Face Good

Here are some simple masks made from food that can be used to extract blackheads!

Green Melon Mask

You will need:
1 Green Melon
1 Facial mask sheet

Instructions:
1. Put the green melon in the blender, add in some water and blend.
2. Filter the mixture, setting aside the liquid for use.
3. Pour the green melon water onto facial mask sheet and wait for it to soak up all the liquid.
4. Cover face with mask for 20 minutes.

Apart from removing black heads, its cooling effect reduces infections and swellings. If you have pimples, you’ll soon be rid of them!

Egg nose mask

You will need:
1 Facial Mask Sheet
Egg White from 1 egg

Instructions:
1. Cut out from the facial mask sheet, the portion that covers the nose. This will be used for the nose mask.
2. Apply egg white on the nose mask
3. Place nose mask on nose. Make sure it sticks on your skin and don’t leave space for bubbles.
4. Sit in front of a fan to dry the mask. Once the mask is dry, remove it. You should be delighted to find black spots (your blackheads) on the mask!

Acne is stubborn and a real headache for all sufferers. What’s more, there is no one guaranteed method that works on everyone and sometimes, they just keep coming back after disappearing for a couple of days. But don’t despair just yet. On the battle ground, one wrong move can cause you to lose a winning battle. You may have simply made one mistake that keeps the little buggers hanging around. Hopefully through this article, you’ll learn what you did wrong and correct it!

Mistake 1: Acne and pimples are different

Acne and pimples are the same. Or rather, pimples come from acne. Past research has proven that acne and pimples arise from the same source. Even if you have just a couple of pimples, that’s a mild acne problem that can escalate if nothing’s done about it. If you’re simply trying to get rid of those couple of pimples, they will come back again. Pimple cream is insufficient to make them go away. You need to have a healthy lifestyle by drinking more water, eating more vegetables, having sufficient sleep and exercise to curb your acne problem to prevent the pimples from coming back.

Mistake 2: Acne is common and nothing to worry about

Yes, lots of people have acne at some point of their lives, but that doesn’t mean it’s nothing to worry about. This is simply because more people are leading unhealthy lifestyles and neglecting hygiene practices. If you’re spotting pimples, stop and reflect on what unhealthy lifestyle or eating habits you may have picked up to aggravate your pimples, and curb them.

Mistake 3: Acne results from not washing face properly. Blackheads are proof of this.

There are many reasons for acne formation and poor hygiene is definitely one of them, but the most common reason is a an unhealthy physique – a result of eating oily foods, not exercising or drinking enough water to purge toxins, and sleeping late. That’s why it’s so important to change your lifestyle if you want to curb your acne problem.

On a side note, blackheads are not dirt. They are simply the result of your comedogenes being oxidized by air.

Mistake 4: Acne is a result of oil. Simply stop using oily products and I’ll be fine.

Acne is formed from oil and cutin, so simply switching out your rich moisturizers isn’t going to curb the acne completely, though it would help to some extent.

Mistake 5: Frequent masks and cutin removal facials will solve my acne problem

Our skin naturally has oil and cutin, so even if remove them on the surface, your skin will produce them and they will combine and form acne again. Ridding acne isn’t as simplistic as this. It requires an overhaul in your lifestyle.

Mistake 6: I can get rid of acne by squeezing them out

Some people believe that by having a beautician extract them professionally or doing it yourself with a pimple stick, the problem is solved. Truth is, while it does make you look clear for a few days and helps you salvage a date threatened by a nasty pimple, you will soon find pimples growing over the same spot again. Notice how ‘pimple removal stick’ is not called ‘acne removal stick’? The worst is, if pimple extraction is not done carefully, you may end up with facial scares.

Mistake 7: I give up! Nothing I do will make acne go away

If your acne is serious and improving your lifestyle doesn’t help much, consult a doctor qualified in dealing with dermatological problems. Some general practitioners have diplomas in dermatology and will be able to help with minor acne problems, or refer you to a dermatologist if it’s serious. In the worst case, pay a visit to the National Skin Care Centre.

However, bear in mind that doctors are not miracle makers. Again, not all medicines work on everyone, and most medication take at least a couple of months to create visible improvement. The important thing is to lead a healthy lifestyle, practise good hygiene habits, including not picking your face, and have a positive mindset!

I previously promised an article about the correct method of popping pimples but I must have forgotten about it lol. Sorry about that. Well here we go!

Even pimples in the appropriate stage for manual removal (when it has a little yellow ball of pus at the top) can get inflamed if you don’t remove them hygienically!

1. Make your pimples come out more easily!

Firstly, you have to open your pores so that comodogenes come out easily without you having to squeeze them really hard and damage your skin in the process.

You can do this by giving your face a home steam. Prepare a basin of boiling water. Then lower your head over the water, keeping your face at a safe distance such that your skin doesn’t get scalded by the steam. You should feel comfortably warm, but not so hot that its causing you pain. Then drape a towel over your head and basin to contain the steam. Steam your face for about 10 minutes and you’re good to go! However, do not perform this operation too often. Personally, I do it at most once a week, as over-steaming your face can cause dehydration of your skin.

Alternatively, if you’ve already done a home steam recently and shouldn’t be doing another one so soon, or if you haven’t the time for it, you can arrange to have your little pimple removal operation right after a hot bath or shower. The steam from your bath would have a similar, though weaker effect as that of a home steam.

If you’re trying to squeeze your pimples after washing your face, don’t apply your toner before doing so because your pores will shrink and that will make the pimple removal process more difficult.

2. Keep your hands clean!

Always sanitize your hands before squeezing your pimples! Even if you’re going to use a pimple and blackhead removal stick, you may accidentally touch your face in the process, or contaminate the stick.

3. Avoid direct contact with pimples

Get a pimple and blackhead removal stick instead of using your hands. Your nearest pharmacy or beauty counter should sell these. They’re cheap and easy to use, and are less likely to cause damage to your skin in comparison to squeezing. Before using them, don’t forget to sanitize them as well!

However, if you find those difficult to use, you can still use your hands, but wrap your fingers in clean tissue. Also, do not attempt to force out the pimple if it refuses to budge.

4. Post removal treatment

No matter how gentle or careful you are, there are bound to be open wounds where your pimples are popped, so you should disinfect to reduce any possibility of inflammation. Apply some disinfectant specific to the face over the wounds. Alternatively, you can dab a little salt water (with sanitized hands! And make sure you were hygienic when preparing the salt water) over the popped pimples. This will also help to reduce swelling and redness.

My dear readers, do excuse me for my lack of updates. I was in the land of the rising sun last week. Japan is truly a beauty haven! Every girl in sight was well-dressed, their trendy outfits complete with immaculate make-up and perfect hairdos with not a strand out of place. I’ve read that Japanese girls rarely go out without make-up. From my observations, this statement is definitely true. Even the cashiers at convenient stores have spotless skin!

Given the high consumer demand for cosmetic products, there’s such a huge assortment of domestic cosmetics and brands in Japan, many which I have not heard of, that I had no idea what to get! Besides, I don’t like the idea of using cosmetics whose instructions I can’t read!

However, I did purchase a tube of Blemish Balm Moist Cream by the brand Nanoce. Blemish Balm is a kind of comprehensive skin care and beauty cream that supposedly gives your skin coverage while protecting your skin with sunblock and moisturizing properties. I saw it in a shop called RanKing RanQueen inside Shibuya Station. It sells a variety of items ranging from food to beauty products, but its unique selling point is that it sells the top 10 most popular brands and items among Tokyoites for each product type. Nanoce BB Moist Cream was ranked first among the other ten brands of BB Creams sold in the store. Since my hands were itching from not having bought any Japanese cosmetic products, I decided to buy it, and I’m glad I did!

Shade-wise, I’d say it’s similar to shade 2 of your typical liquid foundation. If you have typically fair Asian skin, it should blend well enough with your skin tone. One issue I have with BB Creams is that it always comes in one skin tone, so it’s really difficult to find a brand with a shade that’s perfectly complimentary. So don’t forget to apply BB cream to your neck too, or you’ll end up with different skin tones for your neck and face, no matter how close the shade is to your skin!

The texture is watery and cool to the touch, so it feels comfortable and not at all suffocating on the pores. For people with oily skin, clogged pores and acne problems, this is certainly kinder on your skin in comparison to liquid foundation or thicker creams. You may however have to wait a few minutes before you apply your loose powder or finishing powder because it takes awhile to dry. If you have oily skin, applying loose powder over the BB cream helps to control shine.

The cream gives relatively good coverage for mild redness, freckles and faint scars but everything else shows up faintly. Covering moles and birth marks is certainly out of question. If you’re looking for complete cover-ups and flawless complexions, you’d still need a good powder foundation over your BB cream.

This BB Cream cost 1890 Yen, which is about 30 SGD. That’s a decent price for BB creams.
My only misgiving of this product is its strong medicinal scent. It can be remedied by a little perfume, but it a little worrying to not be able to identify the source of the smell. For anyone who’s interested to get this product, it seems that the only place you can get it from outside Japan is on www.makeupcelebrity.com

A friend of mine got these, but she didn’t find them effective, so she gave them to me to try out. I was supposed to leave it on my nose until it gets stiff and then remove it. The first day I tried it (left it on for 15 minutes), I was unimpressed by the results. I hardly saw any particles on it.
The next time I tried it again, I decided to leave it on a little longer (30 minutes) because I know some of these strips actually need more time than recommended to work. I peeled the strip off, and the results were completely different. I was satisfied to see so much gunk on it! This leads me to conclude that inappropriate usage i.e. leaving the strip on for too little time, affects its effectiveness.

The downside: the strip was stubbornly sticky (maybe because I left it on for so long) and when I tried to peel it off, I had to be very careful not to leave some of it behind or take some of my skin away with it. It was pretty painful to peel off.

This seems like a pretty effective product for cleansing comodegenes from your nose. If only better directions were given.

Ever wonder why your skin is getting no where as radiant as Gong Li's although you're a religious user of the facial products that she endorses? Advertisements often, and are legally allowed to exagerrate claims with the aid of lighting effects and editing. The best way to determine whether a product is good and suitable for you is by understanding its composition.

With the recession hot on our heels, we can't afford to waste money on products that don't work on us. Being able to differentiate good products from lousy ones that don't is a handy skill! Here are some simple tests you can perform on your products to see if they are as good as they claim to be.

Test 1: How absorbable is your facial essence?
Facial essences are expensive, aren’t they? So it’s important to find out how much of that liquid gold actually gets absorbed into our skin.

Directions: Stack five cotton pads together. Drip a little essence on top and wait for a few minutes. Then check the cotton pads. The more absorbable the essence is, the further it travels downwards. You’ve got an A-lister if the essence reaches the cotton pad at the base! If it doesn’t travel vertically but spreads on the top layer, stop wasting money on that piece of junk!

Test 2: Is your toner as mild as it claims to be?
Toners high in acid or alkaline content not only prick your skin, they also have less contraction effect on pores.

Directions: You will need pH test strips. You should be able to get them from pharmacies and chemists. Get the ones that test for a wider range of pH values instead of the old school acid/alkaline test strips that you used in your sec school chemistry lab. Drip some toner onto a test strip. Read the instructions that come with your kit. It should teach you how to read your results. If you have sensitive skin, it’s best to use a toner with a pH value between 5.5 to 7 as the average pH value of our skin falls between this range. For a toner with better pore contraction abilities, ph 4 – 5 is your choice.

Test 3: How absorbable is your cleanser?
If it hardly gets into your skin, it's hardly going to touch the dirt in your skin.

Directions: Fill a glass (preferably see-through) with water. Add a drop (about the size of a pea) of cleanser into the glass of water. If the drop of cleanser does not sink, gently stir it a little and it should disperse, causing the water to turn milky. This means that it is water-based and hence, easier to be worked into your skin. If the drop sinks and does not disperse, it is oil base and not easily absorbed.

Test 4: Are your products too oily?
Oily products may cause breakouts. If you have oily skin and are prone to breakouts, you should definitely avoid such products! Oily products are more difficult to be absorbed into the skin too.

Directions: Smear a little of the product in question onto the back of your hand and leave it on for 3 to 5 minutes. Gently press an oil absorber sheet over the area where the product has been smeared on. The amount of oil left behind on the sheet is an indicator.

Test 5: Do make-up removers take everything with them?
Some oil-based make-up removers are known to leave behind a layer of oil on your skin, which could cause pimples.

Directions: Add a few drops of make-up remover into a glass of clear water. Stir the water so that both water and make-up remover blend into an even mixture of white. If there is a transparent film left on the surface of the mixture, that’s the oil that’s left on your face. If that happens, either change your toner or wash your face thoroughly again after using it.

Test 6: Is the lipstick sufficiently moisturizing?
If you have dry, cracked lips, a lipstick with poor moisturizing properties may highlight the cracks in your lips instead!

Directions: Using a pencil, draw an outline of a pair of lips on a piece of oil absorber sheet. Colour the inside of the outline with the lipstick that you want to test. Leave it aside overnight. There should be traces of oil around the lipstick outline. The more obvious the traces, the more moisturizing the lipstick is.

These experiments are simple, aren’t they? Now you can evaluate your products to decide whether they should stay on your shopping list!