Fighting Acne - The Unconventional Way

Prevention is better than cure.

I have read countless posts on how to treat acne/pimples/cysts. Extremely helpful as they may be, the take home message that I always get is that, prevention is better than cure. (I am very thankful for some of the articles, like Splendicity, and Viva Woman's.)

If in the first place, I don't have a pimple to begin with, then what for would I need a pimple cream, or tea tree oil (lol. I invested in a 100% pure one from Thursday Plantation, and it's left on my shelf collecting dust now.), or honey, or go through painful needle extractions during facial?

So after concluding from some of my observations, I decided that one of the best ways to fight acne, is by the "torturous", maybe time-consuming, but very beneficial way - A Healthy Lifestyle.

Leading a healthy lifestyle is the indirect, frequently overlooked, unconventional way of stopping all that unpleasant zits from popping out all over. And I have many athletic friends who can "prove" it. I am always so envious of the guys' baby smooth face. And even more envious when they say they use nothing but normal soap and/or water to wash their faces.

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So how did I go about trying to lead a healthier lifestyle?

In my opinion, I feel that this can be divided into 2 big catergories, that is exercise and diet.

Exercise
1. DECIDE that you want to lead a healthier lifestyle. (I wouldn't say healthy, just aim for moderate, healthIER lifestyle)

2. Start moving.
I started off with the little exercises that one kind friend devised for me. That includes things like leg bend, calf lift, squats, cruches, and swimming. Very simple, at low intensity, low repetition.

Then I also added in cycling.

Subsequently, I cut out magazine articles and start to follow them. This is very good! Just grab any girly mag, like Seventeen, Cleo, Women's Weekly, sure to see a page of healthy lifestyle.

3. Increase the repetitions and intensities as you go along.
I just increase after around 1 week, then 2, because by instincts, I feel that I am stronger, and can do more times. So this is up to individual to judge for yourself.

4. Stick to whatever movements you are doing for 4-8 weeks to see results.
Then you might like to change, e.g. your aerobic exercise can change from cycling to jogging, swimming, dancing/workout, ball games with friends.

Anyway, by that time, the next issue of magazine would have come out with new ideas, so just keep a lookout.

Diet
I don't mean go on a diet, starve yourself. I find it torturous to feel hungry. And I am against being extremely underweight, anorexic, bulimic etc. (My reasons range from being unable to donate blood, lack nutrients/hormones to have baby, bad fatless dry and hairy skin and more.)

Diet simply means change the things and way you eat, not don't eat.

1. Start by replacing one meal.
I chose lunch. Instead of just eating any amount of whatever I want, I choose boiled stuff, soup stuff, vegetarian, such as brown rice.

Also, take in protein from soy, beancurd, eggs, nuts, instead of meat. I don't abstain. Just take less. Cos I believe we should eat from every catergory.

Then for dinner, I also try to cut down on the processed food.

I am aiming to replace my peanut butter bread breakfast with banana, milk and oat by this week. (Here is a fellow beauty blogger's post on banana breakfast.)

2. Be on a calorie deficit
haha, actually this is for losing weight. But oh well, having a smaller waistline is part of beauty right. hehe.

Calorie deficit simply means eat lesser calorie than you use in one day. Normal sedentary lifestyle adult should be around 1500 kcal - 1800 kcal a day.

***It's very important to include the calorie from your drinks!!!
Simply don't take sweet drinks, you should be fine with this part.

3. Take vitamins the right way. Eat fruits, eat dark green leafy vegetables. Kiwi, banana, brocolli, mushrooms, all these are good food.

This is very important. Because it is quite common for people to think that going on a lean diet means cutting everything. You need to cut the bad things, but increase the nutrients. So that's why choosing is important. Choose the nutrients dense stuff.

The following is a simple list I can type off-hand:
Wholegrains/Carbo (oat, barley, brown rice, wholemeal bread)
Good fats (salmon, sardine, mackerel)
Vegetable (brocolli, spinach)
Fruit (kiwi, banana)
Protein (soy bean/milk (lactose free), plain boiled beancurd, eggs, skim milk/cheese/yohurt)

The idea is to cut fats/saturated fats. Protein makes us feel we are full, so we eat lesser. They are also used to build our DNA, bones, everything. Carbohydrates are to make us think we are full. We crave sweet things, and carbo, so if you cut carbo totally, you will just keep thinking you are so, so, so hungry. As for fats, the latest article I read says a normal adult only needs less than 50g a day.

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THE RESULT

A healthier, prettier, happier you!

Asides from my skincare, I do think that this change in lifestyle has contributed significantly to the fact that I don't need to touch the pimple cream for weeks already.

Not only for the face, but I read that if you suffer from body acne, diet also helps a lot. But I am unable to testify for that, as I only get one or two body acne if my clothes are too tight, and I fail to bathe quickly after sweating (during chalet).

I know, this post is so long. But I sincerely hope it can help someone out there. Signing off here. =) Bye.

Define Organic Cosmetics

I searched the title, "define organic cosmetics", after being so influenced by Viva Woman on how we should keep things natural. And this is the best result I got: Organic Cosmetics for Natural Beauty! The other top hits are just reiteration of what she wrote.

I think the best info that I have learned from here, is that there are certifications for organic cosmetics. Those touted to be organic but without the certified stamp, are products out to cheat your money.

Some Western organic-certified logos, picture credit to Organic Cosmetics for Natural Beauty!

And the next best info to know, is that

"A serious problem with ethoxylated surfactants (those that utilise ethylene or propylene oxide in the chemical reaction) is that they can be contaminated with dioxane, a potent carcinogen."

Plus,

"All compounds containing TEA, DEA and MEA can undergo nitrosation with other chemicals to form nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic. One study has found that over 40% of products containing triethanolamine (TEA) were contaminated with these potent carcinogens."

All these info kind of gets to you, and eat into your conscience about how you are not taking care of your body if you use inorganic skincare.

Anyway, the solution, of course, is to go organic, and trust the organization that gives those certificates. You can read about what the really organic substances are in that article I linked.

So this gets me going to BudCosmetics. A place recommended by Viva Woman. When I was Novena Square 2 the last time, I did not see this shop... ...

BudCosmetics homepage - Zuji Organics is an organic certified makeup, the lipstick is reviewed to be very good by Viva Woman, here.

What I love about BudCosmetics website is that they put up all the prices clearly, so that customers can shop online. Square 2 is not all that accessible, so if you do not want to make a special trip down there, you can check out your items online.

Also, they list the ingredients in a nothing to hide manner, as many of the products are certified natural or certified organic.

I thought organic things are usually more expensive, but they actually have more affordable ranges, around $30-$40, which matches up to what popular flagship stores like The Body Shop, The Face Shop, and Skin Food are selling. Of course, there are those $100++ bottles too.

If it is roughly the same price, my thought is, why not make a switch? =) For my sensitive skin, I will have to be trying brands like Longona and Sante, which have everything from makeup removers, toners to makeup, and body care.

You may want to try it too. =)

BRAND’S® InnerShine® Prune Essence

The first time I saw this new product by Brands was at the TNP New Face audition. They set up a stand besides the queuing area, and gave all contestants a voucher to buy it.

At that time, it looked really good. I was attracted to the womanly purple packaging, and almost bought it. Luckily I did not.

This second time, I got a bottle free from a copy of Cleo's August issue. My first thought was, if something is really so good, it does not have be given away free this way. LOL. Cos I was linking this giveaway to the booth at TNP New Face, and I reckoned that this must be leftovers from the other time! (This is purely a personal conjecture and impression formed from 2 separate events.)

The instructions says this can be taken at any time of the day you like, and either at room temperature or refrigerated. I left mine to chill, as I recall memories of Brands Chicken Essence.

My bottle of Brands InnerShine Prune Essence (sorry about the darkness).

Okay, I hate Brands Chicken Essence. Not that it is no good. I do not like the taste, which is somewhere between salty and bitter. eeeks. There are people who can take weird tastes like cod liver oil and Brands, and one of them is my younger brother. I salute him for that.

I am so afraid of the prune essence tasting like chicken essence. And only agreed to give it a try after I looked at the ingredients. I forgot to note it down before throwing the box, but I remember there are only about 3-4 ingredients. And the first one states "prune juice".

If the primary ingredient is pure prune juice, then it has got to taste like the Sunsweet Prunes, which I love. So it is alright.

So I tried it. Yes, it tastes alright. Exactly like Sunsweets.

Sunsweet Pitted Prunes, credits to Sunsweet website.

But what set me thinking was, the description says that this is high fibre and to help busy working women etc, etc. Yet seriously, do we really need this thing?

In my opinion, NO. A big, big NO. This is just another gimmick to make people spend money. I mean, if you are leading an okay lifestyle, with fruits (no need vege) everyday, you should be able to visit the toilet once/twice a day. Which is, according to Mind Your Body, the absolutely normal, and healthy frequency for big business. If there is no pain while doing business, your fibre intake is fine.

I even recall reading in the primary school Health Education textbook that we only need a bit of fibre each day. Not a lot. So a slice of watermelon, papaya, during each meal should be enough. In fact, fibre should not be taken in excess.

If you think Brands Prune Essence is going to help your constipation, then I will say, YES, BUT it is a waste of your hard-earned money. Talking about inducing diarrhoea, honestly, it did not even put me on a run. Sunsweet prunes does gives me the runs.

Eating prunes will get you to egest solid waste. Anybody who has eaten dried prunes by Sunsweet or any other brands before, will know that. Especially if you eat prune and drink water immediately. This is a recipe for diarrhoea (as my mother told me). I have tried and proven it. So if you are having constipation, you can try this method.

Instead of Brands, seriously, the normal Sunsweet will do. They have new antioxidant juices as well. (refer to website: here).

This world is becoming stranger to me. All the funny products emerging. The onus is us, consumers, to discern for ourselves.

Berocca to Fight Headaches?

About a week ago, I was down with severe headache for 2 weeks continously. Everyday, a point on my skull just hurts so badly I can't sleep. And when I am awake, I just feel like doing nothing and lying down. I never had headaches this bad before. In fact, I hardly have headaches.

As I do not like to take medicine, I didn't visit the doctor, and neither did I take panadol. So how? My Love told me that Vitamin B helps the nerves to function, something that I don't think was in the A' level Biology syllabus. And both of us wanted me to get well, so he recommended me to take Berocca, which is a dissolvable tablet that consists of the whole range of Vitamin B. Since he already has an unfinished tube of it, of course I took it. And I took it twice within a 24 hour period, though not on the same day.

And guess what? It worked! That's why I am here, blogging about it. About a week later, which is today, I still haven't had a relapse. So I am totally convinced that it works.

Berocca, credits to http://www.berocca.co.uk/

I posted this question on a forum, and got less than supportive replies, that Vitamin B can alleviate headaches. So I really don't know.

But I got a really good answer from a respected person who is well-versed in medicine and health. He said that Berocca is good as a cure for hangover. And that maybe the cause of my headache is the same as that for a hangover, so the influx of Vitamin B relieved my headache.

This is a really good piece of information for everybody to note, just in case you need it some day.

In the mean time, prevention is still better than cure. Having good habits like early and sufficient sleep, minimizing the amount of stress, managing your anger etc, to prevent headaches, is better than having to treat it when it comes. Take care.