Skincare Routine Mistakes Every Young Girl Should Know

Our skin condition right now is either something we have painstakingly archieved or something we were born with. Skin breakouts started to occur when a girl hits puberty,in most cases I know. My little sister,for example, she started to have oily skin and blackheads around her nose,then a little bumps. At that time she has to start maintaining her skin more specifically to balance out the breakouts from the working hormones. After that breakout,the skin condition won't go back to its condition when we were younger. Some girls,though,still has that baby smooth skin with nice texture and moist skin even after the puberty. All we have to do is to keep the balance,learn that basic Phenotype value = Genetics+Environment rule works on everything.

For all the young girls out there,there are skincare routine mistakes I did when I was younger. I didn't know what to do with my skin since my first breakouts. I am upset with the oils,the bumps,pimples,acnes,blackheads and other skin impurities. I am now slightly disappointed and regreting it all. Take a note and save yourself

1. Starting off WAY too early

I remember someone gave me a facial toner when I was 6 (or younger,maybe). I liked it,it was pink,cute,removes dirts from my face,and it smells good. I was using skin lotion for baby before,it did great job to keep my skin moisture,but since I got that toner I put the lotion away,because I got tired of it.

Oh no. What. Have. I. Done

My face started to get oily. Earlier than it should be. Other factors may be the makeup I put on. When I was a little,I used to participate to theatrical events. Dancing,group singing,and all. I need to put some makeup for the stage. My mom did her best to keep it minimum though.

My mom found that my skin started to show impurities. She stopped me from using that toner and put me back,sticking into my previous skincare routine. Using baby lotion and baby face powder,the one with no pigments on it.

What happened? When we were little,our skin was pure and delicate. But then we put on chemicals to our skin,made our skin works harder and then produces oils to protect itself. Before my skin protesting any further,my mom stopped me. However,my skin stays oily. That's when all the problems started.

2. Raging to blot the oil

Us with oily skin will know the greasy feeling. It was gross to me,one of my friend's mom saw my skin and was "Oh dear,why your face is so oily? Have you tried this? Take some,it will remove the oil and keep you looking fresh",hands me out a blotting paper when I was 8. I would make 2 sheets of blotting paper clears out until completely transparent. You know how oily my skin was. Again,my mom knows that blotting papers would do more harm than help,and my skincare products didn't work on my anymore,so she told me not to use blotting paper and bought me some facial foams and moisturizer for oily skin,plus some astringent (nah). Some formulas might me too harsh and makes our skin very dry that makes the skin produce more oil. It was a no-no

If you have oily skin,search some skincare to hydrate your skin,water based skincare. Not to make your skin extremely dry and matte,you'll need the dewy-ness,you need the oil. As you age,the oil will be decreasing and leave your skin dry. Dry skin is painful,sometimes stings,cracked. Oily skin feels greasy and uncomfortable. Its about balancing your skin. Not to oppose one but to balance out. Hydrate yourself.

On a sunny,hot days,we are all sweating. Those with oily skin would feel greasy and thought that I would be nice if they could wash their face so the greasiness disappear,right? No. Do not over cleanse your skin. Do not over exfoliate. Do not strip facial oil completely. That would make your skin dry and then even more oily.

3. Putting on acne treating gel to the uninfected areas

As pimples or even acne started to occur,I was so freaked out. I was 9 when I hit my first period. Every girls in my age still has smooth,acne-free skin. There I was,with a face full of cyst-like acne. My early breakouts were the WORST. Then I found salicylic acid based acne treating gel and I would put it on my entire face. Ikr,I was 9! Thinking that would prevent more acne and "kill" those acne below the epiderm so they won't pop to the surface. I was wrong

that's not how acne treating gel works

Put it only on the infected acne. On the bumps. It would help to boost the skin regeneration so new skin cells replaces the old one,the dead skin cells dried up and peel off,bring up the dried yellow part (infected area)

 

So it gradually flatten the bump. If you put in on your entire face,even on the smooth area,it does the same effect as over exfoliating

More..

Many more mistakes I've done. Anti-aging,collagen booster might sound interesting,but you are not going to need it until you are reaching mid twenties. Or else your natural collagen metabolism would messed up and leads to early aging. I tried some and stopped. It makes the healing phase slower. Post-acne scars couldn't be fully recovered.

all the mistakes = combination skin (super oily then super dry) + putting on too much acne treatment gel + uncomplete post-acne recovering = uneven skin texture and hyperpigmentation

Hormonal acne would be tamed after your period settled down,early phase might be madness. But,skin breakouts also occur because of internal decease. FYI,there is a map that acne on some certain areas are caused by the following

 

But acne and pimples on early puberty phase tend to occur on everywhere. Depends on your hormones. Don't be panic,if you don't have any mentioned problem, those acnes and pimples will disappear after your hormonal state stable. If you do,try to see dermatologist only after you reached 17 and see the doctors of your concern. Above it all,balanced skincare and healthy diets work wonder together

Love your skin more

[First Impression] Nectarine,Blue Cheese,Plum, and Red Cherry

Hello,everyone! How's the summer going? Even if it's still cold outside (anyone is still facing snow right now?),keep your heart summery :D

Marhaban Ya Ramadan to every muslims! Let's hope that this Ramadan we can go through the obstacles and be a better person afterwards :)
I'm writing about foods here,sorry,not to make you hungry nor salivating,but to give some ideas. You can have them for iftaar :)

So,I did some grocery shopping and bought some unusual items for iftaar. Well.not really unusual,but these items I mentioned in this post can't be found easily around here. Some people might not familiar with the following items

1. Nectarine (Prunus persica)

"Peach and nectarines are the same species, even though they are regarded commercially as different fruits. In contrast to peaches, whose fruits present the characteristic fuzz on the skin, nectarines are characterized by the absence of fruit-skin trichomes (fuzz-less fruit); genetic studies suggest nectarines are produced due to a recessive allele, whereas peaches are produced from a dominant allele for fuzzy skin"- Wikipedia

Me personally didn't know this one until recently. Basically,it's a peach. But it slightly sweeter and the flesh is more tender and juicy. Do notice that peaches and nectarines are pretty much the same but nectarine tends to be more pricey. Kids will like this though.

2. Blue Cheese

"Blue cheese is a general classification of cheeses that have had cultures of the mold Penicillium added so that the final product is spotted or veined throughout with blue, blue-grey, blue-green, or blue-brown mold and carries a distinct smell, either from that or various specially cultivated bacteria. Some blue cheeses are injected with spores before the curds form and others have spores mixed in with the curds after they form. Blue cheeses are typically aged in a temperature-controlled environment such as a cave. Blue cheese can be eaten by itself or can be spread, crumbled or melted into or over foods."- Wikipedia

Friendly remember that Blue Cheese has a strong smell. Some people find it bad,but,different culture carries different tolerance. I've tried durians,pete (Parkia speciosa), and jengkol (Archidendron pauciflorum) and they smell okay for me. But Blue Cheeese? Sorry,this cheese made my olfactory senses did some back flips. In the markets,they sell different kind of blue cheese, with different strength. Search for the the mild one. My lil bro unknowingly grabbed the strongest one. So the first blue cheese I've ever tried,is very,very smelly. Which is very unfortunate,it smells bad despite the great taste. In my opinion.

"The smell of this food is due both to the mold and to types of bacteria encouraged to grow on the cheese: for example, the bacterium Brevibacterium linens is responsible for the smell of many blue cheeses, as well as foot odor and other human body odors"-Wikipedia. Surprise! Sorry not sorry,lol,it's good,but try on your own risk. Do not eat this before going to the religious place,or even going out to public. I can't imagine eating blue cheese and then wrecking everyone's focus because of my bad breath.

imagine this happens in congregational praying in mosque
The Imam: (reading Al-Fatihah) 
me : "Aamiin" *spreading out the blue cheese smell*
not funny. The smell won't go away even after brushing the teeth. Trust me. So in this Ramadan,do not eat blue cheese before tarawih. You have been warned.

However,it's a good source of protein and calcium,like the other processed milk products. The smelly mold is an anti-inflammatory properties and is good for your heart. Also contains anti-ageing properties so you can age well. For girls,there is a secret bonus from eating blue cheese! Find it out yourself :)

3. Plum

 I 've heard the rave about this beauty. See the colour until the benefits. I've tried prunes but I glad I was finally get to eat the fresh version lol
I accidentally cut the peel when I was trying to remove the plastic wraps so I sliced it for the photograph,you can see the texture here. It is sweet and sour,the sourness is mild so don't worry. Sweet and soft enough for your baby. Plus,who can resist a fruit with anti-oxidant agent?

4. Red Cherry

It's different from the regular cherry we found on cakes. You know,the black forrest cherry thingy, that often tastes artificial (or is it?). This one tastes like juwet (Syzygium Cumini) but minus the astringent feel. I washed the blue cheese down with plum and red cherry and it helps to eliminate the bad smell. Saved my day

The blue cheese was really no joke anyway,I'm searching ways to clear it up but not to throw it away just because of the bad smell. Any ideas? Or I just scoop it out little by little,I need the benefits anyway ahahah. Happy Holiday!