April, May and June….

Sorry I’ve been on hiatus for 3 months! Grad season has come and gone and my arms are so sore from taking photos of college and high school graduations! Plus I had a mini vacation in between the two. So, without further ado here is my three month update, which is pretty much the same as March. I haven’t had time to change up my routine.
Anyway, Congrats to all recent grads! Time for a break!  

By the way, this is my dog Butters, who just graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA in Cute-ology

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Q:Hello there! (: I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I was wondering if you have ever tried your skincare without tea tree oil. I heard that tea tree oil can actually be irritating for Asian skin. Personally, tea tree oil actually causes me to break out more than if I leave my face alone (or continue with my usual skincare without the tea tree oil). Anyways, just wanted to let you know about it... Have you ever considered that perhaps the oil is causing you to breakout?

Anonymous

Hello! It’s not rude!

Tea Tree oil, when used 100% pure, can irritate any skin type. It doesn’t have to be Asian. It is quite strong on its own (kind of like lemon needs to be diluted in order to be used on the face). They are really strong when used pure. It would be the oil but the actual tea tree is very strong. Your face can’t survive without some oil (keeps moisture in your skin). I know quite a few people who suffer from acne use extra virgin olive oil (they have dry skin and acne) or used an oil cleanser (castor oil along with another filler oil like jojoba or grapeseed). And it worked great for them.

My skin has gotten a lot better since I’ve been using tea tree oil actually. If you look though my monthly updates you can (well I can lol) in the severity of my acne as well as the amount. Not all ingredients work on everyone. I know someone who can’t use sulfur based acne ingredients because it breaks her out like crazy. It is literally to each his/her own. :)

Hope this answered your question!

Q:It seems that no matter what I do it won't go away, I've tried so many things, and I'm using tea tree products at the moment and I have been for a couple of months, it seems to work better than other things I've used, but it still looks really bad :/ I won't even let my boyfriend touch my face, and he always teases me about it but I guess he just doesn't understand cause he's always had perfect skin :/ ugghh.

Anonymous

Darn people with perfect skin! LOL. Try to switch up acne ingredients. Don’t go all tea tree or all salicylic acid. Use some tea tree, some salicylic acid, a little Benzoyl peroxide here, some sulfur there, etc etc. Different acne ingredients work differently to get rid of acne. Tea tree is antimicrobial/antibacterial.  Salicylic acid/BP/Sulfur are skin exfoliants. They help unclog pores and slaw off dead skin cells. You can use a salicylic cleanser, a tea tree toner, tea tree serum, salicylic lotion, a BP spot treatment and a sulfur mask. Change it up a bit!

I hope this helped! Positive Thinking! =D

Q:HEELPP!!! Bacne is killing me!!! its probably not as bad as it feels but its still bacne and its destroying the confidence i once had! Do you have any natural remidies? i dont want to buy anything too drastic yet but i was thinking of buying the neutrogena acne body wash. does it work well? how long will i have to wait for results?? i have no patience and i stress easily... not good for acne! It's probably making it worse too!

Anonymous

Hello!

Ok, in terms of natural products, witch hazel and tea tree oil are probably your best bet. Just like on your face, they are antibacterial on your back as well.  

Scrubbing your back helps to dislodge any whiteheads or blackheads you may have. Nutmeg or cinnamon make good exfoliators because they are also antimicrobial. Oatmeal works great as well and it’s not as harsh as nutmeg/cinnamon.

I liked the neutrogena acne body wash. I used a scrubbing sponge on a stick to help exfoliate and get even coverage on my back. You have to make sure you use this everyday. It does take time to get rid of all your acne. I would at least wait a month or two before trying something new, but I have seen results within two weeks depending on the severity of the acne. Keep your hair away from your back at least after you shower and spritz with a back spray (neutrogena has one too). You can use a witch hazel tea tree mixed spray as well. 

Our body is able to handle normal stresses (work/school), but major stresses (like being in line to getting laid off or MCATS) can negatively affect your whole body. It throws your body off its equilibrium. 

I hope this helped! Oh and lemon (diluted) helped with hyperpigmentation!

Q:Sorry, ran out of room near the end! To be specific, do you know any products that will stick to my face, but won't stick to anything else while I sleep?

dratsing

LOL! IT’s ok. Here is the beginning of the post!

Hi there. I have chronic insomnia and my sleep is often nightmarish. Often times, I either scratch my face in my sleep or bury it in sheets. It’s been like this since I was 12, so I’m used to it, but lately my face has taken a turn for the worse. In order to alleviate my acne and hyperpigmentation, I’ve started using a clay mask over acne (Queen Helene) covered in a thin sheet mask (plain, dry) overnight. Although this works, it’s a bit drying out. Do you have anysuggestions4productsthatstickon?

I would suggest not putting on a mask overnight. Spot treating is ok, but an entire face mask will really dry out your skin and may make it worse.

I really like the Naruko Tea Tree Oil Out Night Gelly. It does take some time to absorb (I usually put it on about an hour before I sleep), but it feels really refreshing. Another option (cheaper) is making your own tea tree aloe vera gelly. I know I’ve been really pushing Aloe vera/aloe vera gel, but it works really well for me in conjunction with my normal skin care line. Just put in about a tsp of pure tea tree oil into about 2 oz of aloe vera gel. Put it on at night and massage your face gently to get the blood flowing (my fingers are massaging the air as I try to think of what to say. LOL).

Try to “steam” your face to get the most out of your skin care products. Your pores don’t open and close, but they do expand a bit in response to heat and contract in response to cold (kind of like how you would place your cut finger in cold water). It’s not going to be “omg it’s so open”, but you will feel a difference when putting on your skin care.

I hope this helped! I hope your dreams are pleasant!!!

Q:I have a pimple that formed underneath the skin, right underneath my eyebrow. I tried to pop it but it just made it all red and swollen because some stuff came out. I'm scared its going to leave a huge ugly scar. How I can get rid of the pimple and prevent the delicate skin from scaring? Thank you!

Anonymous

Hello! Thanks for the question!!

First of all, stop touching your pimples. It is the one thing that is guaranteed to make it worse. Your hands touches thousands of things everyday which transfer bacteria onto your hands (don’t even get me started about bathrooms).

A major reason why you get pimples is due to the fact that bacteria become lodged into your pores and essentially cause a plug as it multiplies. Then, because the sebum (which is created by the sebaceous glands under the pore), has nowhere to go cause it to build up in your pore and then it’s like putting air a balloon. The sebum has no where to go and the bacteria just keep multiplying and eating the sebum. Your body uses white blood cells as well as increasing blood flow around the area of the pimple (so that more white blood cells can take the Blood express) to fight the bacteria.

By touching the pimple with your hands you are depositing more bacteria into the skin and it’s going to take that much longer to get rid of it. 

I, personally, love using aloe vera over any cuts or abrasions, burns, etc. I also feel that it works really well with red erupted acne. Aloe vera is said to help promote healing and if you have created a hole in your pimple or it popped, putting on aloe vera will help soothe that area as well.

Here is a site that I found that explains it in simple terms. I buy aloe vera gel from GNC. You can get it in most health marts around the world. I’ve been hearing about it more these past years. I add maybe a teaspoon of pure tea tree oil (not diluted!!) to 2 oz of aloe vera.

You can definitely make your own aloe vera by buying them in the specialty stores (i find aloe vera often in asian supermarkets) and blending the pulp in a blender until smooth. It will have a much shorter shelf life once peeled and blended, so I would only blend the amount you need for about a week of daily use and then add just a bit of tea tree oil.

Tea tree oil is great because it has antibacterial and antifungal properties. It aids in destroying those bad bacteria! You can also get a diluted version here at the Body Shop. This diluted version acts a spot treatment. 

The best thing to prevent even more scarring is to not touch it. That’s basically all you can do. Irritating your acne may cause hyper pigmentation and worse, scarring.

I hope this helped! Good luck!

Q:what do you do about popped pimples?

Anonymous

I usually slather on a layer of my aloe vera and tea tree oil (2 oz of aloe vera and about 1/2 a tsp of aloe vera mixed) on the popped pimple to soothe, heal and kill the bacteria around and in the pimple. Clean & Clear also sells a drying cream and a gel pen for popped pimples. Before aloe vera, I used to use the Mario Badescu Drying Cream. 

I hope this helped!

Q:hi! first off, i think it's great what you are doing, helping ppl :) my question is: what are your opinions on vitamin e oil as a moisturizer? i read that it's better not to keep it over night, does that mean to apply it and then take it off after a period of time? and have you ever used tea tree oil? opinions? also, don't you ever think that all those products with quemicals only make your face worse? idk, i'm trying to go product free and see if my skin can heal alone (using organic cleansers)

Anonymous

Heelllo! Aww! Thanks so much! =D

Vitamin E can really help your skin. It is moisturizing and can reduce hyperpigmentation. BUT, it should not go on open wounds or acne. It can actually irritate open wounds and make it worse. If you do have a popped pimple on your face, I would not use it until after it has healed over. Actually, if you do have acne and/or oily skin, I wouldn’t use vitamin E oil because it may make it worse. If you are looking for a cheap moisturizer, try aloe vera gel instead (you can get it at organic stores, like whole foods, or GNC)

As long as it is a thin layer, putting it on overnight is fine. It may not absorb very much because oil molecules are pretty big, so I wouldn’t sleep on my side.

I love tea tree oil. I bought a small bottle of pure tea tree oil and just put a few drops in my aloe vera gel to make…aloe tea tree moisturizer! It absorbs into my skin nicely. Tea tree works on acne differently compared to salicylic acid or Benzoyl peroxide. Instead of helping with shedding skin, it works to kill the bacteria that is clogged inside your pimple

Techinically, everything is a chemical. It’s just depends if it’s artificial or naturally occuring. If you follow directions in the back of the product, it is safe. The FDA does regulate skin care products so that if you use it as directed, it isn’t supposed to make your skin worse (exemptions are for allergies), but sometimes, products do irritate your skin because not all products work on all skin types.

I have tried going cold turkey on my skin care back in college and i didn’t go over so well. I have very very oily skin and most of the products I use help to control it. Also, because I have large pores, I do need to use toners/astringents to help cleanse my pores. I am using mostly from the Naruko skin care line which doesn’t contain any parabens or colorants. I absolutely love the tea tree line (which used to be niaouli and tea tree line but they changed the label) because it smells so good and I do see a difference in my face.

I hope this helped!! Good luck!!

Q:Any spot treatment you would recommend for cystic acne? You know the one that's as huge as the end of a pencil and have a soft feel in it when you touch it??

Anonymous

I hate those!! Hmm…I actually have no idea. Those, in general, just take forever to go away. I usually use whatever spot treatment that I happen to have on hand (these months its been the clearasil vanishing cream). Because cystic acne (and nodular acne as well) is so deep in the dermis, it is hard to get rid of it with over the counter meds.

I guess what you can do is try to combine antibacterial (like tea tree oil spot treatments like the Body shop tea tree oil) and pore clearing spot treatments (like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide). Just put it on a couple of hours between them so it allows the other spot treatment to penetrate first

If possible, the best remedy is to go to the dermatologist and have him/her drain it (grooosssssss…but true). After, it should go away after 3-4 days. This is the fastest treatment.

Hope this helped! Good luck!!! Happy hunting acne!