My New Dermatologist and Some Updates

Early this January, I decided to visit a new dermatologist. I had previous experiences with a dermatologist. Although I saw a lot of improvements after those visits, I realized how costly it could get for maintenance. Simply put, my original dermatologist caters to well-off patients. Each tiny bottle of skin care product costs 300-400 pesos. His cleaning sessions alone costs 800. I just didn't feel I was getting a great value for my money.

Acne, Air Pollution, Poor Diet, and Suggested Solutions

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Lately, I've been having serious acne flare ups on the face and I am not proud of it. It must be the air pollution or the poor diet I'm having. For some reasons, the vehicles passing by our neighborhood has increased, making dark smogs to be a frequent sighting whenever I go outside home. Ice cream and dairy products have also become more frequent in my diet.

My Recent Skincare Routine

I used to follow dutifully the ever so popular trend of skincare regimen: wash, tone, moisturize. Now, I'm becoming less convinced of this trend's necessity. For the past several months, I've been trying to revamp my skincare routine into a much less complicated regimen. During some periods, my skin repaid my modifications with a lot of breakouts. But as I adjusted slowly, my skin eventually improved. I learned that I need not use a lot of products in order to have a healthy skin.

Facial Soaps and Cleansers 101

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The Basic Function of Soaps and Cleansers

Facial soaps and cleansers are the most basic personal care product we use for our face. They are essential for removing dirt and excess oil from our skin. In order to cleanse the skin, soaps and cleansers must include surfactants. 

Surfactants are ingredients that have special properties of being attracted to both water and oil. This enables the surfactants to bind with the oil and dirt found in the skin while lathering. The act of rinsing allows the water-loving end of the surfactant particles to bind to the water, bringing the oil and dirt along and down to the drain. Examples of surfactants that can be found on facial soaps and cleansers are: sodium laureth sulfate, sodium cocyl isethionate, and cocamidopropyl betaine.

What is Facial Exfoliation?

Facial exfoliation is an additional step in a skincare regimen, with the frequency depending on the exfoliant used and the person's skin type. The purpose of exfoliation is to remove dead skin cells that we shed over time. Built-ups of dead skin cells tend to clog the pores - leading to acne breakouts - and make the skin look dull. In addition, de-clogging the pores make absorption of other skincare products more effective.

There are several ways to exfoliate the skin, but can be summed up into two types: mechanical and chemical.

Proper Care for Your Skin Care Products

One way to get beautiful skin is to apply good skin care products. Skin care products protect your skin from stress, pollutants, UV radiation (for those that contains SPF), dryness, and free radicals. But skin care doesn't just stop there. Your beauty products degrade over time, and if not taken of properly, may even do more harm than good to your skin. So taking proper care of your beauty tools is a must. 

But how do you take care of your beauty products? First, you need to know what degrades them. Heat, direct sunlight, air, moist, dirt, and germs all contribute to lessening your products' potency. By avoiding these variables, your products will tend to stay fresh and effective throughout their shelf life.

Skin Care 101: A Guide to Beautiful Skin

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When I was a teenager, I didn't know anything about toners and creams and facial masks. There are tons of products along the beauty aisle of my favorite store, yet I didn't know much about them. Soap was my only skin care routine. My lack of knowledge did pay a price: an irritated and unhealthy-looking skin. After learning that there is such thing as a skin regimen, my skin improved greatly. You see, you didn't need to go to expensive treatments to get the skin you want. It all starts at home. Give your skin a few minutes of pampering and you won't regret it. Here are the things you should know about skin care. Read full article.

Skincare Product Ingredients that Won't Clog Pores

I have an acne-prone skin and a very oily face. I guess it runs in the family. In the morning after washing my face, my skin becomes rejuvenated, clean, and glowing. However, as soon as midday arrives, my face starts to become very shiny. The sebum that appears of course makes my skin even more prone to acne breakouts.

Frugal Shopping and Reading the Labels

Choose your products wisely.

Photo by Ambro 

I came from a frugal family. Going to boutiques has been a challenge to us. When we choose products, we not only consider the quality but also the price. I remembered going to a boutique with my mom many years ago. I was so happy to find a very cheap bottle of lotion. It was a buy one take one commodity. I quickly showed it to my mom, but soon after

My Dermatologist

I used to have a lot of pimples. My lack of knowledge on skin care had worsened my acne condition. I rubbed and scrubbed my face and overused topical medications. My skin was peeling so badly. But I endured all these unsightly marks thinking that acne is normal for teenagers. High school passed then came college. My skin became a bit better, as a friend suggested me to use Likas Papaya Soap which has salicylic acid ingredient. However, my skin was still flaky and dry. Breakouts would still occur from time to time as college life was quite stressful. Now that I’m way beyond those teen years, I still get breakouts. It was only a few years ago that I decided to see a dermatologist.