Gary Brecka

And that puts a lot of stress on us, right?

Not just to perform, but to look the way that everyone looks on Instagram, to perform at what everyone expects us, the level they expect us to perform, right?

And we talk about stress being so detrimental, but what is it about stress?

What is the link between stress and the skin?

Because this is in the deep layers of the skin.

You know, I very often refer to the skin not as a barrier, but as a gateway.

Because it doesn't just keep things out, it lets certain things in.

And there's a big discussion going on right now about the types of things that we apply to our skin, phthalates, parabens, toxic chemicals that we find in cosmetics and skincare products.

And what kind of damage have you seen over your career?

And how do you advise your patients to go out and select cosmetics, skincare products, makeup, lotions?

Because I think we sort of go through the process of our day and we don't realize the amount of toxins that we piled on.

I was actually at a lecture

This was probably two or three years, two years ago.

And this woman was walking through a standard day for a female from brushing her teeth first thing out of getting out of bed to removing nail polish at night before she went to bed.

And the number of toxins

that were applied to the skin, the nails, the hair, the sprays, the things that we're applying to look better and supposedly feel better.

As she broke these things down, I was astounded.

It was like 180, 190 different chemical compounds in a very average day, especially for a woman.

So what are some...

must avoids and what do these toxins do?