Saving Face with Seaweed

I took a look at my face last week in good lighting, which is a scary thing to do if you don't do it very often and like to spend 3 out of 4 days subsisting on a diet of peanut butter and coconut rice.

I also don't wash my face. Ever.

You wouldn't either if you had a massive case of impetigo at the age of 15 and spent weeks sponge-bathing your blistered face while mournfully singing selections in the shadows from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and shunning the harsh light of day.

As of last week, my skin had taken on the unhappy splotchy and lumpy look of a teenaged boy who can't summon the fortitude of spirit to ask Jenny to the prom. It looked like cottage cheese.

At the prompting of May, we went on a week-long sea vegetable binge, and WOW, what a difference! I should note that May grew up using traditional Chinese remedies that are usually the exact same thing as macrobiotic remedies, so she's got a great intuition when it comes to "prescribing vegetables." We did a push on the winter seasonal vegetables (squash, root veggies like daikon, carrots, and burdock, and short grain brown rice), and my skin is already starting to smooth.

I also bought soap for my face. Lots of soap. More cleansers, exfoliators and toners than I know how to handle. They arrive in a few weeks, and I'm pretty amped to get washing. I plan on being very clean. I might just buy a special "face only" wash cloth for the occasion. It could get crazy.

After this week, I can truly reaffirm what I've said before: eating sea vegetables is one of the best ways to get beautiful skin and hair from the inside out. Here are some fun ways you can get your sea veggies in:

-Toss raw soaked wakame with sea salt and raw garlic cloves.

-Throw some wakame in your morning miso soup.

-Cook all your beans with a strip of kombu.

-Roll those leftover pickles with the leftover brown rice in a strip of nori.

-Make a stir fry with hijiki! It adds amazing flavor, and is especially hearty and delicious in winter. If I cook with hijiki, I usually make sure to use a heavier sauce so it doesn't taste too "oceany." I will make a "cream" sauce using grated squeezed ginger juice with tamari, or a thick white miso sauce cooked with some sesame oil for creaminess.

I don't go too crazy eating sea veggies with every meal. Let your body be the guide. I find that if I eat too many of them, I feel a little nauseated, so it's best to take a day off for me in that case.

The other amazing long-term effect I've had of eating sea vegetables is stronger and thicker hair. I've been told by every single hair dresser I've ever been to that I have the finest strands of hair they see outside of children under the age of four. My hair is usually as soft and fine as infant hair, and breaks just as easily. Since beginning my macrobiotic journey last year, one thing I've noticed is that the thickness and texture of my hair has become totally different. It's now thicker, tougher, and my eyelashes are fuller. Take that, Latisse!

Seriously, in three days I've seen amazing improvement. Add some sea vegetables to your diet today, and look forward to better skin and hair in the long run!

*Note: Wash your sea veggies before cooking. I found a tiny shrimp in my miso last night. It was intense and reminded me of last year when I found a lady bug inside my Tazo tea bag.