Skin Natural : salicylic acid

Showing posts with label salicylic acid. Show all posts

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Specialized Ingredients and Skin Care {Skin Care}

PS: Please spare time and write honest testimonials about my blog here and make Perfect Skin Care for you one of the winners in Indiblogger Awards. You will have my undying gratitude :) Now, let's move on to today's discussion.

So, I had decided early this year that I would resort to anti-aging skin care but unfortunately I am not really doing anything except trying to use sunscreen without fail! That itself is of such a big help that you do not really need anything else.

But, of course, you must have come across the information suggesting Retinoids, AHA's and all kinds of things to get rid of wrinkles and other aging signs! Well, I totally agree that they work really well but I am of the league that better not try them unless you really need them or use them sparingly!

Retinoids and sisters/brothers are very strong!

I have heard retinoids being used for the eye area to prevent crow's feet and fine lines around the eyes, majorly. They might also be useful for frown and laugh lines. But, the issue with them is that they make your skin extremely photo-sensitive and if you do not use adequate amount of sunscreen to protect your skin, you might be doing more damage to your skin!

Moisturizer Havoc

I have an example to quote in this. I had reviewed my mum's long-time moisturizer, moisturex, long time back. But, soon after I had read the ingredients, it struck me that the product might not have been as good for her as I am supposing. The product has 10% of lactic acid and daily application of it has probably made my mum's skin sensitive. Many of the reader's comments also suggested this perception!

My mum has very sensitive skin and now I have realized that she can not even use something else because nothing else suits her! I once tried giving her a pampering treatment using Pond's flawless white face mask sheets. After keeping it for like 10-15 minutes, she removed it and let the gooey stuff on the mask seep into her skin. But, soon after she started complaining that her skin was burning! I have tried those same sheets and never have I felt it doing anything to my skin, good or bad, lest burn my skin or tingle it!

May be I am presuming too much when I think the product has made my mum's skin sensitive! Her skin often flushes when she comes back from being in sun but I do not remember if she had the very problem before using the above-mentioned product. So, I can not really conclude that the product made her skin sensitive or photo-sensitive!

Usage of Fresh Fruits on Skin

Ohk, not only the products but also the home remedies which we try out on a daily basis might not be a great idea! Few months back I had done a post on pH levels of citrus fruits to determine how safe lemon is for daily usage. And, turns out, it can make you age faster even if you see great results because it is very acidic!

Same goes for fruits rich in AHA's like papaya or pineapple. They should NOT be used on skin for more than 5 minutes and should be used at most twice a week! AHA's are very strong acids which no doubt are really beneficial to skin but they can be dangerous if misused a lot! In fact, in higher concentrations, they can cause skin peeling.

Vitamin C serums

There are a lot of DIY's I have been seeing over-time using ascorbic acid or like. I have thought of doing them myself as well. But, may be they should also be used occasionally like once or twice a week for a skin prep instead of making it a daily routine.

Salicylic Acid Face Washes

No doubt, they are amazing on acne-prone skin but they do dry out the skin a lot, the effects of which might not be felt immediately. I have never really prescribed to the usage of such products but lately I had used Garnier Pure Active which has the acid as one of its ingredients. No doubt, I loved it but it fails miserably on dry skin and I am not using it in the longer run!

Long back I had talked about the aspirin face mask, DIY's for which can be found immediately on googling but should not be used in more than a concentration of 1-2% because they can result in drying of skin and hyperpigmentation, not to say photo-sensitivity!

Thus, these are my personal observations and opinions that any product having specialized ingredients should be used with care and caution and exactly as prescribed. Any deviance from the instructions can actually be really harmful for skin.

Please note that this post is entirely my opinion and observations put in words. I would love to know what you think about the issue. So, comment on!

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Garnier Pure Active Pore unclogging wash {Product Review}

So, just on the weekend I revealed that I absolutely love this particular product. Little did I know that I had almost run out of the product so I would anyway be doing the product review within 3 days! Anyways, as I said earlier this is amazing for oily and acne-prone skin though I am not really sure about the dry skin.

Let me start with the packaging. Hate it! First, the product just comes out as soon as you unscrew the cap. Also, you get more than enough of the product because of which you tend to overuse it and run out of the facewash early. It lasted just 15-18 days with two uses per day. Also, if it came with a flip top cap, it would have been easy to open it in the shower otherwise the tube feels a little slippery in water.

Pros

feels cool on skin

removes blackheads completely

helps to avoid breakouts

Now, let me come to the good. It is a light blue tinged in color and foams really well. Well, it does have SLS :( Anyways, it feels so so cool on your face after applying as if you have poured a lot of menthol on the face. Damn awesome in summers specially. Might not be a really great feel in winters, though :D

Now, it has salicylic acid so yes the blackheads are all GONE! First product which actually works on blackheads and I do think it works on breakouts as well because I did have a few bumps thanks to my skin-picking habit which did not dwell for more than 24 hours. It definitely helps in prevention if not cure.

Cons

bad packaging!

might dry out the dry skin

might not be great in winters

What else do I like about the product? Ummm...I pretty much mentioned everything. Yeah, one more thing is this might not be a great product for winters. Otherwise, yes, I would suggest it to every oily, combi and acne-prone skin.

Price: Rs 79 for 50gms

Availability

This facewash is pretty much available in all supermarkets and general stores. I got it from myntra, though.

PS: Product was bought against a voucher in return for a product review for the website.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

The Oil Cocktail {DIY}

It has been so long since I have done any DIY!! Anyways, I mentioned in my hair diary that I have been using an hair oil cocktail. So, let me share the recipe with you. Now, it does have some not very easily available things. In fact, I have them on hand right now but even I have no idea how to procure them once they run out.

Ingredients

Mustard oil
Camphor oil
Clove oil
Oil of Wintergreen

Method

You simply mix all of them, right? Ok, so, let me explain all of them.

Mustard oil is the base oil in which all of these other oils go.
Now, all these oils are basically pretty strong oil so they should not be used in heavy quantities. They should be diluted with the carrier oil or the base oil just like the essential oils.
Put 20 tablespoons (20 ml) each of camphor and clove oils in mustard oil (100 ml).
Put only 5 tablespoons (5 ml) of wintergreen oil for 100ml.

And, the oil is done!!

Why?

Now, I have already talked about mustard, clove and camphor oils.

Oil of Wintergreen is basically a naturally occurring salicylic acid methyl ester from the family of aspirin. It is actually a medicinal herb which is widely used to relieve muscle joints and heal the skin diseases. And, it is highly toxic if used in high quantities!!

For our purposes which is how it is beneficial for hair and scalp, it acts like an astringent and helps contracting the hair follicles, there by, strengthening them. Also, since it belongs to the family of salicylic acid, it acts as mild exfoliant and keeps the infections at bay which is why it is used in cosmetics.

The oil stimulates blood circulation and is easily absorbed. It has a warming effect on the area where it is applied which is why it helps with pains. But, the oil should never be taken internally or used in huge amounts on skin or hair or anywhere else!! I think oil of wintergreen (which is also called gaultheria oil) might be available in ayurvedic stores. Will confirm and get back on that.

Btw, I do have EO's as well in my recipe but it just struck me now that I have no idea how wintergreen blends with other EO's so it is always best to use it in seclusion instead of blending with oils. Yes, clove, camphor and wintergreen can blend together coz all of them are stimulants and relieve pain.

So, what do you think of this DIY? Does it sound interesting for you to try out?

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