My Skincare Routine

Picture gotten from JenniferShelton.com

Hey!

So, some people have commented on my skin and that made me decide to share with you all my routine. Well....basically with my face.

Okay! So, about a year or so ago, I ditched my Nivea body lotions (which I used to use on my face) because I started reacting to them and I also ditched my shower gels for the same reason (it was a weird time for me). I switched over to a certain brand of liquid black soap, but not long after, ditched it.

There was a time about 2 or so years ago when I used a certain product on my face and for the first time, I had a face full of zits/pimples. This made me so uncomfortable because I wasn't used to having zits and also because some people couldn't keep their mouths shut and made comments like, "what happened to your face?" "I always admired how smooth and clear your face was," and other stuff. Note that most of those people were older than I was and people talk amongst themselves. Oh! and two people who made comments like that were teachers at the school I went to back then.

Anyways, so, I had had skin discolouration for some time which was really annoying. It started with really dark bulb shapes coming from the corners of my eyes to my lower-cheek area like speech bubbles. Not fun. I rubbed honey into those parts for a few minutes then rinsed it off to try and lighten them up. I also started using fresh aloe vera gel and/or coconut oil as a skin moisturised. After some months, I started having areas of my right cheek that were WAY fairer than the rest of my face and that bothered me so much. You see, many people want to be "light-skinned" and as a toddler, I wanted to be fairer (thanks to society), but I've grown to love how I look and that fairness on those parts of my face totally freaked me out. So, I saw a GP who gave me a product and since then, I guess this is how my skincare routine has been:

MY ROUTINE

• On most days, I wash my face using my shower gel which is now Sanex 0% (used to be Original Source Mint&Tea Tree (stopped using it because I felt like going with something with less ingredients)). *I always use the pads of my fingers when washing my face and just move them in circles.
• After getting out of the shower, I pat dry my face with a terry cloth towel and then, as usual, my face looks so dry and starts to peel (and so do my lips). This is because I have STUPIDLY DRY skin.
• So, I walk over to a mirror with my jar of extra virgin raw coconut oil and the product the GP gave to me which happens to be ASDA's Aqueous Cream BP (the ingredients in it don't particularly thrill me, but it's what the doctor ordered).
• I start of by gently running the nail of my index finger over my lower lip to take off the peeling skin (please note, this is not the dry lip people get from the weather or whatever), rinsing my lip and patting it dry.
• Next, I open up the jar of coconut oil, get a little onto my index finger (rinsed, before doing this) and run it over my lip then do the whole thing all those ladies in lipstick commercials do.
• Afterwards, I get some more coconut oil and make a line on my eyelids, the corners of my eyes and a little below my eye (from the inner corner) with my index finger then in a patting motion, move my middle finger round those areas working in the oil then I get a little more on my finger, place it near my eye and blink onto it to get some on my eyelashes and I keep blinking ensuring that I don't have solid coconut oil anywhere there then I gently move my finger over my lower lashes.
• Okay! then I open up my jar of BP Cream and make a dot each on the two sides of my head, two on each cheek, one on each corner of my mouth, one on my nose, one between my eyebrows and one or two on my forehead then in circular motions starting from my forehead down, I work it in.

So, that's basically it!

• However, on some days, once or twice I month, in a bowl, disposable cup or something, I mix up some sugar and oil. I used to use coconut oil for this, but I noticed that I break out on my cheeks and forehead when coconut oil goes on there so, I prefer to use a mixture of sunflower and olive oil and sometimes, I add a dash of salt to the sugar and oil mix. I work this all over my face. It sloughs away dead skin cells, cleans out the pores and lets your face breathe. After this, depending on how much time I have, I clean off the sugar and oil with a hot towel (dipped in hot water and wrung out) or I wash my face regularly (if I don't have much time). After the sugar scrub (note that I scrub my lips too), I don't really require the BP Cream or coconut oil for that day (or most of the day).

And this is basically what I do to maintain clean, clear skin! :)

Please note that I do get 1 zit toward that womanly week of the month. So I basically have about 1 zit or so a month.


Hope this helps somebody!
~Sammy

ACV vs BS (ProductsWAR Ep1)

Hey everyone!

So, what is this blog about? Incase you haven't already figured it out, it's about Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) and Brown Sugar (BS(S)). The pros and cons, which is better, you know....

Please note that I'm going to be blogging from my experience during the post and please remember, what works for one person doesn't always work for another.

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According to Wikipedia and Livestrong, "apple cider vinegar, otherwise known as cider vinegar or ACV, is a type of vinegar made from cider or apple must and has a pale to medium amber color." "This substance is rich in vitamin and mineral content, as well as enzymes and amino acids. It is no surprise that apple-cider vinegar can naturally protect your hair from hair loss."






Apple Cider Vinegar:

• Helps remove buildup,
• Improves scalp health (and gets rid of bacteria that causes hair loss)
• Stimulates hair follicle growth

The acidity of apple cider vinegar helps to balance the pH level of your hair and remove buildup, destroy bacteria that cause scalp conditions like dandruff or severe itchiness, and it makes it a natural cleansing agent.

Unfortunately, apple cider vinegar:

• Has such a nasty smell (which lasts for quite a long time, BUT usually wears off about a half-hour after you hair's fully dry)
• Can make you hair hard (if not diluted properly)
• Can cause scalp irritations (also if not diluted properly)

How to make your own Apple Cider Vinegar (from scratch) 

Here's my recipe for an apple cider vinegar rinse (can be used as an after shampoo/conditioner rinse or as an alternative to shampoo). This works for me, but please remember, it just might or might not work for you, but if you want to try it, feel free to, you'll never know if it works for you if you don't try it. Please, use at your own risk.

Ingredients:

• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Bottled/Filtered Water
• Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice (from a medium sized lemon)

Directions:

• Pour 1 part apple cider vinegar to 3 parts water (the first part of water you add should be hot or near-hot). I used a calibrated cup for this.
• Mix the ACV and water together thoroughly (please excuse the smell of the mixture).
• Next, squeeze out the juice of a lemon into a cup or the bowl the ACV and water mix is in and if you get any seeds, take them out with a fork.
• Mix these together thoroughly.
• Either leave it for a few minutes before using or you could use it immediately.

How I used this:

I sectioned my hair in fours and held each section with a metal-free ponytail holder. I took down one section and then sectioned that section irregularly. I then worked the ACV mix into each smaller section focusing on my scalp and working on it like I would with shampoo. When I was done with all the smaller sections in that section, I held that section back together with a ponytail holder. When I was done with all sections, I let the mix sit for a few minutes then I rinsed it out thoroughly.

What I got from this:

Soft, manageable, tangle-free hair that looked SO GOOD...... but smelt SO BAD.
*By the way, I might add a little more vinegar next time.

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According to Wikipedia, "Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown colour due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content, or it is produced by the addition of molasses to refined white sugar (so-called Molasses Sugar).

Brown sugar contains from 3.5% molasses (light brown sugar) to 6.5% molasses (dark brown sugar) based on total volume. Based on total weight, regular brown sugar contains up to 10% molasses."

Brown sugar:

• Helps remove buildup and hard/dead skin cells
• Exfoliate the scalp
• Improves blood circulation in the scalp (due to the "hands-on" method)

Apart from making you hair sticky (if not rinsed out properly), I haven't heard of any disadvantages of brown sugar to the scalp/hair.

How to make your own brown sugar


Here's my recipe for a brown sugar scrub. I use this as an alternative to shampoo. Please remember, this may or may not work for everyone.

Ingredients

• Brown Sugar
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice <- from half a medium sized lemon (optional)

*I don't always add the lemon juice to my scrub.

*Some people add olive/coconut oil to their scrub, but I prefer not to because I don't want to have an oily scalp or have to struggle with washing out the oil esp. because I'm CG. If you feel like adding some oil to your scrub, feel free to.

Directions

• Pour some brown sugar into a bowl or cup
• If you want to add the lemon juice (for it's fragrance or for extra cleansing), squeeze out the juice of half of a medium sized lemon, take out the seeds with a fork then pour the juice into the cup/bowl of brown sugar.
• Mix the brown sugar and lemon juice together thoroughly.

How I used this:

I sectioned my hair in 2 (sometimes, I section in 4) then I took down one section and divided it into smaller sections. I got the scrub onto my scalp and moved the pads of my fingers on my scalp, working in the scrub till I was done with every section then I got the remaining scrub (wasn't a lot left) onto my hand, took down both sections at the same time and did a final thorough scrub before I rinsed out the brown sugar scrub thoroughly.

What I got from this:

Soft, manageable, shiny, hair that looked AND SMELT good.

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1. Cleanliness: The brown sugar left my hair way more clean and with way less buildup when I was done. I am thinking this had to do with the concentration of the ACV in my ACV rinse because it did get rid of most of the buildup.

BS 1  :   0 ACV

2. Softness of hair: The ACV left my hair way softer than the brown sugar did. WAY softer.

BS 1  :   1 ACV

3. Manageability of hair: The ACV made my hair more manageable as it helped to get and keep my hair tangle-free. I'm not saying the brown sugar didn't make my hair quite manageable too, I'm just saying that the ACV made my hair more manageable than the brown sugar.

BS 1  :   2 ACV

4. Shine: I believe we've got a tie here

BS 2  :   3 ACV

5. Frizz: My hair looked equally or near-equally frizz free when I was done (did them exactly a week apart)

BS 3  :   4 ACV

6. Smell: The brown sugar wins hands down! The smell of the ACV was so HORRID!

BS 4  :   4 ACV

7. Itchy scalp: Both stopped that

BS 5  :   5 ACV

8. Dandruff: Both cured that.

BS 6  :   6 ACV

AND IT'S A TIE!!!!

Okay! yeah, it is a tie, but here are some things:

1. If I'm looking mainly for cleanliness (like if I have a lot of buildup or I'm going to be braiding with extentions), I'll go for the brown sugar scrub.

2. If I can push away the smell, my dad's at work and I'm sure I'm not going to have to leave my house for any reason, I'll go with the apple cider vinegar.

3. However, I most likely would use the brown sugar scrub more often as I'm scared of using something acidic on my hair often (even though I get great result with it). PLUS, the Curl Whisperer said, "you need to bear in mind that ACV is an acid--over 100 times more acidic than your hair--and it needs to be respected as such. Acids can and will start to degrade your hair shaft with overuse, so you must be cautious and pay strict attention to your hair's reaction to frequent ACV rinse use. I personally believe a monthly to bi-monthly ACV rinse provides more than sufficient benefit for almost everyone." I'm most likely going to use the ACV rinse once a month or once every month and a half (well, as needed, but never more than once a month)

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Hope you learned a lot and enjoyed reading this SUPER LONG post :)

Love you all!

~Sam