riza sukses

Selasa, 10 September 2013

Product Review: Marks and Spencer Gentle and Soft Shower Gel

Gentle and soft, just like Duffy bear.

The skin of the body is not as delicate as that of the face, so I usually just ignore body skin care and focus more on my acne-prone face. My skin care for the body is simple, cleansing with a bar soap, scrubbing, and applying lotion. But I must admit guiltily that I only usually adhere to the cleansing step and neglect the rest of the regimen.

Then one day, I went shopping to Marks and Spencer. I was really into shopping that day, and decided to buy a shower gel to replace my ordinary bar soap. I wanted to have some kind of luxury for shower use but is at the same time affordable, and so I bought the Gentle and Soft Shower Gel.

Product Name: Gentle and Soft Shower Gel

Price and Availability: P295.00 / 250ml (Marks and Spencer)

Ingredients:

Aqua, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Parfum, Chamomilla Recutita (Chamomile) Flower Extract, Sorbitol, Propylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Phosphoric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Citric Acid, *Sodium Hydroxide, Magnesium Nitrate, Methylparaben, Magnesium Chloride, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone

*Note: According to cosdna.com database, sodium hydroxide scores 5 out of 5 scale for irritancy.

Review:

The first time I bought the Gentle and Soft Shower Gel, I was already looking forward to taking my next bath. The daily showers I had was so boring because I only use an ordinary bar soap. It's always interesting to buy a different soap/shower gel each time for variety.

I chose the Gentle and Soft Shower Gel because of its promise for being non-irritating. Although I don't think I have a super sensitive skin on the body, some soaps do make my skin very dry and reddish, so this is something worthy to try.

Here's what the product looks like close-up:

And the back of the package:

As you can see, the product is contained in a plastic tube. The gel inside has a clear color and a very runny consistency. Some contents poured out a bit outside the tube as soon as I opened the cap. So always be careful when using this product to avoid unnecessary spills!

The fragrance is soothing, yet faint. But what do I expect? It's supposed to be faint so as not to irritate the skin. The gel isn't as foaming as I'd expected though. It's actually the least foaming of all the shower gels I'd ever tried. I assumed it must be due to the non-irritating formulation. It takes some time getting to master the technique to make it a bit more foaming.

What I really liked about this shower gel is it's very moisturizing on the skin. After the bath, I didn't see any red marks which sometimes appear on my skin after using other soaps. The cleansing power is so-so, I didn't see any remaining dirt on my body (I was using a shower puff along with the product). So to my skin, the shower gel is indeed gently cleansing.

Pros:

- soothing fragrance

- gentle on the skin

- affordable

Cons:

- doesn't foam much

Verdict:

I might buy this again but not so soon. I would like to try other shower gels from other skincare lines from Marks and Spencer first. Overall, this is a nice shower gel that people with sensitive skin might love to try.

Rating:

4/5

Kamis, 22 Agustus 2013

What is Facial Exfoliation?

Facial exfoliation is an additional step in a skincare regimen, with the frequency depending on the exfoliant used and the person's skin type. The purpose of exfoliation is to remove dead skin cells that we shed over time. Built-ups of dead skin cells tend to clog the pores - leading to acne breakouts - and make the skin look dull. In addition, de-clogging the pores make absorption of other skincare products more effective.

There are several ways to exfoliate the skin, but can be summed up into two types: mechanical and chemical.

Mechanical exfoliation is a method wherein a form of abrasives is used to manually slough off the top layer of the skin, which can be done from once to thrice a week, depending on your skin type. Abrasives may be in the form of facial scrubs, rotating brushes, or abrasive cloth. The abrasives of facial scrubs differ in roughness and size, with those containing larger grains to be more likely irritating, thus should be used less frequently, and with those containing micrograins that have smoother texture, thus less irritating and more suitable for the sensitive skin type.

Chemical exfoliation uses no physical form of abrasives, and the process of exfoliation, as the label indicates, occurs on a chemical level. Since no form of rough abrasives is present, this method is more likely to be preferred by the sensitive skin type. Instead of grains, AHAs and BHAs are used. AHAs, such as lactic acid, not only chemically slough of the top layer of the face, it also moisturizes the skin at the same time. BHAs, also called salicylic acid, work better for the acne-prone and oily skin type due to its ability to cut through grease and fight acne. Most of AHAs and BHAs can be applied once or twice daily.

Of course, with any type of exfoliation, moisturizing the skin afterwards is a required step. Removing the top barrier of the skin makes it more delicate, thus, a form of protection is a must. The skin also becomes more sensitive to the sun, so applying a sunscreen is another essential step.

If after using an exfoliant, you find your skin to be irritated, lessen the frequency or discontinue use. To be on the safe side, always try a patch test on the inner side of your elbow to see for any allergic reactions before using the exfoliant on the entire face.

For my own skincare regimen, I use a facial scrub as my exfoliant. I am currently using Kiehl's Epidermal Re-Texturizing Micro-dermabrasion which contains very small abrasives that are comfortable on my skin. Since my portion of facial scrub is already running low (and the said scrub is very expensive), I am starting on a lookout for a new form of exfoliation.

Do you exfoliate your skin regularly? What type of exfoliant do you use?

Selasa, 20 Agustus 2013

Product Review: Kiehl's Epidermal Re-texturizing Micro-dermabrasion

Also available on Amazon.

And so, after months of using the Kiehl's Ultra Oil-Free Gel Cream Moisturizer, I was quite contented with it's performance and went again to the store to buy another jar. The saleslady was nice enough to recommend me some other products within the store. Since she found out I was using a bit of makeup, she introduced me to a facial scrub. I got some samples and was excited to try them out, including the scrub that she was so eagerly recommending.

The facial scrub is actually called a micro-dermabrasion - sounds fancy and expensive right? The product is indeed expensive, but Kiehl's fans seemed to be unbaffled by the high price of this product, as a real micro-dermabrasion session would cost even more. Plus, it's always a wonderful idea to be able to have a micro-dermabrasion session right at the comforts of home.

If you're new to the entire skincare regimen concept, here's an article on Skincare 101 that might enlighten you on the subject. To roughly summarize, cleansing, toning, and moisturizing are the common steps that the majority of the skincare enthusiasts strictly adhere to. Aside from these, exfoliating the skin is also part of the routine but not on a daily basis. Once or twice a week should be enough for the fairly sensitive skin. For the more sensitive skin types, exfoliating the skin is omitted from the regimen.

The purpose of exfoliation is to remove the dead skin cells that all humans normally shed by sloughing the top layer of skin. Most of the dead skin cells get stuck in our skin's surface, thereby clogging the pores - leading to acne, and giving the skin a dull appearance. Exfoliating the skin can be done in several ways, and micro-dermabrasion is one popular yet pricey method. It uses a high-speed rotating wheel or brush that gently removes dead skin cells and is usually done in a skin clinic. Crystals are used along with the equipment as abrasives and only a thin layer of skin is removed, leading to softer and brighter skin.

Although Kiehl's micro-dermabrasion is no rotating brush equipment, it is labeled as such perhaps due to the micro-dermabrasion crystals present in the product - which is similarly used in micro-dermabrasion treatments in clinics. Going back to the product at hand, here's a quick overview of Kiehl's micro-dermabrasion:

Product name: Kiehl's Epidermal Re-texturizing Micro-dermabrasion

Price: Php 3,045.00 / 75ml (Kiehl's Philippines)

Ingredients:

Aqua/Water, Alumina, Paraffinum Liquidum/Mineral Oil, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Butyrospermum Parkii/Shea Butter, PEG-100 Stearate, Stearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Solum Diatomeae/Diatomaceous Earth, Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Epilobium Angustifolium/Epilobium Angustifolium Extract, Disodium EDTA, Hydrolyzed Algin (according to cosdna.com, hydrolyzed algin is comedogenic)

Descriptions:

• An advanced treatment that has a highly effective abrading quality on skin’s surface.

• Affords an immediate skin-smoothing effect and with regular, tri-weekly use, helps to visibly minimize discolorations and small marks on face, hands, and décolleté.

• Over time, the look of facial lines is reduced and skin texture is significantly smoother and clearer, while the appearance of pore size is diminished.

• As skin is re-texturized, it helps to facilitate the absorption of topical skin treatments to maximize their efficacy.

• Formulated with “diatomatious earth”– crushed microshells derived from ocean sand – as well as a powerful ingredient used by dermatologists to perform micro-dermabrasion procedures.

• Helps to soothe skin with an herbal blend and nurturing sea algaenates.

- Source: Kiehl's official website

Review:

I've only used this product a few times but the small sample I've got is a reasonable amount for me to see the product's impressive performance. The saleslady from Kiehl's instructed me to use this scrub two to three times a week, but my rule of thumb is, any type of mechanical exfoliation I will only use once a week. And with a relatively lower frequency in a week means that it would take the product a long time to be used up.

I've tried a number of exfoliating products before, and this by far is my most favorite. The abrasives of the scrub are very tiny and comfortable on skin. Of course, it doesn't mean that I could freely scrub this rigorously on the face. As with any type of scrubs, I use this gently and slowly. So those with heavy hands, be extra careful!

I use this in place of the facial wash once a week, although the saleslady said that I can use this together with my facial wash for a more thorough cleansing. I think a one-step cleansing step is already enough for me. After using it, I notice my face becoming brighter and softer. It is working well with my oily and acne-prone skin.

The abrasives of product is non-irritating to my skin, although I"ve read a few reviews from Makeupalley users stating that it did irritate their sensitive skin. But so far, majority of the votes still favors the product, and I agree with them. If you have super-sensitive skin type though, perhaps using any type of exfoliant should be avoided, or try a small patch test first before trying this out on the entire face.

Pros:

- non-irritating to most people

- contains moisturizing ingredients such as glycerin and shea butter

Cons:

- very expensive

Verdict:
I am so loving the results the Kiehl's Epidermal Re-texturizing Micro-dermabrasion had on my skin, and so does my sister! The sample we've got is almost used up, but since it was so expensive, we decided to put off our purchasing plans in the meantime.

Update (December 5, 2015): I am having a bad skin problem for the past few months and so I finally decided to buy this product. We'll see if this would help solve my skin issues.

Rating: 4.5/5

Last Updated: December 16, 2015

Kamis, 25 Juli 2013

Proper Care for Your Skin Care Products

One way to get beautiful skin is to apply good skin care products. Skin care products protect your skin from stress, pollutants, UV radiation (for those that contains SPF), dryness, and free radicals. But skin care doesn't just stop there. Your beauty products degrade over time, and if not taken of properly, may even do more harm than good to your skin. So taking proper care of your beauty tools is a must.

But how do you take care of your beauty products? First, you need to know what degrades them. Heat, direct sunlight, air, moist, dirt, and germs all contribute to lessening your products' potency. By avoiding these variables, your products will tend to stay fresh and effective throughout their shelf life.

Location

The question of where to place your skin care products shouldn't be taken lightly. I like placing my products on a vanity table that is unfortunately located near the window. I kept wondering then why my bleaching gel that my dermatologist prescribed turned brown quickly. Other products that used to work wonders on my skin had somehow become ineffective on me. It took me a while to realize that the heat coming from the window was degrading my products. Instead of doing major furniture rearrangements in my room, I put the products in a basket instead for easy transport and placed it somewhere safe, far away from the light. The basket allows me to easily grab all my skin care products back to my vanity table whenever I needed to do my regimen.

Here are some examples of beauty baskets that you may use to keep your products in a safer place:

Instead of the vanity table, some women prefer placing their beauty kits on the bathroom counter. That isn't advisable. Bathroom is one of the most humid parts of the house, and you will only attract more bacteria or molds onto your beauty products. With the exception of your facial cleanser and other facial scrubs, place the rest of your beauty products away from your bathroom.

Container

Different skin care products have different types of containers. Pumps and tubes are the more hygienic containers as the mechanism of the containers allows you to use the product without having to touch the inside. Jars tend to be the most unhygienic of all due to the required dipping of the fingers during every use. Not only do jars allow more exposure to dirt and germs, the wide open surface area of the brim promotes oxidation, which degrades the product eventually.

There are two ways to address the jar issue: One, you can simply transport your product to another container you prefer, maybe a jar too but a smaller one (at least less amount of product will be exposed in a small container, and before they degrade to spoilage, the contents will all be used up), or a squeezable plastic bottle/tube. Two, get a clean spatula and dip it instead of your fingers. Spatulas are far more hygienic than your fingers as your fingers may contain bacteria (even after washing) and natural oils that you don't want to be mixed in with the product.

Transfer your product's contents into a squeezable bottle such as this:

Or into a smaller jar:

Using a spatula such as the one below for better hygiene.

Remember, you cannot always expect your skincare products to work if you don't store and handle them properly. Follow your regimen diligently and do not neglect to care for your products. Once you've done these two, you can surely be on your way to better skin.

Last Updated: August 10, 2015