical spot, it's just going to be. You're chilling, you're laying down calm, relaxing, no doom scrolling. Exactly, yeah. So I think, first and foremost, that's a very important thing to point out. So in any kind of regularity, you can introduce that to your life we talked about the amazing benefits.

57:31 But uh, yeah, just a regular facial, or uh, I've gotten um, they call it the diamond facial. It's like teeny tiny little like not microdermabrasion but like micro diamonding kind of thing. Now I need to go. It's like a deep exfoliant. It's amazing I'm gonna have to go before I leave and to your point earlier, like they're, they're scrubby dues, but I call them sucky dues because it pulls out and shows like all the extractions. You're like what it's like disgusting but amazing, all the same time yeah.

57:56 So, guys, you're not invincible. You know we walk outside, you know, every day, most of us and we're exposed to the elements, and especially here in los angeles. You know we struggle a lot with air quality yeah, huge and sun direct sun, all this stuff so, which we didn't really even get into there. But you know, beyond washing your face, maybe using some of the products we talked about in SPF, should a guy really be looking into the air quality of his city or where he's?

58:21 - Katie (Guest) traveling to do anything different to protect his skin. I've actually had someone ask me this question, but I think that is such a good question.

58:27 It's important it is important because that's what our skin is being exposed to Like. You guys have major pollution here in LA with your traffic and I think when you can be looking at that, air quality is going to be really important. So if you have the ability to maybe put an air purifier in your home so that way you can start be cleansing the air that you're in all the time or your office, can be really great, and then the different climates, right, are going to be different for your skin. If you're somebody that travels a lot and you know I know people you know go to certain areas of the world they're like oh, my skin feels so much oilier here, it feels so much drier here. So if you are somebody that is in that travel zone is kind of taking that consideration as well yeah, I definitely notice I will have to rotate through.

59:02 - Chase (Host) Um, well, I feel the need to to need certain things more than others, like here in los angeles. You know it's a desert climate, it it's more dry. So I definitely um cleansing, moisturizing and seraming all you know pretty much every day when I go back to the East coast you know I'm from Virginia, I lived in DC and I go back to my friends and family in those areas, especially this time of year. It's very humid and I don't need any extra help moisturizing, oiling the skin, so just cleansing and like a serum. But I'll even get away with like half the amount of serum that.

59:32 I use, Uh, and then I visit family or go, you know, visit in New York city and it's, you know, it can be very cold, it can be dry, it can be windy and I'm like lathering that stuff on like crazy, which is, you know again. I think here is another point your body will prompt you, whatever the ailment is. You know, our bodies are the best coaches and if we can just learn to pause long enough to listen to what it's telling us, whether that's by going gluten-free, lactose-free, or maybe there's a particular exercise modality that's maybe you love but your body hates, you're just constantly sore, inflamed, and especially with our skin health, you know, pay attention, especially if you're someone that is, you know, changing climates or you're in uh, yeah, exactly, you get all the four seasons, we get all four seasons.

01:00:15 - Katie (Guest) So I like I change my skincare regularly throughout the seasons, cause in the winter it's super dry, we have the heating inside, so I'm putting on like a much thicker, heavier moisturizer, but in the summer in Canada it's super, super hot and so it's more and it's very humid, like we have New York weather basically, so it's very humid and I'm like I don't need to be applying this really thick moisturizer because it's just too much for my skin.

01:00:36 - Chase (Host) Yeah, yeah. So, well said, is there anything that we didn't talk about? Maybe that you would like to really highlight when it comes to skin health?

01:00:42 - Katie (Guest) men, women, you did such a great job with your questions, because just reminding yourself that it's a combination of the skincare that you're using, the lifestyle that you're living and then the things that you're putting into your body.

01:00:52 - Chase (Host) Is there anything on the horizon that you're very excited about in the skin health world?

01:00:56 - Katie (Guest) There is. It's probably a little more popular here in LA because we get things a little bit slower in Toronto, but exosomes, I think, are going to be absolutely huge for the skincare game.

01:01:05 - Chase (Host) Walk us through exosomes. What's that?

01:01:06 - Katie (Guest) So exosomes are going to be the the next big thing and it's I've seen it a lot in functional clinics so you can be getting them um whether it's an exosome facial, so it's going to be really big for anti-aging. Some people even get um I've had one before where it was an exosome IV infusion and you can be going after so many different things. I'm not an exosome expert myself, but I feel like it's we're really going to be seeing it popping up everywhere, especially in skincare.

01:01:33 - Chase (Host) Okay, it kind of prompts a follow-up question. I see a lot of things in the skin health world, or skin health promoting world, that are topical versus, you know, even like IV transfusions or maybe like a pill, and we've talked a lot of different things about nutrition and supplements. Are there certain things that you would always recommend us to look at, as this should always be topical, this should always be like IV or maybe through supplementation. One big example that comes to mind is actually I'm sipping on it now in my coffee. I have collagen in my coffee every day.

01:02:01 So, for example, is collagen beneficial if we ingest it? I see it in like creams and a lot of topical applications. Is there a preferred delivery mechanism?

01:02:13 - Katie (Guest) I personally, I like the like, the collagen, um, when it's dietary. So it's coming in like whether it's your coffee or your smoothie. I think that's really going to give you the best bang for your buck, because it's also going to start to work systemically where, yes, it's going to be great for your skin, but it's going to be great for your gut, it's going to be great for your joints and bones as well especially here with collagen.

01:02:28 - Chase (Host) I think why a lot of topical applications don't work, or don't work as well as ones that you ingest, is that your skin, like it's it's very thick. It has to go through multiple layers in order to actually penetrate, to get in there, and your number one job of your skin is to be a barrier.

01:02:44 - Katie (Guest) So it's going to do its best to like keep things out.

01:02:47 - Chase (Host) And I hear you know I'm not a skin health expert. You are, but you know collagen topical is not as effective, if at all, than when you ingest it.

01:02:55 - Katie (Guest) Yeah, and that's where you get that science in the delivery system. So when you are paying for a more pricier skincare, like the medical grade skincare, you are paying for the delivery system. It has a much higher end, more scientific backed delivery system. So that way it's getting deeper into the skin versus something you're going to buy at Target.

01:03:14 - Chase (Host) Shout out Sean Coffee Company. You guys been keeping me collagen infused for eight years now. I get 15 grams of collagen in my coffee every day, katie. My last question this has all been meant to help me and my audience learn a unique area of the multifacetedness that is being human, and so hopefully we can extract something to go back to or to learn something new to apply into one of our areas of wellbeing, to help move us forward and to live a life ever forward.

01:03:43 Those two words, what do they mean to you? Let's say, Katie, how do you live a life ever forward? How would that land on you?

01:03:47 - Katie (Guest) I think, to keep going even when the crappy things happen to you in life, because you know no one's immune, no one gets to live this beautiful, incredible life where nothing bad ever happens. So I think that you know, just staying resilient and moving forward, even when it feels tough.

01:04:01 - Chase (Host) Even when you wake up and you got a zinger on your forehead because you're too lazy the two nights before to wash your face. But you know what Family comes first nowadays and apparently my skin health comes second. We'll get back on track. Where can my audience go to connect with you and learn more about what you got going on in the world? Of course, it will be in the show notes and video description box for you guys.

01:04:20 - Katie (Guest) You can check us out on Instagram, youtube, our website, all at Katie Stewart Wellness, and you'll be able to find us anywhere.

01:04:26 - Chase (Host) All right, all right, thank you. Thank you so much For more information on everything you just heard. Make sure to check this episode's show notes or head to everforwardradiocom.