WHAT WE KNOW:

SKIN TYPE: Oily/ Combination

PRONE TO:

ACNE – usually food/ stress/ late nights make it worse

INFECTIONS – fungal/ bacterial (Candida infections)

ASHY/ GREY LOOKING SKIN – patchy/ uneven skin tone

SOME MILIA – not too bad (tiny white bumps near eyes)

BUMPS ON THIGHS – folliculitis (from living in yoga pants and tights)

From the previous blogs we now kinda see how and why I turned to more natural or less processed ingredients in my skincare and especially what I gave up – all time favorites like oil free products, getting squeaky clean, washing and washing and cleaning and cleaning…. We now look at some of the other changes I made and what my skincare routine looks like now.

THE OTHER CHANGES I MADE:

I have CFS, probably candida related, the other changes I made were: cutting down on sugar – this was a big one because - 2 sugars with every cup of tea.

SLEEPING! SLEEPING REGULARLY!!! I tried (not always successfully) to get into a routine especially sleeping. I’ve never been someone who could be up all night and then look good the next day. So I stopped doing that completely. I try a minimum of 7 hours every night, I try very very hard.

DIET: What worked personally for me – eating more nuts, I don’t really love them particularly but I had seen the difference healthy fats made to my skin and I just added this to my diet. I didn’t see any weight gain, I still stay the same weight.

I love fruits & veggies so that has always been to my advantage.

When the changes were happening, I just felt good, I had energy and not terrible skin, I did have to stick to a skincare routine but the rest of it required less work. 

I had successful makeup free days – I could ditch the concealer.

Looking back now – it’s now been a couple of  years with a few setbacks (old habits returning); I can see how it very gradually changed, for the first few months it’s difficult to notice but after that when it all comes together, it really can be amazing. 

PRODUCTS I USE & WHY I THINK IT WORKS

It’s always a journey but I now had identified most of my triggers and was on my way to making it better.

WHAT WAS I LOOKING FOR:

I needed Natural alternatives, Natural antifungals, antibacterials to target breakouts, healthy fats to help my skin recover its natural glow. With healthy fats I was looking to prevent my skin from overproducing oil/ sebum which would manage both the dehydrated, dull appearance and the greasiness.

Wanting to try something which didn’t have any harsh chemicals, wasn’t overly preserved I slowly changed my skincare routine to what it is now. 

DAILY – SKINCARE ROUTINE

During the day: Regular moisturizer, makeup, Formula 5 on breakouts if I don’t have any important stuff – formula 5 will leave a shiny spot

Nightly routine: 

This doesn’t change, and is super super important. This affects what my skin will look like when I wake up and it’s something I stick with religiously.

Remove makeup

Cleanse/ Shower

Moisturize

Godmother all over face and on any areas with acne/ bumps/ redness like back especially in the (maybe because of my hair) arms or legs, sometimes neck (under my chin). When I wax/ shave.

Formula 5 on any breakouts

2 – 3 TIMES A WEEK:

Dry powder mask with Neem for acne (Not launched yet)

Timeless : Facial Serum

Glo : Body Oil

WEEKLY SKINCARE ROUTINE:

Cocola Polish – for body, I regularly exfoliate every week, sometimes more often, helped with the bumps on bum and thighs because I love wearing tights/ yoga pants.

Dry mask as a pick me up before a dinner date (help bring circulation back into my skin to brighten and glow)

SOMETIMES:

Cocola Polish – For face - Not very regular with this if I’ve been using the dry masks regularly

NEVER EVER… leave without the core, the basic foundation of your skincare. After all what my skin looks like affects what I might feel like in the morning… We all have it, our skin fix, what we need when our skin is freaking out… what makes everything better

For skincare I could never ever do without Godmother and Formula 5. I travel with these in my handbag. I need it during the flight and I need it after, if I cannot find anything else I will use a thick layer of Godmother as a mask and let it sink it while I bathe. If I have it, I can get away with my eyeliner and lip gloss. My skin is problem skin, I accept it, I treat it well and in return it is good to me...

GODMOTHER – Learn More

FORMULA 5 – Learn More

Start your very own skincare journey or rather a different lifestyle...

PS. Beauty lies within XO

Sooz

Beauty Activist

TIMELESS : Serum

CRYSTAL SKIN SET : for problem skin

COCOLA : Face + Body Polish

GLO : Body Serum

DRY MASK : Under Formulation

HONEY ENZYME MASK : Under Formulation

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Previously: SKINCARE JOURNEY : PART IV 

Next: FACIAL OILS : Is it for everyone?

WHAT WE KNOW:

SKIN TYPE: Oily/ Combination

Prone to:

ACNE – usually food/ stress/ late nights make it worse

INFECTIONS – fungal/ bacterial (Candida infections)

ASHY/ GREY LOOKING SKIN – patchy/ uneven skin tone

SOME MILIA – not too bad (tiny white bumps near eyes)

BUMPS ON THIGHS – folliculitis (from existing in yoga pants and tights) 

From my experience with switching to natural ingredients. I decided to tackle a few things which really bothered me/ my skin/ general stuff. 

I've been there... you don't need to. 

I used to do allllll these things but not any more, infact I even use a dry mask instead of a cleanser fairly regularly ( so proud of me!)

Products with Harsh Chemicals: Not for every single issue

Why? Because everytime I used something very strong for the pimples, I had to follow it up with with something for a rash. It had become a monthly routine. For skincare, topical use, creams I started looking at natural substitutes with natural anbacterial and antifungal properties. Something which would help me keep my skin clean without tormenting it. 

Getting squeaky clean: Stop this altogether - its terrible for skin

I had been using a lot of oil free cleansers, washing my face multiple times, I don’t do this anymore. I switched to gentler cleansers, normal skin type, wash my face twice a day. I used the oil papers (the blue ones) and it would turn a dark blue - instantly, I ditched those too and just used normal tissue. Swapped my makeup remover to an oil cleanser. 

I used to have an oil factory - face & hair, not any more!!

Oil free products: Stopped looking for these altogether

Our skin like our bodies needs healthy fats. My usual skin care had mineral oil, petroleum by products which didn’t work for me, it usually resulted in breakouts - oil factory problems again. 

What I needed was NOT oil free products, I needed a better/ cleaner option, I needed healthy fats. 

The greasiness, wanting to clean as much as possible, running away from moisturizing oils and butters. It’s counterintuitive but always choose healthy fats NOT fat free - do it…. I did…. You must do it…

It wasn’t the oils that were the problem, it was the type of oil - every product I had been using had petroleum by products/ mineral oil/ harsh chemicals. That was the real problem, I needed natural oils and gentler stuff coz my skin had got into crisis mode… it needs MOREEE TLC.

I recommend these changes to everyone – friends… family…. despite how oily/ sticky our skin might feel, it always needs healthy fats to live on, to clean itself out, to help it glow. It can glow like a light switch went on somewhere, it really is possible.

When our skin gets healthy fats it doesn’t go into survival mode and doesn't produce a ton of sebum. Don’t starve our skin XO

Don’t go away, we will next talk about the other changes and my new skincare routine. It might be a bit long-ish post so please bear with me XX

PS. Beauty lies within…..we only help enhance it XO

Sooz

Beauty Activist

Previously: Skincare Journey Part 3 : (I Changed…)

Interesting post on how our Crystal Skin Set helps problem skin, all healthy fats, no harsh chemicals, preservatives and words like a charm: LEARN MORE 

Next: NATURAL SKINCARE JOURNEY : PART V

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What we know:

SKIN TYPE : OILY + COMBINATION

SUSCEPTIBLE TO:

ACNE – usually food/ stress/ late nights make it worse

INFECTIONS – fungal/ bacterial (Candida infections)

ASHY/ GREY LOOKING SKIN – patchy/ uneven skin tone

SOME MILIA – not too bad (tiny white bumps near eyes)

BUMPS ON THIGHS – folliculitis (from living in yoga pants and tights)

I did something dramatic, I wouldn’t part with my skincare collection for a while since they were supposed to be amazing and I paid good money for them, but I did. Not in one swipe (attachment…) but slowly cleaned it out, anything more than a year old which I wasn’t using was gone, to never be bought again, same for anything that didn’t show any results. Bye bye junk and no more wasting money.

It should be easy since we are very limited by space in Hong Kong but somehow I manage collecting stuff.

I was finally left with very few products like an everyday/ normal lotion, I had been using for many  many years, I started adding Olive oil or coconut oil from my kitchen cupboards to my routine, used more of the diy scrubs, we traditionally use a lot of botanicals/ grains like buckwheat in skincare.

And slowly things started changing – I didn’t notice it for the first few months but it was happening. I started experimenting with more plant oils and botanicals which would address my skin type and I was impressed, seriously impressed. I’m relatively familiar and comfortable with real - natural ingredients in skincare but I now had gained more confidence in the ingredients. I had already been off of fluconazoles for more than a year – it had been a part of my diet and skincare routine my entire life.

By the end of this I was off all my fluconazoles, ‘traditional’ anti acne skincare, hong kong foot problems… It does give me a sense of freedom.

I have to work at it, my skincare routine still has a minimum of 3 – 5 steps, it is still a process but it has given me more control over how to manage my skin type, my skin looks good. And because I do care and now I can have better no makeup days – it’s all worth it for me because it’s working…

Don’t go away, we will continue next to : Types of products I stopped using 

PS... Beauty lies within - we only help enhance it XO

Sooz

Beauty Activist

Next:

Next: SKINCARE JOURNEY : PART IV (What did I really stop doing - using)

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PREVIOUSLY: MY SKIN TYPE & MY LIFE WITH OILY + COMBINATION SKIN

More about me:

SKIN TYPE: Oily/ Combination

SUSCEPTIBLE TO:

ACNE – usually food/ stress related. Late nights make it worse

INFECTIONS – fungal/ bacterial (Candida)

ASHY/ GREY LOOKING SKIN – patchy/ uneven sometimes tired skin tone

SOME MILIA – not too bad (tiny white bumps near eyes)

BUMPS ON THIGHS – folliculitis (from living in yoga pants and tights)

SCARED OF:

Using makeup all over my face – maybe it’ll clog my pores and result in a massive breakout???

HOBBIES:

Eating Spicy food

Having fun with the fam

Sleeping in

Looking at my zits secretly

Running HK trail Section 1 – not so often these days

I have mostly oily/ combination skin, oily hair and I’ve struggled with all the problems anyone with this skin type might have and more.

Growing up I had bad acne like most teenagers. I also am very prone to infections, if I get a small cut it will probably get infected. I used a lot of oil free stuff, medicated washes, douches trying to get squeaky clean.  I yo yo’d between antibiotics and antifungals both topical and oral. After using it all I still had weird dry, grey, oily skin days.

It was a bit depressing, being told I had dry skin by the ladies selling cosmetics and talked to about the t-zone problems by ladies selling the other stuff. Basically I had dry skin with pimples… so uncomfortable. I liked running so I still had to deal with the other skin and nails stuff.

And so my collection of skincare products kept growing and growing and it can get a bit out of control. I’ve bought pore minimizers which ended up being more of pore maximizers, blackhead removers working like blackhead highlighters.

I had my bedside table full of all the skincare products I would buy, each supposed to do something amazing. Between that and trips to the doctors  - I had kind of had enough...

Don't go away, next week we continue onto what changed XO

PS. Beauty lies within XO

Sooz

Beauty Activist

Next: NATURAL SKINCARE JOURNEY : PART III (I Changed & Things Changed )

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‘Natural’ skincare Product – (What does it really mean!)

What is the meaning of ‘natural’ in skincare products?

The word ‘Natural’ evokes a certain emotion is us, when I see ‘natural’, I picture something ‘green’, something unprocessed, smells of leaves and pine, floral scents, vast open spaces, sound of running water…

I’d imagine it would be different for most of us, maybe smell of the beach, different sounds perhaps, birds, bees…. All sorts, the list can go on and on.

How does this translate into products?  When I see this word - natural, I associate it with something free of pointless stuff, I believe these products would be made of ‘real’ ingredients, less processed, wouldn’t read too much like a chemistry book.  Where an ingredient is present for an actual benefit to my skin, where it all comes together like an orchestra, like everything has a purpose and it comes together to make something great. It doesn’t need to do everything, it just needs to do what it says it would. I’d like it to have safe packaging, of course it needs to be cruelty free - non negotiable; and as small a carbon footprint as possible.

Like a delicious marmalade made from real oranges and real sugar in a nice glass jar…

Unfortunately in the reality of the cosmetic and skincare world the word natural is ambiguous, vague at best. It’s kind of problematic for everyone, artisans creating great products and consumers looking for good ‘more natural’ products. If you think about it and even talk amongst your friends who like natural products you will realize everyone has a different understanding of it and actually the surprising thing is that it’s very difficult to get everyone to agree and get them on the same page. There basically is no way really pinning down what natural is…

Everything available for sale today, all the products out there, they are all produced from what’s on our planet or what’s in our environment or a combination of stuff. Some of the ingredients are minimally processed – a good coconut oil, while others can be totally man made or synthetic like silicones or carbomers or whatever. They all go through some processing to be free of impurities and safe, they each have their pros and cons.  

 A good example of how the word natural can be misleading would be a lotion or a bar of soap:

Every lotion has water and water is naturally occurring, when a lotion which is basically an emulsion has 80% water and whatever percentage of oils, butters, emulsifiers and yes a lotion MUST always MUST have preservative since it has water. It’s really in all honesty already 80% natural before adding anything else to it because 80% water... Does it mean it’s great? Don’t know… We need more information.

If we look at soap, we couldn’t possibly make it without lye (sodium hydroxide) and we can’t get lye without processing ie wood ashes in the good old days. But soap is great, a good soap made with great skin foods - oils and butters will have amazing nourishing and conditioning properties. It would do wonders for your skin, produces no plastic waste if packaged correctly, it doesn’t need a preservative. A good bar of soap actually lasts a long time so even an expensive bar in the long run isn’t all that bad.

All this does create a bit of a dilemma or for me - major confusion, so now what do I do when all I want is a good product, something that would help my skin recover from all I put it through (I put it through a lot!!! I live in HK). Because finally I decided to get it together, I decided I’m going to try to do the right thing for myself, my body, I will eat well, I won’t just wear spanx (I might), I will exercise. I will use good stuff on my skin because I'm important. Just putting some concealer on is not good enough for me anymore and yes I may still use concealer :p, I want to look better without makeup too and I want my makeup free days to not be hideous days.

Now what can I do about choosing the right products. To make this more understandable next time we will talk about my skin type, kind of problems I usually have and finally how I got around managing it.

PS. Remember… beauty lies within 

XO

Sooz

(Beauty Activist)

LOVE YOURSELF

NEXT: SKINCARE JOURNEY II - MY SKIN TYPE

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