All about SKIN and Isotretinoin Update

First, HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)

This would be for my personal records but on January 26, 2010, it would be my 9th month OFF Isotretinoin (Acnetrex) - A potent drug that I took for my nasty zitz last June 2008 till April 26, 2009.

Link to my Isotretinoin History

Consumed 22 boxes and 8 more tabs.

Around late August, I felt my skin was breaking out one by one and I noticed that it only occurs when I am stressed and with no sleep. Its also probably due to the fact that I also stopped putting Adapalene (cause I was stubborn and lazy)

I had another dermatologist by this time because I relocated to the province (But I had no intentions of leaving my previous derm in Makati) so this 2nd derm told me that I have to take more of this drug cause I am complaining for occasional zits. Still haven't decided until now if I will take another course (in lesser quantity)

Then I had my first diamond peel around September. Then another diamond peel before October. Results are satisfactory! Now I can put make up flawlessly. But I need to do more to remove the scars completely. I stopped the diamond peel because I want to visit my 1st derm about my diamond peel procedure. Which until now I havent done yet due to uhh delayed scheduling heehee.

PS. I think it will take me until January 19 to visit Makati again so I will just go and have another diamond peel by Tuesday.

Before the diamond peel I’ve tried several cleansers like Dessert Essence and VMV Superskin 3. But I still stick to Cetaphil until this time.

My regimen during the diamond peel is:

Morning: Clindamycin (spot treatment), Olay White Radiance Old Formula SPF 19

Evening: Adapalene, Whitening Cream (from 1st derm)

When I continued Adapalene and Clindamycin, my zits have improved.

And my regimen at the moment is:

Cleanser: Cetaphil

Morning: *Clindamycin + VMV Sunblock from Superskin 3

Evening: *VMV Superskin 3 Toner (every other day) + Whitening Cream

I dont use the Adapalene anymore cause I want to finish the VMV Toner.

For the (*) asterisk, I dont put them everyday. I have to check my face if it feels sensitive and burning, I stop at least a day until I feel like I can continue putting them again to my face.

Sometimes, I use Apple Cider Vinegar when I feel like I want to rest off chemical products and needed some natural remedies.

Definitely Sunblock is my #1 protection and I cannot bear to remove it to my regimen. Avoiding the sun is a must!

I still get zits like 1 or 2 once in a while but they are controllable. And I notice that I only breakout after putting make up for 8 hrs with no washing of face OR a day/week/month of NO QUALITY SLEEP and POOR DIET.

Oh by the way, I am a semi vegetarian since November of 2008. I rarely have red meat in my diet. I eat brown rice and I drink water a lot. Although I love eating sweets, they are only in small amounts.

And I am also particular with the products I use to my face, hair and skin. If I use a certain hair product, I avoid those with strong fragrances. I also test at least a day to two weeks if its compatible to my face. My hair currently likes the products of Shine Moist (Shampoo and Hair Wax Treatment-NOT the color treated one) and Citre Shine (Conditioner). For my skin, seems like AVEENO loves me because it keeps my skin moisturized and it doesn't give me any zits at all. And as much as possible with cosmetic products particularly with the foundation and face powder, I use hypoallergenic ones like VMV/ Clinique/ Laura Mercier. But with the eye shadow, ELF is ok. Its better to be safe for the foundations and face powders because you put a lot of these on your face as compared to the eye shadows.

Link to the history of my Skin Allergy and Eczema is below which is already cured now (they really crack like el nino).

I don't like to complicate much my skin regimen. If do, then I will be stressed out and as I have said, stress gives me ZITS. :)

xoxo

[Beauty on a Budget] Olive Oil and Egg Mask for Hair

I'm having a bad hair yesterday and my hair is obviously crying out for a treatment. I still have my Shine Moist Henna Wax with me but after trying it for the third time, I think my skin already said stop cause it has been reacting badly with it. (ring: breakouts and itchiness in the scalp)

My skin and hair is begging for an organic hot oil treatment.

That's the time I headed to the grocery store to buy Olive Oil.

This is not the first time I have used Olive Oil for my hair. Its actually a life saver for me few years ago because I, on a very unfortunate event of my life had experience lice. Yes you've read that right, head lice. Got it from using the comb of my infected niece. That was acutally a worst time because they really itch and they are creepy and not to mention the embarrasment from people. Well over the counter products didnt help me at all UNTIL I found Olive Oil and it saved me from these creepy crawlers.

So we move on, shall we?

Olive oil is moisturizing and the benefits are impressive. I shall not be redundant with the benefits because Google will help you do that but overall, the Vitamin E you receive from consuming and applying Olive Oil is a wonderful hair and skin remedy.

Egg is rich in protein which our hair greatly needs. Especially for girls experiencing hair falls. It is equally as good as Olive oil when moisturizing the hair. The yolk is where the protein is.

Both of these adds volume, shine and manageability. Here are the steps in making a homemade hot oil treatment AKA Olive Oil and Egg Hair Mask

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

1. Mix 2 Eggs and 4 tablespoons of Olive Oil in a cup. (I unfortunately used one cause thought it wasn’t enough but I was wrong. My hair is really thick!)

 
2. Optional: Add a pinch of cinnamon (lol I dont know why I put it but I read it somewhere that its also good haha)

 
3. Apply into damp hair. (Almost 75% dry) and massage into the scalp.
4. Wear a turban, or a towel to protect it from dripping.

5. Let it rest for 15 mins. Do your chores, do your oDesk job to be preoccupied.

6. Optional: Wash it with 2 tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar dissolved in half liter of water.
7. Wash again with a light shampoo. Don’t massage thoroughly as it will wash away the moisture from the mask. 
8. Your choice to Blow Dry or Air Dry. Natural is better, imho.

The results?

It's a saved one from being dry, limp and unmanageable hair. It feels light and bouncy. The strands look thick and coated making it shiny.

The Apple Cider Vinegar is essential because I left the mask for an hour and the acid in apple cider will help it wash away the mixture. The funny part is, I noticed a cooked egg white in one part of my strands ahaha. No worries cause it was washed away after shampooing. Apple Cider Vinegar is conditioning too and gives a shine into the hair.

It didn’t smell. Remember, the ingredients will smell only if you put too much.

Definitely will try this again! :)

xoxo

[Review] Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar

Again, I am a loyal user of Girltalk forum and I found out that many of my sisses use this organic product. I was quite skeptical to use it cause its Vinegar. You know how vinegar stinks right? And I was surprised that many uses this as their beauty product. For toner, for shampoo, conditioner, body wash. Almost anything about beauty! I said, if this product is effective, I must say its a life saver. So I bought this last week, thursday and decided to try it myself. Healthy Options at less than PHP 200 or 4 USD.

Thursday evening (June 4):

I mixed the concoction into a clean spray bottle. 1 part distilled water and 1 part of ACV. After shower and cleaning my face with Cetaphil, I sprayed my face with ACV. I did it wrong! I accidentally sprayed my eyes lol so the result, a sting and teary eyed. I decided to use a facial cotton squares instead. I sprayed the cotton and applied it all over my face and in the sides of my neck. The smell disturbed me. I heard that the smell fades after it dries but since I am generally sweaty, I can still smell the vinegar. There is a feeling of "dirty” like you will wonder if you have showered cause you can smell the vinegar in your face lol. I applied my Differin (Adapalene) as prescribed by my doctor and my Bleaching Cream # 2(from Derma). The smell somehow is less.

Friday morning:

After waking up, I didn't notice any breakout. Hurrah! My face feels tight and I decided to take a ACV shower. This time, I am going to use it as a shampoo and conditioner. LOL I know I know. What's the point of taking a shower when you will only smell like a vinegar right? LOL. I mixed half of my ACV Spray Bottle into a small bucket (Tagalog: TABO! lol) and dipped my long hair. I washed it immediately. For the remaining ACV, I poured it into my body (now I am using it as a body wash) But I can’t take the smell, I washed my body with Kojiesan Soap after. My hair is frizzy the whole day but I noticed a softer hair. I can smell the vinegar at the back of my neck in between the hair cause I use to perspire in that area. Glad I was just at home and nobody can smell me. After drying my hair and body, I sprayed ACV into the cotton and applied it onto my face as a toner. I finished it with Maxi Peel Concealing Cream.

Friday Evening:

I followed the advice of a fellow gtalker, Meowskitty. Shampoo-ACV-Conditioner. I used Clear Soft Shampoo. Washed it off. Then ACV wash. I let it stay for at least 2 mins. Then wash it off. Then use Citre Shine Color Prism Conditioner. The result is much better! Then I still rinsed my body with ACV. And then Kojiesan soap after.

For the following days, this is my evening routine:

1) Shower. Shampoo - ACV - Conditioner. 2) ACV body rinse - Kojic Soap. 3) ACV toner* - Bleaching Cream from Derm. I removed my Differin (Adapalene) in my routine. I thought its redundant cause ACV is already acting up for my blemishes.

For my morning routine:

1) Wash face with Cetaphil – ACV toner* – Maxipeel Concealing Cream.

*ACV Toner: 3 parts of distilled water, 1 part of ACV.

Update as of today (June 11):

ITS A RAVE!!! I have a lot of praises with this product! First, it did help my face give a certain “glow.” I can say that my oiliness has decreased. Pores somehow shrunken. My blemishes were fading. Same with redness. My face has its rosy glow when in natural lighting. For my hair, it’s soft and it I think it has coated the strands making it healthy looking. When I wake up in the morning, I have a beach wave hairstyle. Its cute and its soft and fresh. For my body, I have a small bumps in my earlobes. I know they are disgusting but you wont see them really. They are internal. I think the reasons for the bumps are clogged lymph nodes? (scary I know) And after using ACV in my hair, the bumps have shrunken! I can’t believe it. This is really my Holy Grail. As crazy as it sounds. I also have a rash prone buttocks and I am also hoping that this product will help.

I also use ACV in my foods. I use it as a dip for my chicken fingers. I use this as a marinating sauce. I use this as my alternative for ordinary distilled vinegar. Here is the article that says everything about the benefits of ACV: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/health-benefits-apple-cider-vinegar.html

This is the reason why ACV has its beauty benefits: http://leonsbeautytipsandsecrets.com/5-wonderful-health-benefits-of-apple-cider-vinegar/ It has a high Alpha Hydroxy Acid. Read more in order to know why. :)

I dont use this as my way to loss weight. I dont want to because I am satisfied with my body now. I just need to maintain it with my Semi-Vegetarianism. :)

By the way, if you decided to give this a try, don't forget to buy the ORGANIC one. The one which has the “mother” meaning the more sediments it has, the more effective it is. Bragg ACV is the best one in my opinion. If the ACV smells, it means you are putting too much. And I am putting too much because I can take the smell now. Of course when going out, I still have to tone down the amount lol. I dont want any trouble. :p Always dilute it with DISTILLED Water if you put it in a container. Why? Ordinary tap water, once stocked will produce minerals and dirt. Making it prone to bacteria. Some people, in order to mask the smell, they put green tea to it. That’s okay for as long as you are sure that you wont stock it because we are trying to avoid bacteria built up here. No bacteria – No skin irritation.

That’s it for now. I will use this for 1 month and lets see again if I will still rave about it. Try it for yourself and see its benefits. :)