The Daily Skincare Routine, Rituals + Products Of This Functional Medicine Expert For Youthful, Glowing Skin
No one is immune to acne. Not even myself. I’ve written about my history with adrenal fatigue in the past, and my struggle with acne that happened as a result. But today, I am happy to say that my skin is clear and radiant from taking steps to heal from the inside out.
Nowadays, my focus is not on controlling acne breakouts, but instead on keeping my skin as vibrant and youthful as possible. So whether you are wanting to achieve clear skin or maintain the glow you already have, take a page out of my functional medicine daily skincare routine.
My foundation
If there’s one thing I have learned in functional medicine, it is that there is rarely just one thing contributing to your health problem. When it comes to your skin, we have to take a whole body approach. Once I understood that my skin was a reflection of both external and internal factors I was able to make adjustments in the following areas to tackle my skin problems from all angles.
1. Diet
Your gut and your skin are inextricably linked through the gut-skin axis. In fact, research shows that problems like leaky gut syndrome, yeast overgrown, SIBO, and microbiome dysbiosis can contribute to poor skin health. When your gut health and inflammation levels are out of control, it can show up on the surface of your skin as acne and other problems.
What is the biggest contributor to all of these problems? Poor diet. Ultimately, the food we eat on a daily basis either fuels inflammation and gut dysfunction or soothes it. When it came to healing my skin, it all went back to what I was eating.
Since everyone’s biochemistry is unique - and so are each person’s specific food intolerances and food sensitivities - I had to discover what foods triggered an inflammatory response in my body. Once I uncovered the foods my body loved through an elimination diet I was able to structure a dietary plan with superfoods that optimized health, promoted glowing skin, and minimized internal dysfunction.
Personally, I prioritize foods high in healthy fats needed for healthy hormone balance like wild-caught fish, avocados, and nuts and seeds. I also make sure to include a variety of anti-inflammatory superfoods like turmeric and antioxidant-rich berries. Plus, a lot of gut-healing bone broth that gave my skin that extra collagen boost.
2. Skincare
As your body’s largest organ, your skin makes up 10 percent of your total body weight and plays an important role in your overall health. But did you know your skin actually has its own microbiome? That’s right, just like your gut, your skin is home to millions of strains of bacteria and fungi that all work together to act as a physical barrier from outside pathogens.
However, skin problems can arise when there is an imbalance - also known as dysbiosis - where bad bacteria ends up outnumbering healthy, beneficial bacteria. This can lead to a variety of skin problems including acne, psoriasis, eczema, rosacea, and more. Certain factors like the products you use on a daily basis can contribute to the development of dysbiosis and aging.
That’s why it is so important to use high-quality skincare products that are made with clean ingredients designed to keep your skin barrier healthy and moisturized to protect against dysbiosis and pathogens. Keep reading for a rundown of my go-to products!
3. Intermittent fasting
As the author of the NYT-bestselling book Intuitive Fasting, and someone who has a regular fasting practice, I have seen firsthand the transformative power of this wellness tool on my skin.
While fasting has many benefits, you might not realize that its main benefits also directly impact your skin’s health and appearance. For example, fasting increases autophagy - your body’s cellular recycling process that works to break down damaged cells and recycle them out of your system, making way for new, healthy cells to be produced by promoting healthy cellular metabolism. This is especially important as we get older to mitigate wrinkles and other signs of aging, with studies showing (1) that intermittent fasting and autophagy work together in their anti-aging capabilities.
Fasting can also help regulate your gut-skin balance. Just like the ocean tides ebb and flow, so do the different colonies of bacteria in your microbiome depending on if you are awake, eating or sleeping. Because our bodies aren’t built for 24/7 eating, fasting can help reset your microbiome’s natural ebb and flow while also lowering gut-specific inflammation (2) and inflammatory markers (3) like IL-6 and CRP that contribute to inflammatory skin problems.
Shop This Article
Dr. Will Cole's Personal Picks
To Elevate Your Wellness
My go-to products
With the knowledge I have around skincare, I go out of my way to choose brands that understand that beauty goes beyond the surface. Not only do these brands prioritize the quality of ingredients that you put on your face, they have also created products that address what is going on underneath the surface.
1. Daily use
Agent Nateur
Formulated with potent, natural ingredients, this skincare line has been a go-to of mine for years. So much so that I partnered with them to create two co-branded products holi ( m a n e ), and holi ( r a d i a n c e ), to give your skin the exact nutrients it needs to thrive.
Designed to enhance your natural glow, holi ( m a n e ) works to support flourishing hair, radiant skin and resilient nails. This exclusive supplement combines two daily powerhouse super foods: marine collagen and pearl powder. This odorless and nearly tasteless blend is abundant in over 30 trace minerals, including silica, magnesium, calcium and potassium that support optimal hair, skin and nail health. Bioavailable amino acids activate hair, skin and nail cells to produce collagen, promote cellular repair and hydration. Nacre, a natural compound in pearl powder, stimulates collagen to regenerate. The synergy of this nutrient-dense blend also supports the increase of two important antioxidants, glutathione and superoxide dismutase, both essential for cell vitality.
When formulating holi ( r a d i a n c e ) I wanted to take the idea of "beauty from the inside-out" one step further. This blend combines OptiMSM® — a high-grade antioxidant that helps build keratin and collagen for healthy hair, skin and nails — and digalactosy diglycerides ceramides that enhance hydration for less dryness, fine lines and wrinkles, this formula targets the biggest skincare complaints at the source.
I take both of these every day mixed in a smoothie or cup of warm water with lemon.
Longevity RX
Your body contains almost 37.2 trillion cells and produces 25 million new cells every single second. If I’ve learned anything in my years as a functional medicine practitioner, it’s that the health of your cells is the driving force behind your overall health, including visible signs of aging.
Your body’s natural aging process is going to result in a slight decline in cellular health and function, but the longer cellular damage is allowed to occur, the more cellular function is impaired, giving way to the accumulation of even more damaged cells and signs of aging. It’s a vicious cycle!
So I partnered with LongevityRX to take a proactive approach to my inner and outer health rather than a reactive one.
Like I said, intermittent fasting has been part of my wellness routine for years. But since your body expels electrolytes at an increased rate while fasting it is important to also replenish them quicker to avoid side effects like fatigue, headaches, cramps, and brain fog.
Engineered for optimal cellular hydration and performance, Cellular Hydration is the only leading brand with a balanced 1:1 ratio of sodium to potassium. Powered by Celtic Sea Salt® a whole unrefined mineral blend, it is synergistically combined with red marine algae, organic watermelon, coconut water, and celery to provide hydration from head-to-toe. Methylated B vitamins provide clean energy, while choline supports cognitive function. This comprehensive blend goes beyond hydration – it's a sugar free, scientifically formulated approach to support your body's ideal electrolyte balance.
I specifically formulated my StemCell Protein with Longevity RX with bone marrow proteins and organ peptides from regenerative heart, liver, and kidney to fuel antioxidant production and stimulate tissue regeneration to promote glowing skin and reduce signs of aging.
This supercharged protein powder comes in an indulgent chocolate flavor, so I love adding it to warm water or milk in the evenings for a rich treat and in my morning smoothies instead of regular protein powder. Its better for me and tastes way better!
Mitopahgy is your body’s process of identifying and cleaning out damaged and dysfunctional mitochondria — the powerhouses of your cells. When your mitochondria is damaged it leads to faster, visible signs of aging. If you're like me, I doubt you want to look older than your age, so I want to do as much as I can to fuel mitophagy to keep my cells healthy.
Liv120 is the world's first cellular superfood containing the full spectrum of health-promoting antioxidants derived from foods of all colors, including red ginseng, black currant, purple acai, blue turmeric, green matcha, orange reishi, yellow astragalus, white soursop to power your body's longevity pathways and reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
Your skin is the largest window into what is going on beneath the surface, specifically in your gut. The gut-skin axis is very real and is one of the first things I prioritize for anyone looking to achieve clear, glowing skin.
Daily probiotics are a great foundational supplement to ensure your gut is getting everything it needs. But not all probiotics are created equal. Probiotic trillion is a unique 4-in-1 gut health formula featuring prebiotics, probiotics, postbiotics, and parabiotics. Powered by fast-acting spore-based strains like Bacillus subtilis AB-22, it helps reduce inflammation and restore gut lining integrity. I love taking this as it cuts down the amount of different probiotics I take on a daily basis while still covering all of the bases!
2. On rotation
My skincare looks different each day as I like to follow Dr. Whitney Bowe’s skin cycling method with products developed by some of my close friends in the wellness space depending on what my skin needs that day:
- Ubeauty (listen to my podcast episode with founder, Tina Chen Craig)
- Alitura
- Dr. Whitney Bowe (listen to my podcast episode with Dr. Whitney Bowe)
- Furtuna
- Clearstem (listen to my podcast episode with with founders, Danielle Gronich and Kayleigh Christina)
The Takeaway
Even though everyone’s health and skincare needs are unique, I hope my routine has shown you that healing is possible once you know the proper steps to take. Achieving clear skin can feel like an uphill battle, but once you understand the mechanisms behind skin problems you can start to do the work that actually makes a difference and results in long-lasting, sustainable changes and the glowing skin you’ve always wanted.
As one of the first functional medicine telehealth clinics in the world, we provide webcam health consultations for people around the globe.
Photo: unsplash.com
View More At Our Store
Purchase personally curated supplements
and Dr. Will Cole’s books!
The information on this website has not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration or any other medical body. We do not aim to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any illness or disease. Information is shared for educational purposes only. You must consult your doctor before acting on any content on this website, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition.
Our content may include products that have been independently chosen and recommended by Dr. Will Cole and our editors. If you purchase something mentioned in this article, we may earn a small commission.
BY DR. WILL COLE
Dr. Will Cole, DNM, IFMCP, DC is a leading functional medicine expert who consults people around the globe, starting one of the first functional medicine telehealth centers in the world. Named one of the top 50 functional and integrative doctors in the nation, Dr. Will Cole provides a functional medicine approach for thyroid issues, autoimmune conditions, hormonal imbalances, digestive disorders, and brain problems. He is also the host of the popular The Art of Being Well podcast and the New York Times bestselling author of Intuitive Fasting, Ketotarian, Gut Feelings, and The Inflammation Spectrum.
Gut Feelings
Healing The Shame-Fueled Relationship
Between What You Eat And How You Feel
