Skin care woes

The following is a non-food related post, but if you're a girl and facing skin problems, you can read on ahead!


! I feel like screaming this sentence, which means "I'm going crazy", again and again. As suggested by the title, I'm undergoing the worst nightmare of my life. Not bad skin. But bad skin products.

The past few days, I was given a set of new products for my blemishes. They were from the same company known as Advanced Skin Technology and they carry the brands Aspect, Aspect DR, Cosmedix, Results RX and Societe. They were supposed to be superior in all means because they are chirally correct and natural. The latter I believe, the former I think it's bullshit.

Not that the products did not work on me. They did. The ones that rescued my bad peeljob worked like miracle, better than my Exuviance products. But the ones that were supposed to address my acne? Hell, the amount of alcohol and bad ph levels in the product can drain my skin off its health! Plus, they were expensive. I could buy La Prairie products with that much of money!


Products that saved my skin but not address my acne

Nice antioxidant moisturizer with SPF but very expensive

So, I ended up calling my dermal physician to return the products because they killed my skin although they reduced some of the blemishes. I ended up with no anti-acne products now. I mean, I have Exuviance and Dr. Renaud p! roducts in my shelf but they did not work to address my congested skin. Thus, I started researching and researching.

Somewhere in between my research, I discovered Neostrata, the mother company of Exuviance. Seriously, why did I not think of NeoStrata? I ordered a PHA4 Facial Cleanser and a PHA12 Renewal Night Cream with 1 percent retinol acetate ( A weak form of the famous Retin-A but very effective in skin rejuvenation).

I just used the PHA4 cleanser and oh my holy cow! It's such a good cleanser. Why?

1. My skin does not dry up and feel tight after using it.

2. It still exfoliates thanks to PHA, a less irritating version of Glycolic Acid ( My skin hates Glycolic Acid by the way)

3. It delivers as it says!

4. It's inexpensive. I bought it off Chemist Warehouse for 18 AUD only. :) Cheaper than my sister's Exuviance Cleanser, which costs Rm 100 and my Results RX Gentle Cleanser which costs a WHOPPING 75 AUD (See, I told you it was expensive!)

The renewal night cream is left to be seen. It is slightly pricey, 40 AUD but you're suppose to use VERY LITTLE of it because of its potent 12 percent PHA and 1 percent Vitamin A. Apparently, it reduces fine lines, promote skin renewal and address acne as well! I can't wait to see the results. It will take some time because I'm intending to use it 3 days once first. I will blog about it soon.

This works!

Another product that I love: Hyaluronic Acid by Clear Skin Care. This is the place where I got my un-pro peel done. The products are good but service wise, it's horror. This bottle costs 40 AUD and I've been using it for four weeks. Yet, the bottle is still very full! And it hydrates my skin. I always use the back of my left hand to apply this on my face. I know it's working because my left hand receives less wounds and itching compared to my right hand after washing dishes.

I know a lot of people would be wondering why I am using this because hyaluronic acid is more for ageing skin. However, if you have done a peel or microdermabrasion, this acts as a good recovery solution.

There are two more products that I received through the mail today. One is by Rationale Skin Care, another expensive line. It's a sample kit so it's free. It is another one of those "We are Natural and Works" skin care and developed by someone who used to go to Melbourne Uni. I think the Melbourne Uni factor convinced me to order the free sample kit which contains the Essential Six. Apparently, it's a range used by only plastic surgeons and dermatologists in Australia. However, I'm putting that aside first because it's such a bad idea to bombard your skin with products in one go.

Another is Paula's Choice. Paula Begoun is quite popular in the cosmetic industry and she owns Cosmetic Cops and Beautypedia, two websites that contain information about current skin care products and reviews of them. I find the reviews biased towards her own skin care range although there are some who reacted badly towards her products. Although both websites contain a wealth of information, I feel that they are just another marketing spin to convince people to buy her products and not others.

Nonetheless, I! ordered sample of her Skin Balancing Moisture Gel, Skin Balancing Toner and BHA 2 percent gel.

If the BHA gel works, I'm planning to order the whole bottle and use that in conjunction to the Renewal Night Cream. :)

That's about it. Now I'm off to double check my neuropsych lab report, which I had already submitted but want to re-submit it again. :)