My skincare regimen.

 Top tips for caring for my oily combination skin. 

I have always had oily acne prone skin. At least since I became a teenager. Since I had my kids, my skin has changed such that it's not only oil and acne I have to battle, but now dry patches of skin as well. Sigh. 

So I've been doing a bit of research on how to improve my skin condition. One of my aims for this year was to go for a facial every 6 weeks or so. Alas with a busy work schedule and trying to spend every spare moment with the kids, I just don't have time to go for facials. So the last time I had a facial was in April or so. 

So here are the basic things I've learnt

1) Never sleep in make up. Unfortunately, I've had to break this rule more than once due to sheer exhaustion. However, it's immediate obvious whenever I have slept in make up. Pimples start to pop up all over. Keep a pack of facial wipes for when you are too exhausted. 

2) have had very good experience using an oil balm to first dissolve the make up before washing it off. I highly recommend Clinique "take the day off" balm. 

You can also make your own cleansing balm, there are many tutorials on YouTube. 

3) Do not use a soapy/foamy face wash even if you have oily skin. These dry the skin excessively and don't really help the acne problem. Instead, use creamy cleansers. Thoroughly massage your cleanser on slightly pre wetted face and then take of with a face towel that had been soaked in warm to hot water. You will find that your pores open more to get the impurities out. 

I have used creamy cleaners from the body shop, Dawn Lorraine (in the cover photo of this post), Mary Kay etc. I used all may left over foaming or soapy facial washes for my body. 

4) Use a toner after cleansing your skin. In fact, use two toners: a moisturizing and an exfoliating toner. You can also alternate with the moisturizing toner in the morning and exfoliating toner  at night or vice versa. The "lotion P50" from Biologique Recherché is one I can recommend. Clarins Duox exfoliant is also a good one, albeit slightly irritating for my skin. 

5) Use facial masks at least once or twice a week. In addition to clay masks, I recently discovered yeast masks. 

Masque Vivant from Biologique Recherché seems to be a cult favorite. I have tried it twice this week as recommended for acne prone skin: mixed with a bit of water and baking soda. I am surprised at how open my pores are. 

6) At least once a week, use a moisturizing mask, or start using night creams designed to infuse moisture into your skin, especially as you approach your forties. 

7) Cleanse your makeup tools regularly, especially your foundation brush, otherwise you are only incubating bacteria to recolonize your skin. 

8) Let your skin breathe every opportunity you get. For me, that means staying make up free when I'm at home. As I work half a week from home office, that helps a lot. 

9) Last but not least, sleep well and at least 7 hours daily. Sleep is the best facial. Still working on this last tip myself ;)

I hope these skin care tips were useful. Comment below and share your own tips.

Copyright: Tolu Lush

Epsom salts and hempseed oil

It's been a while since I last uploaded a post on this blog.
This summer has been very busy, challenging and quite interesting in terms of work and family. I have been going through a lot of physical and mental changes in the last few month. One of the most unexpected changes is the difference in and the intensity of my pre-menstrual symptoms.
I have been prone to getting a bad cold with a sore throat, body aches and pains as well as really bad cramps. It took me a few months to realize that all this was happening like clockwork the week before my period was due. Once I finally realized it, I tried a few remedies and I thought I would share them with you:

1) acupuncture: a session or two of acupuncture in the week leading up to Aunty Flo works like magic to clear any aches and pains.

2) hempseed oil:

I  watched a YouTube video on the benefits of hempseed oil and I decided to try it out. As much as I don't really like the taste of the oil, I have to admit that it did wonders for my system and I keep a bottle in my fridge. This month, I forgot to take it regularly, and I paid the price in aches and pains and a bad sore throat, again, before my period.

3) Epsom salt baths: I randomly bought a book titled the clean and Lean diet from TKMaxx a few months ago and I'm only just reading it. One of the secrets of a losing tummy fat, or excess water is apparently taking an Epsom salt bath lasting at least 20 minutes and up to 40 minutes. I did some further Google research and read that it helps alleviate pms symptoms as well and I was sold. I got a huge bag of Epsom salts this week and proceeded to add two cups to a bath tub filled with warm water and soaked in it for 25 minutes. Although my alarm was set for 40 minutes and although i drank 750ml of water in that time period, I could not bear to stay in longer. The bath certainly cleared my cold quickly. The jury is still out on it helping with losing weight, and I was certainly very bloated the day after,although I am not 100% sure that had to do with the bath. I will have to give that one another try again and report back.
It would be interesting to find out other tried and tested methods for alleviating pms symptoms.
Take care and have a great weekend ahead.
Photo Credit: Creative Tools via Compfight cc