Spot Treatment, Healing, Update

So I'm going to share a few things in this post:
1. Best natural spot treatment 
2. Best natural way to heal an old spot/scar
3. Update on washing with salt/things I've tried with it
4. How I wash and care for my skin

1.
So first, the best spot treatment I have developed is similar to my charcoal mask

First you make a smaller portion of the mask (1 charcoal capsule, a small amount of aloe, and one drop of grapefruit oil or tea tree oil) 
Next you dab it on the spot and when it is still wet put a bit of salt on it
Let dry and repeat the next day (and so on)

However, if you have dry or very sensitive skin I would recommend using bee magic (something I've been loving lately) and the salt, you don't want to kill your sensitive or dry skin

Why this works: the charcoal draws out impurities, the aloe heals, the salt also acts to draw out impurities, and the grapefruit oil heals and smells good! 

the bee magic works because it is very healing and prevents the salt from completely drying out your skin 

2. 
So you're clear but have the after effects of the spots (UGH!), you may even be experiencing some scabbing. What I find works for me is using bee magic and aloe mixed together to dab on the scab or scar, then get some moleskin and cut a small piece to put over the scab/scar. This is ultra healing and the moleskin locks in the healing goodness. Why not a bandaid? Because a bandaid allows air in and this (for some reason) is not as effective. I would not suggest keeping it on for too long because air needs to get to it eventually. Normally I will sleep with it on and be able to see a huge improvement in just one night, depending on how bad the scab/scar is it could take up to three or four nights to completely heal. 

3.
 So I have been using regular salt to exfoliate my face with at night. I have tried several different things. 
a. wet face and rub salt on and wash off (beware this does sting if you have open wounds!)
b. wet face and pack salt on and let sit (my face was on FIRE with this, I wouldn't recommend it)
c. wet face and pack salt on and put hot washcloth on to sit (my face was less on fire but I still wouldn't recommend this)
d. slather bee magic over face in a thin layer and pack on salt (this was the absolute best!)

For me option D was the best, it did not sting and allowed me to leave it sit for 5-7 minutes and then rub in small circles and wash completely off. It was also very moisturizing because of the bee magic. However option A was not bad, just beware that it will sting a little. 

4.
So when I last updated I was just using my sappo hill soap, which is still the case! I absolutely adore this soap and just bought 9 bars for college. However I now use my clarisonic brush head to get extra lather. I wet the brush head and the soap and then rub the soap on it till I get a nice lather to put on my face. And then after that I use my aloe mixed with a drop of grapefruit essence and a drop of lemon oil. I have the same routine for morning and night except for the salt mask/wash(which is only for night). The only other things I will do are the charcoal mask or spot treatment. I don't use any other products for my skin and all I use for makeup are my Jane Iredale powder and blush, I have been using this since 7th grade!!!! I really hope my roomate in college doesn't think my skin care habits are too strange, at least I have the excuse of this blog. 


xx
Abbey

Makeup, for guys too?

Women have always had the monopoly on the makeup industry, which of course makes sense right? Women are the ones who actually use it. Well wrong, they may be the majority but men wear makeup too! People always say well only the gay guys wear makeup, real men don't wear it. I resent that comment because it is NOT true! Men have the same insecurities as women, they worry about their facial acne just as much. Some may not care, others may care but not enough to resort to makeup. But there are plenty of guys on youtube who have makeup tutorials, are some of them gay? Maybe, but why should that matter. I think it's perfectly fine for anyone to wear makeup. I think we women could actually learn something from the men who do makeup, they wear it to cover imperfections (mostly) and sometimes you cannot even tell that they have any makeup on. To me that is the right way to apply makeup and how I have always done it, no one ever believed me when I said I wore makeup and probably the only time they noticed is when I had my makeup done for an event. It was way over the top but everyone insisted how gorgeous I looked, and you know what? I absolutely HATED it!! It felt heavy and gross. But really to each his own, it doesn't matter what gender you are or how you like your makeup done, sure I have opinions but that only influences how I apply my own makeup. And of course if someone asks me I will share my opinion but they may choose to follow something different which is perfectly fine! My brother is a great example of this, and may I say he looks fierce in his pictures and youtube videos!

Also I'm not sure I will be making the facebook page, however I have been toying with the idea of a youtube channel and videos. We'll see... 

Update

Ok so I haven't posted in a while, I decided to do an update on my routine for my skin and just in general. In my last post I was doing pretty much nothing and since then I have changed some things. I tried to start using my clarisonic again with disastrous results, I think it is just way too harsh for my semi sensitive skin so I am not going to use it again. So my routine now is as follows:

Morning-
Organic Sappo Hill Oat Soap (there are literally three ingredients in this)
Aloe Vera mixed with a drop of grapefruit essence (not oil)
Mineral powder and mineral blush [Jane Iredale] (for the day, sometimes I don't wear makeup at all)

Night:
Organic Sappo Hill Oat Soap
Salt wash (ok this is really new, I will explain about it down below)
Aloe Vera mixed with a drop of grapefruit essence

So the salt wash I heard about from a youtube video or other blog, I forget which. But basically you take some sea salt and rub it on your hands for a few seconds (and make sure you have splashed your face with warm water already!) and then very gently massage it into your skin for 10-15 seconds and wash off with warm water. Salt is really great for your skin, you may notice that your skin looks a but better after being in the ocean, it's because of the salt! The salt cleanses the excess oil away and also gently exfoliates dead skin and gets rid of any build up. I think this is an awesome thing to do at night and I'm sure every night would be ok, I'm just newly trying this out so I will update on it!

Also, I am still using my charcoal mask once a week, it is my absolute go to mask and you can even switch up the oils you use, instead of tea tree I've been using grapefruit essence which has been really great for my skin!! I also have been making a lesser amount of the mask to spot treat, which dries up any problem spots really well!


As for any other updates lately I have been really conscious about the ingredients in all the products I use, hair care, lotion, etc. I now use an all natural shampoo (or as close as I can get right now) which means no sulfates! Also instead of lotion I have been using coconut oil to moisturize my body, not only does it smell sooo good but it moisturizes for days and makes your skin look really toned! I am really analyzing what things I put in and on my body and trying to eliminate things that I know have synthetic ingredients or chemicals in them. More updates to come!

HUGE update post

Hello there!! Remember me? You probably have been wondering where I've been. Vacation! For the past couple of weeks I have been in Italy and Sicily. So there is a rather large update. So before I left I went to see my naturopath, things with my skin were just not going well and it was at the point where I literally did not know what to do anymore or what products to use for my skin. I was on the verge of giving up, throwing in the towel and just starting accutane. I was so fed up with my skin and wasn't understanding why it was getting so bad, it didn't seem fair! I thought I was doing everything right and it just seemed like everything I was doing was for naught and I was just one of those people who had persistent skin issues and nothing would ever work besides accutane. I'm sure many of you have been in this place before and let me tell you, not enjoyable. There were really two routes to go with this and of course I went the more difficult route. My naturopath suggested that I stop using all of my products, I think when he said that all of the air went out of my lungs. No cleanser, no toner, no moisturizer, no treatments, NO ANYTHING. And what's more he said NO MAKEUP. No products? Well ok I guess I can do that but no makeup? That's every girls worst nightmare when all you want to do is hide and cover up. Honestly it was one of the best decisions of my life. I know crazy right? There were some emotional words in our conversation and he explained that my parents, he, and my other Chinese medicine doctor were all there for me and would be supporting me when the going got tough. And let me tell you, things got real tough real fast. Especially when I was packing and all I had for face toiletries were a bar of oatmeal soap (Sappo Hill Unscented Soap) and a bottle of 100% unrefined Aloe Vera in case I got sunburned. Yes that's right I wasn't even allowed sunscreen, I had a hat and was advised to not spend more than two hours in direct sunlight. However your skin NEEDS vitamin D, and when you cover your face in layers of product you are robbing your skin of essential nutrients and time to breathe. So the not having products was ok, but no makeup was tough, and I admit I cheated a little in the beginning with some powder, but my skin was just not having it. I have very sensitive skin and right now it can't really handle even the most natural of products, so that mineral powder was out the window. So no makeup may seem not that difficult when I'm not a huge fan or user in the first place, but when your face isn't clear you perceive that everyone on the streets is staring at you and all of your imperfections. In some cases people were actually looking at that, and it's like really? Can I help your with something? Would you like to make a comment? No? Ok just move along and try to be more considerate. And of course it was the tourists who cared, the local Italians could not give less of a hoot and didn't even notice, my kind of people! So in the first weeks of vacation it was tough going outside with my makeup clad face, but as vacation went on I shed the hat, would take pictures (given that we fix any problems later haha), and was a teensy tiny bit more confident in my appearance. Now my face has a very healthy glow and I have not had anything rear it's ugly head for the most part. At first I would see a mirror in a shop and would be like oh dear is that what my face looks like right now? Where is my hat?! now I look in the mirror and am amazed how much it has improved. And to put things in perspective a little, I don't remember the last time I didn't have something new every day. I'm still healing FOR SURE, but at least that's the biggest of my problems. I'm happy to say (and still crossing my fingers) that I will be starting college exactly how I wanted, clear! And as an added bonus I don't have to bring a slew of products and figure out the best lighting and mirror to do my complicated makeup routine in. So a few closing remarks to my novel (yes this post is long sorry haha). I will be skyping with an Eco makeup specialist soon, and there will definitely be a post on that! I will also be starting micro needling (yes there will be a post on the as well) that treatment is more for aftermath of loveliness and hopefully is not as painful or medieval torture like and it sounds. Also something that has really helped me (in addition to corresponding with my naturopath for guidance and support) was watching and reading The Love Vitamin, Tracy is awesome and I highly recommend people look her up! If you want to get clear and NOTHING has worked I suggest trying exactly what I have done, talk to your friends and family and I'm sure they will be a good support system for you. And what better time than summer? That's basically what my naturopath told me, what better time than now when you're going off to a foreign country with no one that you know. AND you will probably never see any of these people ever again. Consequently I managed to make some local and tourist friends, but that's just how I am. As always feel free to email me, I know how all this feels and if there's anything I could do for someone else to make their situation a little better I would be happy to help. Don't take this post as my last just because I've changed my routine, I will still be posting natural makeup and Skincare advice!! You haven't gotten rid of me yet ;) also I will be starting a Facebook page soon where you can post any questions or requests for posts from me. It will be titled the same as my blog, and you can inbox me on Facebook if you don't want to post right on the page. 

xx

Abbey 

Tea Tree Oil

So I've begun to discover the true magic of tea tree oil 

On a boring day I decided that I would combine a few drops with my normal cleanser, WOW has it done wonders (knock on wood)

I'll have to be careful not to use too much (because it can be very drying) but in the right amount it can keep oily and acne prone skin in check (remember to moisturize!!!). If you have dry skin I wouldn't recommend this because it will take too much moisture out of your skin. If you have oily, acne prone, or combo skin like me I would definitely recommend trying this out! Only use 2-3 drops though. It is good to use it both morning and night, which is what I have been doing. If you find its too much stick to what works best for you. Experiment, otherwise you won't get anywhere. Also if you find it dries out certain areas but not others, avoid using it in the areas that you get dry patches in. 

I may someday try the oil cleansing method, but I'm not quite that daring yet. 

I hope this is helpful!

xx

Abbey

Sulfur vs Sulfates

So I decided to make a mini post about something. 

Sulfur and sulfates may often be confused or thought to be the same thing, they are two very different things! One is good and one is bad. 

If you see sulfates on the ingredient label I would not use that product, sulfates are bad! However sulfur is not bad and is not the same thing as sulfates. 

Sulfur is shown to drastically improve skin blemishes if used correctly. If you see a product with sulfur in it, it is good! Sulfur is a mineral found in both natural hot springs and in the old Roman baths. It has healing qualities and also will help blemished skin. However be careful! Sulfur is toxic if ingested orally (in large quantities) do not let your pets lick your face if you have a product with a high sulfur content. This may seem silly but it could be a real risk. 

Hope this clears some things up for people and helps those looking to clear their blemishes :)

xx

Abbey

Tata Harper and Space.NK Apothecary

Ok so I just had to make this blog post today.

I got a new product today that I happened to also try for the first time tonight. I found it in a little store called Space.NK Apothecary that was in Bloomingdales. I've wanted to go check this place out so many times but I've always ran out of time and made a note to do it next time. Well finally next time came today and the very nice saleslady told me all about their history. It is a UK company and it first started out in London and now it has over 60 stores. 

Of course I was intrigued by "apothecary" at first because I try to only use natural products. They sell a lot of brands but one stood out, Tata Harper (yes this is actually the name.) Tata Harper is an all natural brand and feel free to look it up for a history and philosophy (it's pretty awesome.) 

Long story short I've been looking for a cleanser for my mother (because why wouldn't she come to me haha.) We ended up deciding on the "Refreshing Cleanser" for her because it is all natural, good for sensitive skin, and good for dry and mature skin. We'll see how she likes it and how I did at recommending something for her. I got a different cleanser (because I'm such a skin care o'holic and will not stop streamlining my regime and looking for better products), the "Regenerating Cleanser" that is good for combination skin. Because of the small exfoliating beads it is great for getting rid of dead skin cells and improving cell turnover rate (getting rid of scars essentially.)

Ok so now down to what I thought of my purchase.

Price: well... quality is important

Ingredients: I have to say I am pretty impressed with the natural ingredients, thumbs up!

Packaging: alluring because of it's bright colors, also they make recyclable packaging which is pretty cool 

Effectiveness: although it is WAY too early to tell how this will work for me I'd say I pretty much love this product already. I've used it once and all I can say is RAVERAVERAVERAVERAVERAVE. Ok yea I like it, it has a GREAT scent to it and it is all natural (no perfumes added.) It also has a great feel to it! After I used it my skin looked rather glow-y and radiant which was pretty awesome. It gives you a super clean feeling without you feeling like it has just stripped your skin. (I also did use it with my clarisonic if that makes a difference.)

In essence I really like the philosophy behind the line and the product itself, I will update on it in a week or two!

xx

Abbey