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My Skin Diary – August 2013

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Gosh…its unbelievable how this year is just flying by! I hate it and love it at the same time. Anyways, my skin was not behaving very well this month. I don’t know why but I did get an issue of lot of small bumps on the skin and by small, I mean very very small. You can just see that the skin is not looking smooth.

You will ask me if I did anything for it. Well, honestly, I did nothing specifically. My best guess is that it was because I did not use sunscreen. But then, this month I have cut some serious slack with sunscreen and those boils did not come later on when I stopped using sunscreen again.

So, may be the answer just boils down to maintenance. I have not been looking after my skin very seriously. I do tend to take it a bit for granted because my skin is, touchwood, really good. Thanks to my genes and no credits to me. But, I would reiterate the fact that howsoever good your skin might be, do not ever forget taking care of it.

Face

Day Routine
Night Routine
  • Cleansing Milk – Garnier + Mustard Oil
  • Face wash – Nivea Visage Refreshing Face Wash + Olay Total Face Cleanup
  • Toner – Liz Earle + Kama Ayurveda Vetiver Water
  • Moisturizer – Rustic Art aloevera gel
  • Facial Oil – Turmeric infused Almond Oil + Primrose Oil

So, I have to say here that the turmeric infused oil is working really well on reducing the breakout size for me. A few days back I had a bad case on my neck. I think I accidentally scratched my skin in sleep and it was an angry breakout whose size had reduced to half and 1/3rd the night and night after respectively on using the oil. So, yes, I would definitely encourage you to try it out. 

Body
Day Routine

Night Routine

  • Moisturizer – Vaadi Herbals Body Oil
Current Skin
My skin picking habit has left my neck tortured as I had mentioned earlier as well so I am STILL looking forward to reversing that damage and containing my habit. Do you have any advises? 
How did your skin fare in August? What were the products you loved and hated? 
Related Posts:

My Skin Diary – July 2013

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How to make the skin clear and get rid of scars and blemishes and dark spots? {Skin Care}

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So, last week I had left you with the post on melanin production. So, in that post, I had specifically mentioned that you can do nothing to lighten your skin color but you can always keep your skin clear and avoid from getting tanned. So, how to go about doing that?
Sunscreen
This is the first and foremost principle for any skin care routine. Applying sunscreen regularly keeps your skin young and also free from tan. Well, ok, lemme reiterate that sunscreen does not prevent tanning but it is comparatively lesser than if you go into sun without any protection. And, if you are using physical sunscreens, you can be assured that the tan is minimal. That does reduce a lot of your work!!
AHA’s
As I mentioned in the last post, lactic acid and glycolic acid have been believed to reduce the melanin content in the skin. So, may be a weekly routine of this might help. Let me again say MIGHT! Because, what I understand is that a 50%-70% concentration of these acids might be really successful in doing the intended but yes an occasional use can definitely give a healthy glow. 

Now, lactic acid is present in milk and glycolic is mostly present in sugarcane juice or jaggery or, most available, sugar. Milk is generally considered to be safe for daily usage and it is famous since ancient times for its benefits on skin. But, I will suggest all the oily skin and acne-prone skin people to stay far away from it.

Coming to using glycolic acid, it is quite strong for skin especially when you are going to use freshly squeezed sugarcane juice so I would say go easy on the skin. Use it as a face mask mixed with any flour and wash off after 10-15 minutes and no more! 
And, if sugarcane is not available, you can use brown sugar, raw sugar, powdered sugar or powdered jaggery as a face scrub mixed in honey. But, be sure not to use it more than twice a week, no matter what skin type. Exfoliating the skin everyday is not a good idea, howsoever much you might love your skin after that!!
Also, papaya and pine apple juices are quite effective. They can also remove the tan and dead skin cells and the dark spots and blemishes and scars and what not. But, these remedies should again be used only twice a week and no more because they can end up drying the skin a lot!
Vitamin C
That is another great home remedy which works absolutely fantastically. And, the best part is that not only it exfoliates but it also rejuvenates the skin. Vitamin C is essential for collagen synthesis which is important to keep the skin youthful and smooth. 
But, here I would again suggest instead of lemon juice, tomato juice should be used on a daily or alternate day basis. It really helps! The reason being lemon is drying on skin as it is too acidic.
Other Home Remedies
There are a whole lot of other spices and vegetables and fruits which can be used on skin like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, garlic, mint, cucumber, berries, date juice, turmeric, mustard and probably all other spices in the world!!
So, what are the simple ways to keep your skin clear and avoid blemishes and dark spots?
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Ponds White Beauty All-in-One BB + Fairness Cream SPF 30 PA++ {Product Review}

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Ponds White Beauty All-in-One BB + Fairness Cream SPF 30 PA++ {Product Review}

Price: Rs 65 for 9gms

I have delayed this review by like almost three weeks! Anyways, so are you a BB-cream lover. Ok, I want to make one point over here. BB creams or any other creams for that matter are not a substitute for sunscreen!! So, please use a sunscreen separately.

Now, let me come on to my trysts with BB creams. I have not really been lucky with them. Either they leave a white cast or make my skin too dark or too oily. I rather prefer using base and follow up with my sunscreen and I am done.

Pros
blends easily
gives a dewy glow to the skin
leaves the skin looking a little bright
easy to carry
very less product needed so lasts long!

Ponds White Beauty All-in-One BB + Fairness Cream SPF 30 PA++ {Product Review}

So, how did this product fare for me? For the starters, I like the packaging. Its stylish and very easy to carry and the mouth of the tube dispenses exactly the amount of product you need which is, trust me, less than a black pepper corn size!

Any more and you might end up with a white cast on the face. Using the right amount of the product, however, leaves the skin dewy. It does provide a little coverage but I can not really comment because I do not have small blemishes that I could cover up.

Ponds White Beauty All-in-One BB + Fairness Cream SPF 30 PA++ {Product Review}

Cons
leaves a white cast which might not suit all skin types
makes the skin a bit oily 
does not last beyond 2-3 hours

But, I have issues with its lasting power. It does make my skin look a bit oily and dull by the end of the day so that did not quite work out for me! Also, I do not think it really lightens up the skin or clears up the tan or makes you look fair. It just brightens the skin subtly which is something which you will like when the product is fresh on skin.

Ponds White Beauty All-in-One BB + Fairness Cream SPF 30 PA++ {Product Review}

The texture of the product is a bit creamy and it leaves a dewy finish, as I mentioned earlier. Whether it will lead to breakouts or not is something I can not vouch for! As for the cleanup part, the product gets cleansed off easily without any issues so hopefully it is non-comedogenic and does not cause clogged pores.

So, what about you? Did you use this product? Do you like any other BB cream?