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Lemon for acne scars {Reader’s Tips}

· · 24 Comments

This was submitted by Amee. She says:

Use lemon juice about 20 min twice or thrice in the week. It helped me a lot to remove the scars which probably cause due to acne and also helps me to even out my complexion.

Do join my giveaway here. And, a note to all those who have entered the giveaway, do not forget to answer the question about what you like and dislike about the blog. Its a mandatory entry and those who do not answer it would be disqualified from the giveaway. If you have by mistake entered no answer and want to edit your answer, you can simply click on the ‘edit’ option adjacent to the ‘DONE’ in the rafflecopter form. If you are not able to find it, drop me a note and I shall get back to you.
And, read more Reader’s Tips here. 
PS: Hey All, I guess I am going to take a break from blogging for like a week or so coz I am really not able to concentrate. So, I shall leave you with Reader’s Tips everyday. Hopefully, I should be back by Sunday, if not before. Take Care till then 🙂 

PS 1: I was indulging in some creativity so do you like the changes to the template? Do share the feedback? Ok, yes, I love cartoons a lot 😀

Lotus Herbals SAFE SUN COLLAGENSHIELD SUNBLOCK SPF 90 PA+++ {Product Review}

· · 29 Comments

Lotus Herbals SAFE SUN COLLAGENSHIELD SUNBLOCK SPF 90 PA+++ Sunscreen Product Review

Price: Rs 595 for 50gms

Ingredients
Lotus Herbals SAFE SUN COLLAGENSHIELD SUNBLOCK SPF 90 PA+++ Sunscreen Product Review
Pros
– blends easily with my skin
– goes well on the bare skin too
– gives a nice base layer for makeup
– can be finished off with a loose powder dusting and a lipstick
Cons
– expensive!!!
– too high claims from my point of view
– can’t apply the required dosage of sunscreen because of the tint
My Experience
Lotus Herbals SAFE SUN COLLAGENSHIELD SUNBLOCK SPF 90 PA+++ Sunscreen Product Review
I have been using this sunscreen since almost a month. Frankly, doing a review of a sunscreen is a very difficult task for me 🙁 Either I know too much about it or I have an obsessive compulsive disorder. So, let me try to give an impartial review.First of all, I was actually frightened by the claims and the spf. I mean 90 is way too high and actually there is only a marginal protection increase between 30 and 50 and 90.
Lotus Herbals SAFE SUN COLLAGENSHIELD SUNBLOCK SPF 90 PA+++ Sunscreen Product ReviewAnyway, talking about the product, if you need a proper protection, you need to apply proper amount of sunscreen. So, nearly 1/4th to 1/3rd of a tea spoon of sunscreen should be applied daily. Now, since this sunscreen is tinted, that proves to be a huge problem as the tint tends to get patchy and sits on the skin which looks really bad, obviously!!!
And, one more thing I noticed is that my skin gets heated up sometimes to an uncomfortable degree when I am applying the product. That’s kinda weird, actually!!! Another con for me was that the sunscreen used to flake off my skin!!! Yes, I tested the sunscreen on bare skin and on skin with moisturiser and there was no pattern to flaking off. And, that was actually very inconvenient.
Yes, lots of cons so let me talk a little about the pros. It really gives a nice tint and is more or less sheer on the skin. But, it does give an even look to the skin. Finishing off this product with a loose powder and a lipstick is a really good idea. The sunscreen does give good protection and I am not the kind who reapplies. I did go out in the sun in the afternoons with this on but no, I didn’t tan out considerably.
Lotus Herbals SAFE SUN COLLAGENSHIELD SUNBLOCK SPF 90 PA+++ Sunscreen Product Review

Ok, another con is that this can’t be used as a body sunscreen. One more thing is that I think the tint is too dark and may make the fairer ones look a shade darker than they are. It blends nicely with the skin, though. And, to be frank, I did try to apply the required amount of sunscreen which is an impossibility when it comes to tinted products but yes, I have to use a tissue paper to remove the excess product almost always.

And, it does make my skin look shiny immediately on application. Though, the skin sort of settles down after an hour or so. And, yes, it does make the skin look a little brighter and that stays till the evening. And, this photographs well also. So, can be used as a foundation as well. So, as a sunscreen, my answer is no because its a chemical one and my personal preference is a physical sunscreen but if I have to say something, its a decent enough sunscreen though my preference would still be Neutrogena because of the stability factor.
PS: Product sent by the brand.
Other product reviews from Lotus Herbals:

Do sunscreens prevent tanning? {Reader’s Query}

· · 11 Comments

Sunscreens are essentially made to prevent the sun’s rays to harm your skin and trigger skin cancer. But, depending on the strength of the sunscreen, it might have tanning prevention abilities. 

Physical Sunscreens
Predominantly used physical sunscreen agent, Zinc Oxide, is a broad spectrum sunscreen which protects skin from both UVA and UVB rays (both types). Generally, it helps a lot in preventing tanning. But, there is a loop hole here. The abilities of the sunscreen depends on the strength of its protection. For example, if you are using a spf 15 sunscreen, it filters out 92% (rounded figure) of the sun’s rays and still allows 8% to go through. Those 8% of the sun’s rays can still harm the skin. 
Similarly, when talking about Titanium Dioxide, it filters out all UVB rays but only half of UVA rays which reduces the strength of the sunscreen considerably. In spf 15, 8% of rays are still passing through to the skin and also, UVA rays are separately affecting your skin because the sunscreen can’t block them. Also, Titanium Dioxide is responsible for generating free radicals in the body unless it is coated.
Chemical Sunscreens
The major issue with chemical sunscreen is the stability factor. The chemical ingredients breakdown on exposure to sunlight. Yes, that’s a contradiction to the function of the product. That’s the main reason why a sunscreen has to be reapplied after every two hours. Also, they have a tendency to generate free radicals in the body which can also trigger cancerous reaction within the body.
Also, let me say here that the “Helioplex” of Neutrogena is a stabilising formula (read this post for more details) to prevent the breakdown of the chemical sunscreen ingredients which makes its sunscreens effective on a longer length of time. But, again the strength of sunscreen decides the amount of rays passing through to the skin and they can cause tanning. 
Also, a sunscreen which doesn’t have PA ratings gives no protection against UVA rays so still your skin is vulnerable to tanning and aging. PA ratings gives protection against the UVA rays and spf gives the protection strength against the UVB rays so a sunscreen needs to have both these factors mentioned for it to be a broad-spectrum sunscreen.
Recommended Sunscreens:

MVO Moisturizing Face Screen
Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock