Jul

10

Jojoba Oil

Posted by : Shelly | On : July 10, 2011

Category: Acne, Moisturizers, Skincare

Tags:, , ,

Bloggers have long been posting non-stop about the benefits of jojoba oil. What is it and how does it help people with acne issues? And what are my experiences with it? Firstly, let’s begin with a basic rundown:

Despite it’s name, jojoba oil is actually not an oil but what is known as a wax ester that is a botanical extract derived from the jojoba tree. The best thing about jojoba oil is that it is the most similar to sebum, human skin oil. Due to this fact, it is suggested that we either use jojoba oil as a daily moisturizer or add a few drops of it into our regular daily moisturizer to keep our skin supple and hydrated.

Why is it a good moisturizer? You may have heard that dry skin can also exacerbate oil production in our skin. If you think about it, it makes sense – our skin creates even more oil when it is dry in order to compensate for the dryness. Thus, by moisturizing with jojoba oil, we can trick the skin into believing that we have enough oil and balance oil production.

Since jojoba oil is not water based, it will not evaporate during the day and will keep our skin moisturized for the entire day. Some of you may be concerned that jojoba oil can clog your pores but it is non-comedogenic and absorbs well. For those of you using it on your skin, it is best if you choose a brand that is organic and free of GMOs and pesticides.

The highest rated jojoba oil on the market so far seems to be the Desert Essence Organic Jojoba Oil. I personally purchased Acne.org’s Organic Jojoba Oil.

Acne.org's Organic Jojoba Oil

Review: Despite my terrible experience using solely jojoba oil in the OCM method, I do still love jojoba oil as a moisturizer. I sometimes will add 1-2 drops into my Olay Complete All Day Moisture Lotion, SPF 15 and I especially feel that my skin is less flaky even while using Tazorac 0.1% and 10% benzoyl peroxide. In terms of the oiliness of my skin, I do feel that I blot less whenever I do add jojoba oil into my moisturizer.

I also use a few drops as a hair treatment over other day and my hair feels absolutely great! It feels silkier and I have not see frizz or split ends since I started to use the product. A warning though, I would not use that much jojoba oil in my hair during the summer since it’ll just look extremely greasy and disgusting. Also, do not go overboard on the jojoba oil, limit it to less than 10 drops because it tends to make your skin shiny and oily.

Jojoba oil is a great investment since you can use it for just about anything. Other than using it as a moisturizer or hair conditioner, you can use it as a make-up remover, lip balm, massage oil or to prep your skin for shaving.

Rating: 5/5

Jul

02

The Cleanse

Posted by : Shelly | On : July 2, 2011

Category: Acne, Diet

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In my previous post (see here) I mentioned that I am attempting to correct my diet and cleanse my system. Now, I’m not exactly going on some crazy detox diet or becoming vegetarian/vegan or anything but I am adding a few supplements and make some tweaks here and there.

I’ve been on antibiotics several times in my life for acne (Doxycycline, Minocycline) and only recently took myself off of of them. In addition, I was born 2 months premature and am very prone to lung infections. I generally have a crazy cough that lasts a month every other month – just about coughing my lungs out all year round. Thus, I’m almost always on some sort of broad spectrum antibiotics. I’m pretty sure I have no healthy microflora left in my intestine/gut.

I’ve been adding the following to help improve my digestion system:

Probiotics – Currently taking these to help promote the re-colonization of healthy microflora in my digestive system that had been killed off by the antibiotics. Probiotics are the good bacteria that are normally found in our digestive systems. Probiotics aid with digestion and help our bodies with nutrient absorption. These bacteria also produce vitamins such as (B vitamins, vitamin K, etc) as byproducts in our gut. Also, if our gut is populated by good bacteria, it can help inhibit the colonization of the bad bacteria by means of competition. So far, I’m about a month into taking the following probiotics:

accuflora acidophilus – contains a probiotic blend of Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, L. Salivarius and S. thermophilus. The only suspicion I have with this product us that it does not need to be stored in a refrigerator – usually, I know that probiotics must be stored in cool temperatures in order for the bacteria to remain alive. Opinions online are mixed – it could be possible that these tablets have been formulated to withstand and survive in room temperatures. If you know more about this, please feel free to inform me!

Yakult – A Japanese probiotic milk-like product that contains the bacteria Lactobacillus casei. Beware that the drink is very sweet and contains 18 g of sugar for such a small drink. I might only drink this every other day, or whenever I feel like it.

Activia w/ Fiber – I’m assuming a lot of us know what this is, especially if you live in the US. This is a yogurt brand that contains the bacteria Bifidus regularis as well as 3g of fiber per serving. I like to purchase the one that comes with fiber, and also generally eat it with granola to increase the amount of fiber I consume per day.

(I have not started taking the product below. However, I will start it once my accuflora acidophilus supplement runs out)
American Health Enzyme Probiotic Complex – Contains a blend of 9 types of digestive enzymes to help break down fats, carbohydrates and proteins, a blend of acidophilus, L. bifidus, L. bulgaricus, L. brevis, Bifidobacterium lactis, and has 10 mg of pysllium fiber per serving.

Fiber – It is recommended that we consume 25-30 grams of dietary fiber per day. Generally, when you are on probiotics, you also want to make sure you are taking enough fiber. I know for a fact that I generally do not have enough fiber in my diet, since a lot of what I eat is generally white rice. Fiber helps to flush waste out of your body.

What you want is soluble fiber because it can go unchanged/undigested through your system. As it goes through your body, dissolves in water and absorbs toxins, wastes and bad bacteria. It doesn’t scratch or irritate your gut walls like insoluble fibers such as wheat bran. It will bulk up your stool and make it easier for the walls of your intestines to grab on and move it along through your body. In addition to the Activia yogurt with fiber, I’m also taking the following supplements:

Vitafusion Fiber Gummies: Has 5 grams of fiber per serving.

Apple Pectin supplement: I also take a powdered tea drink that contains apple pectin, a type of dietary fiber. I know there are apple pectin capsules out there too but I enjoy my tea drink more.

Metamucil: Psyllium Fiber supplement, has 3 grams of fiber per serving.

Granola: I mix granola with my yogurt every time. One serving of granola can provide up to 3g of fiber per serving.

I am also replacing a lot of my bread and cereals with ones that are higher in fiber content.

Since starting probiotics and increasing my fiber, I have noticed less “new” acne lesions showing. Hopefully keeping this up will also strengthen my immune system. I will show an update of my condition in a few weeks!

Jul

02

Holistic Care

Posted by : Shelly | On : July 2, 2011

Category: Acne, Diet

Tags:, , , , , ,

I always had interest in and high expectations for alternative health – maybe its the inner hippie in me? I also follow a lot of guru’s and health blogs related to acne, such as High on Health, that has influenced me to start trying to heal my acne holistically. I wanted to start incorporating holistic methods of treatment into my daily regimen, not only to try and treat my acne but also to strengthen my overall health. I have used almost everything short of Accutane (both OTC and Rx medications) and have always experienced a relapse. I hope that holistic methods will help me be acne-free (as “free” as my skin will allow) for a long, long time.

While many people initially argue that diet has nothing to do with acne, I strongly believed that it was one of the major players in my summer flare up. In a way, acne is a sign or symptom of imbalance in the body – whether it be a hormonal, chemical or what-have-you. When our bodies become imbalanced, it gets stressed – and what does stress lead to? Acne.

My skin started to break out like crazy the moment I returned home after graduating from college last month in June 2011. I believe that my break out is caused by a number of things – especially the sudden change of environment and sporadic diet. The weather back at home (very dry, heat in the upper 90s and lower 100s each day, with stagnant air pollution) is very different than that of the Bay Area (relatively cool, steady temperatures in the 60s and 70s all year long, precipitation and regular winds). I also felt my body struggling to digest the foods that I was eating – summer vacation inevitably means the amount of junk food in my diet increases.

I believe that a combination of an irregular diet high in unhealthy processed foods and exposure to pollutants in the environment has led to toxic buildup in my body. Toxins create an imbalance in the body, which can manifest itself in the form of acne. Your major organs such as your skin, liver, stomach and intestines can become stressed trying to correct that imbalance.

In the next article, I will go over some of the things that I am doing and taking in order to get my body back into balance!

Jun

29

Initial Update

Posted by : Shelly | On : June 29, 2011

Category: Acne, Information

Tags:, , , , , , , , ,

For those of you who also suffer from acne (especially to those with severe acne), you’ll know how hard it is to show an image of your face to others. For some reason, seeing a picture hurts so much more than looking in the mirror. It’s like your mind automatically adjusts your vision so that what you see isn’t “as bad” as it really looks. But a camera is merciless. I figured, I needed to do this so that I wouldn’t have to live in fear of my acne.

I would have to say that my acne that you see below is actually not the worse that it has been. At the moment however, I have a feeling that if I let it progress without changing my lifestyle and treatments around…that it would soon return to the extremely severe acne I had a couple years ago.


Right side of face.
Left side of face.
Front of face.

As you can see, my acne is concentrated on the lower portion of my face. I have whiteheads and a few pustules and papules located on my right and left cheek. I mainly have nodules, pustules and papules located on my upper lip, chin and around my jawline. I actually have not had a break out on my forehead regions in several years – not since about sophomore or junior year of high school. Doing some basic research on face mapping and how it can explain acne, I believe that my acne is mainly due to a hormonal imbalance.

In the recent months, I have made a few new “discoveries” and developed a few new “theories” as to how I could go about healing my acne. I will be going into these separate methods of treatment in the next upcoming posts but as a quick rundown, these are some of the things I’ll touch on:

1) Holistic methods of treating my acne.
2) Review of current products I am using. For a quick list, check out my regimen.

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