Thanks to the holiday break, I finally had the time to take a really good and long look at myself in the mirror with a pen and paper in hand. I realized I’ve been reviewing numerous products since my blog started yet I had been missing out one of the most important details to share to my readers who take my product reviews seriously— what exactly am I made of aside from a lego work of organs, skin and bones? So behold my list of pimples, wrinkles, stray hair and whatnot!
Face
Combination skin that’s prone to dullness.
My skin is prone to dehydration and moisture loss. I don’t get pimples often — at least not anymore — but I used to get Queen Bee-sized seasonal pimples on my nose that had left me with bumpy scars. Once in a while, I get a bout of acne on my forehead and my temples. My biggest problem now would probably be volume loss and my uneven skin tone that’s prone to sullenness and pigmentations. I also have genetic dark eye circles and extremely thin skin around my eyes. My upper eyelids suffer from seasonal eczema that’s triggered by certain products and stress.
Hair
Oily, sensitive scalp and dry hair.
I’ve got naturally wavy yet fine hair that’s prone to breakage. But that’s not my biggest problem… It’s always been a challenge for me to find a suitable shampoo that will not irritate my scalp yet will clean it thoroughly and keep it smelling fresh. I’ve tried TOO many shampoo brands from A-Z, the “no poo” method, ACV rinse and all the natural hair tips I’ve read online but none has worked 100% for me yet. I get dandruff from almost anything and I sometimes shed as much hair as my cat sheds fur.
Body
Dry skin, eczema and chicken skin bumps.
The skin on my body is prone to dryness, too. In fact, I sometimes joke about being a half-mer due to the scale patterns on my lower legs. I suffer from seasonal eczema patches on my legs and my arms triggered by stress and bad diet. I also have Keratosis Pilaris or chicken skin. I often get dry, itchy bumps on the back of my arm but I’ve learned to manage the situation somehow.
Health & Weight
Perpetually Underweight?
I’ve been judged too many times due to my low body weight but really, my skinny-ness is not by choice. After fruitless years of trying to gain weight through ‘extreme’ methods, my goal now is just to be healthy with the weight I have. I am considerably at least 10x healthier than I was about 5 years ago although aesthetically, I still look like I need a free sandwich. My resistance is much higher and my stamina has improved heaps. However, I’m still prone to fatigue sometimes and I require lots of sleep…. That or I’m just lazy.
Do we have the same or totally different beauty and health concerns?
For easier reference, I’m permanently placing this beauty and health profile under my About Me section. I’ll update the page whenever there are drastic changes in my profile. Say, for example, I suddenly woke up with bigger front bumpers.
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I absolutely love your blog! Keep us the great work!
Ana from The Model Stage Blog
PS: I’ll make sure to add you on my www loves list
The Model Stage Blog recently blogged..Coming up next year on The Model Stage Blog + BONUS
Thanks, Ana! I’ll check out your blog, too.
Oh,I know exactly how you feel about dark eye circles problem!Pls keep updating about any concealer,good or bad that you’ve tried.I’ve been digging on good concealer(and liquid foundie also),read reviews here and there:D Yesterday I met my old fren,we took pic with her mobile phone,I looked at the pic and..it looked like me either got bruises or being a drug addict or an ill person!(note,I didn’t wear concealer that time). My fren said the pic looked blurry due to the lighting,can’t imagine if it wasn’t blurry!:D
Btw Vivi,regarding your acne problem..umm..have yout tried to scrub your face once in 2 days/3 days?For adult acne,it’s important to do face scrubbing since the main cause of acne is from dead skin cells.
Lynn recently blogged..Wishlist of 2013
Hi Lynn, I will definitely write more about dark circles this year. I realized that dark circles get worse with age… :X
I also took a photo with my Mom recently and I was shocked when I saw it. My features are a bit strong so when I don’t apply concealer and my dark circles are especially bad, I look like a murderer, haha. But the funny thing about my dark circles is that sometimes they just ‘disappear’.
I scrub my face at least once a week. But I guess the problem is internal/hormonal because the pimples are deep. Did you see my before and after photos? Shocking right? Good thing I don’t get the big pimples anymore. I only get small ones on my temple area and I think it’s due to stress and lack of sleep.
Lol..murderer? Ah,should add that word on my”what dark eye circles refer to”dictionary!:D
Oh yes,it it gets worse with age,I notice that.In my case,ethnicity plays role too.I have sunken eyes,my father though he’s a javanese but looking at my paternal big family and my late grandpa pic,look like from south asian or middle east descendants.You know those area have that dark eye circles look,sunken eyes genetically. While my maternal family look like east asian. “Lucky”me,I got the sunken eyes part from my parents which means more affair with concealer here
True,dark eye circles sometimes just dissapear..err..I mean better.Especialy when I have enough sleep,exercise well,eat well,and not stressed. How could we maintain that kind of life on regular basis?I mean,it’s a hard task to do :/
Umm…I think you need to scrub more often(read it on Devita brochure),I did it and my skin is better now.When we get older our skin isn’t as good as when we’re teens(though i also had acnes during my teens age:/) .It’s just different case as what my acnes now. But true that even adult acnes can be caused by hormonal.I heard it has something to do with contraception pills (?).
Lynn recently blogged..Wishlist of 2013
For the hair part, probably you could try natural shampoo bars? or shampoos that are really free of chemical ingredients(look at the ingredients list), for me, I get my shampoo bars from Etsy.com which really works great for me, as in the past my hair gets oily easily and I would literally have dandruff, which I thought prob. it was due to genetics, but it seems not though.
When I first started using shampoo bars for the first 2 months, my hair was experiencing a stage which it was adjusting to no chemical ingredients shampoo (had to stick with the Organic ACV rinse), but after that time frame (which lasted around 1-2 month?) my hair feels smooth and silky, even without a conditioner, and of course, no dandruff, though I find that if I use any natural shampoo bars with the ingredient shea butter, my scalp tends to oil easily.
I get shampoo bars from her (esp. the nettle mint and rosemary and lavender): http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheNorthwoodsGoat
*I’m not advertising for TheNorthwoodsGoat.
Other than that, perhaps try to eat more greens and make sure you get your daily nutrients and vitamins intake?
Hi Caroline, Thank you!
Interestingly, I actually bought a couple of shampoo bars from Chagrin Valley about a month ago but haven’t had the chance to try them until this morning. Thanks to your comment!
I almost forgot about them.
I can’t say yet whether it’s better than my usual shampoo, I’ll need a few days. What exactly did you experience during the transition period? More dandruff? I need to prepare myself.
And thanks for sharing the etsy store. I love handmade products!
I am actually eating more greens (I take a green smoothie most mornings) but I believe my problem really is internal. I’m still trying to figure out what’s the cause and I’m actually going for a major detox starting next week.
Hello,
The “transition period” that I was talking about is nothing major, just that even though I showered with the shampoo bar on that day itself, it seems that the next day my scalp felt weird? as in it was oil-ing or it felt greasy, I guess? for me, there wasn’t any dandruff, just the excretion of oil(?) from the scalp. Some sites such as the 2 below talked about the “transition period”:
a. http://www.choosingvoluntarysimplicity.com/some-thoughts-on-the-no-shampoo-no-poo-movement/
b. http://www.thestraddlecreeksoapshop.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75:na..
but the organic ACV rinse is really important, it seems. After the “transition period”, I don’t use the ACV rinse as regularly(daily) during that period, but more of perhaps once a few months.
I find it pretty interesting(?), as it seems the “oil-ing” problem during the transition period surprisingly decided to stop one day, and somehow when I tried to just use the bar as it is, without ACV rinse, my scalp wasn’t reacting the way as it did during that period.
Hah, I’m trying to incorporate green smoothies at the start of the day too
. Actually, I’ve been experiencing acne problems for 10+ years (which is crazy), but it seems I still can’t figure out what’s wrong with my body too, but yeah, I guess for me, it is something internal that is causing . All the best to you for next week 
Hi Caroline, really thanks for all the info! Appreciate the links and I’m reading through them now.
I have experimented with vinegar rinse before (and had lots of #DIYfails with it). I think I’ll add a few drops of EO to my rinse to mask the smell better.
So far, my experience with my first 2 days of washing with bar soap has been moderately good. Too early to say whether the new method will again trigger a major dandruff avalanche but I’m feeling now itch on my scalp now… I guess that’s a good sign? But my hair is definitely a bit ‘heavier’ so I’ll need the ACV rinse tomorrow.
If you think your pimples might possibly be caused by hormonal imbalance, you might want to fortify your liver and take a liver cleansing supplement on top of a generally healthier diet. I had a nasty breakout about 1 1/2 years ago — eventhough my diet was healthier than a typical person in Singapore — and my skin cleared up drastically when I started focusing on my liver. And the green smoothies definitely helped, of course.
A correction to what I wrote.
The oil/greasy feeling I felt on my scalp was before I used the ACV rinse, but after using the rinse my scalp was transitioning(?) well to natural shampoo bars. Pardon me, as it has been 2 years or so since that day
.
No worries! I’m excited to see how my hair will be like in the next week or so. Thanks to all the resources you shared