Pamper sesh/Mini-facial.

Once a week I like to treat myself to a little facial, so to speak. No, I don't go out and get it done professionally, I do it by myself on myself, in the comfort of my own room. Perfectamundo.

It is one of the most pampering things you could do and your skin will love you for it, and you don't really need fancy expensive products or equipment. For example, stage 1 is cleansing. Any cleanser would do, depending on your skin type. Stage 2 is a repeat, so essentially a double cleanse, and you could use the same cleanser as before or go for a different one if you fancy. I find that my oily congested skin appreciates a double cleanse and I find this really effective at leaving skin prepped and primed. If you don't want to double-cleanse or don't feel your skin needs it - don't. I only do it because I definitely need to! Stage 3 is exfoliation. Any exfoliator will do, just make sure that the exfoliating matierial within the product isn't natural - peach kernels or nut shells aren't naturally round and therefore can scratch the skin, which isn't good. Man-made beads or crystals in exfoliating products are better because they can be refined down and rounded so they have a less harsh effect on the skin but are still effective. Step 4 can be carried out over a bowl of water. You don't have to own a steamer! Step 5 can be carried out again with a preferred cleanser. Stage 6 can be carried out with any mask you like - hydrating, chemically exfoliating, cleansing, whatever you want!. For stage 7, use your favourite moisturiser, and hey presto.
Everyone does their own facial differently, but mine is through trial and error, and this method and these products work for me!

I have written out what I normally do once a week facial-wise. Sometimes I skip out a stage if I'm feeling pushed for time, but normally I don't feel like I'm doing my skin justice unless I do the whole caboodle!

1) If I have a full face of makeup (which is rare), I take it all off with a baby wipe first and then I cleanse my face with the Neutrogena 'Visibly Clear 2 in 1' face wash to remove all the impurities and oil from my skin, leaving skin already feeling fresh and so clean.
2) I cleanse my face again with my Clarisonic and a foaming face wash (I am loving Neutrogena's 'Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Facial Wash'), and then follow with Boots' Botanics 'All Bright Cleansing Toner', just to ensure I have cleaned every last trace of grime from my skin.
3) I follow the double-cleanse with micro-dermabraison courtesy of No7's 'Total Renewal Micro-dermabraision Exfoliator'. This is hands down the best exfoliator I have ever used. I haven't yet found one to beat it (yet). It removes all the dead skin cells, revealing new skin, ensuring all my products are ready to be absorbed well!
4) Then I steam my face with my own steamer - I've had it 6 years and it's still going strong! I add Boot's own 'Glycerin and Rosewater' or tea tree to the water. It really depends how my skin is feeling, if it's a wee bit sensitive I opt for the rose water, if I have a massively huge breakout I opt for the tea-tree essence just to clear out my congested pores.
5) Then I cleanse with a foaming cleanser, to make sure I have removed all the micro-dermabraison crystals from my skin.
6) I then apply a mask; this could either be the Neutrogena 'Visibly Clear 2 in 1' used as a mask (I love those multi-purpose products I do) or the Elemis 'Papaya Enzyme Peel'. I normally alternate but if skin is feeling congested, I will plump for the Neutrogena mask above the Elemis one, and if skin is looking dull and lifeless, I'll opt for the latter!
7) I then apply Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum, followed by a nice big sticky layer of Eucerin's 'Aquaphor' to ensure my skin is moisturised like hell - and I'm done!

I do think it is important not only for the skin, but also for the mind to completely de-stress and focus on yourself - I don't have much 'me-time' at the moment so this is the one selfish thing I revel in.

No7 'Total Renewal Micro-dermabraison Exfoliator'.

Let me warn you - this is going to be a rave. Why? Because I love this product. I have repurchased this so many times I have lost count. Seriously, I LOVE IT.

When I was around 16/17 I really got into exfoliating products because I suffered with dry patches on my cheeks and exfoliating was really the only way to get rid of them. I tried so many so-called exfoliators and was slightly disenchanted by trying one lame product after another. Sometimes there wouldn't be any exfoliating power to the product, it was like rubbing a cream containing tiny balls into your skin or they were like face washes with a few scratchy bits in. I wasn't enamoured. Then one day my dear mother came home with one of those No7 sample bags you get free if you spend over a certain amount. A little sample tube of an exfoliator was in there, so I used it one day, and my 17 year old self instantly fell in love; it was an exfoliator which actually exfoliated and seemed to work! No more dry cheek patches!



"Aluminium-oxide micro-crystals smooth, refine and renew sweeping away dull cells for incredable radiance from the first time you use it. Within 4 treatments stimulates skin cell renewal to work against fine lines, skin tone evens leaving skin softer, silky to touch and more refined. Helps to work against the appearance of dark areas, sun damaged or belmish prone skin too. Not to be used on sore sun-burnt skin."
In the beauty world there has been a move away from physical exfoliators towards chemical exfoliators. I am prescribed a chemical exfoliator (Retin-A) which is amazing for my acne, but you can't beat a good physical scrub every so often.

This is much stronger than your average facial scrub, and that is why I like it. My skin is very oily and prone to acne (but you already knew that right?) so I need a good effective exfoliating product to slough away all the dead skin and impurities to help prevent (more) blemishes and to help skin regenerate! After using this product I am always amazed how soft, renewed and glowing my skin is. You really notice the difference after a couple of weeks of use: my skin seemed more even in texture and appearance and skin seemed a lot softer and more refined. WIN!

I would not recommend this if you have sore/sensitive skin, because it can sting even on my skin, and I imagine it would be agony if you used it and had sore/sensitive skin. If you have normal/oily/combo skin, it is probably best to use this product every few days, since using it too often can make skin sore and overly-sensitive. Plus it's just not effective! I use mine a few days after I first applied my Retin-A for the week, but when I haven't been using the Retin-A for a couple of weeks I use it every 3 days. Sometimes my acne is so bad I can't use it, and I would say that if you do have acne which results in lots of whiteheads, wait until they've disappeared before use. You don't want to take the heads off the spots because scarring may occur!
When I do use this product, I always use it at night, so that my exfoliating all the potions and lotions I apply at night are more effective as the old dead gross skin has gone leaving the newness behind!

You don't need to use a lot of product to get results: I used a pea sized dot for each area: forehead, left cheek, chin, right cheek. A little bit does go a long way!

I don't find that this product reduces acne pimples occuring, but I do find that it helps at reducing the red pigmentation on the skin and uneven skintone the acne leaves behind, which is helpful for me because I do have some pigmentation issues as a result of my battle with acne.

I am an avid believer that man-made exfoliating material is the best, like the aluminium-oxide micro-crystals in this product, simply because the particles are more uniform, refined and rounder in shape than natural materials like peach kernel, nut shells or the like. They can be quite sharp and may damage the skin. The man-made exfoliating materials are obviously better for this reason, and yet are still effective at doing their job, revealing new fresh skin each time!

This product comes in as £11, which I think is astounding. It is such a high-quality product for a great price. Also, I have had my current tube for about 4 months so far, so that works out at just under £3 a month! If that isn't good value, then I don't know what is.

Packaging is simple. I bought mine before No7 had an image overhaul, so my tube is pearlescent white with a white cap. Simple and uncomplicated is how I like it. Thumbs up!

Overall I think this is an amazing product and there is nothing wrong with it at all in my book, it does exactly what it promises. It works at refining my skin and making it look all shiny and new, and the price is amazing. If you haven't got a tube...why the hell not?!

Me and my acne: Week 30 update.

There is a reason why I have left doing another one of these posts for this long. Apart from forgetfulness on my behalf, I left it two weeks before I updated the blog because my skin seems to be improving, and I wanted to make sure it had improved enough before I danced/shouted/screamed about it and then jinxed it!

Here is what my skin looks like at the moment;


As you can see, I still have about ten active spots at the moment, but most of the redness you can see on my skin (mostly on my forehead) is just the after-effect of having acne, which I'm hoping should fade in time.
When I went to the doctors just under 2 weeks ago to sort out my skin, he prescribed me Dianette, which is a contraceptive pill aimed at women who were struggling with their skin. Although I have to wait 2 more weeks to actually start taking this medication, and my Lymecycline ran out two weeks ago, so at the moment I'm acne-medication free, apart from my Retin-A which I apply weekly.
This is what makes it so surprising that my skin has cleared up. Why would it be worse when I'm on medication to clear it up?

I am using a few new products in my skin-care routine, which I will indicate whilst going through my normal day to night skincare regime, but I don't think that that really has anything to do with clearing up my skin, although who knows?!.
Morning I use Hibiscrub and double cleanse my face, and after I tone with Vichy's 'Purifying Astringent Toner' (new), and then apply Vichy's 'Capital Sun SPF 50 Mattifying Face Fluid Dry Touch' (new), and that's it for the day.
My night-time skincare routine comprises of a little more. I take off the majority of my make-up/face cream with a blob of Cetaphil and a cotton pad, after which I use the Hibiscrub to double/triple-cleanse my skin and make sure it's squeaky clean. Then I have two options. Twice a week I just use Retin-A on clean skin. The other nights, I follow my cleanse with the same Vichy toner, and then apply Nuxe's 'Huile Prodigieuse' (new) all over my face until it has sank in, and then a layer of Lush's Vanishing Cream (new), and then after that I layer Eucerin's 'Aquaphor' all over my face until I'm a gooey sticky mess! And then I'm done! I find this is the only way to combat the drying effect a retinoid has on your skin.
I'm also using No7's 'Total Renewal Microdermabrasion Exfoliator' and Lush's 'Cosmetic Warrior' (new) face mask. I normally do this after my skin is moisturised enough and before I apply the retinoid for the week.

A break from oral acne antibiotics is maybe what my skin needs, but right now I'm really pleased with the way my skin is behaving, and I just hope it clears up more and more each and every day (one can wish!). I'm also looking forward to seeing what effect starting the new medication Dianette has on my skin, and let's just keep our fingers crossed it gets rid of my acne for good!