Exfoliating While on Accutane

Hey guys, I have been busy with midterms lately but I had a little bit of time to talk about exfoliating. One of the biggest DONTs when on Accutane is exfoliating your skin. Because Accutane tends to thin out the skin, exfoliating will not only thin it out even more but make you more prone to scarring if you use scrubs. Those beads and scrubs may just leave you with permanent scarring.

So what do you do? Your skin is flakey and dry and no moisturizers would ever work! Well, you need to exfoliate, but you can't. I have found several tricks that could exfoliate your skin gently! 

A very gentle exfoliate is Cure Natural Aqua Gel. Cure is made in Japan and has been the best selling exfoliator in Japan.  A bottle is sold every 20 seconds! Amazing right? What makes Cure so popular are the ingredients, 90% water! Who knew that water could exfoliate your skin? Unlike scrubs which do as they sound, Cure gently removes dead skin cells without drying or thinning your skin. And it's preservative free, coloring free, mineral oil free, and artificial fragence free!

You could purchase Cure Natural Aqua Gel through Amazon, Yesstyle, Immoko, and other asian beauty websites. But my personal favorite is getting free samples from the direct site themselves! I never want to push a product. Rather, I want you guys to try it for yourself and do it free!! Plus, you can read more on how cure works. The links are listed below:

Cure Natural Aqua Gel
http://www.amazon.com/Cure-Natural-Aqua-Gel-250ml/dp/B001ABLKK2
http://www.imomoko.com/cure-natural-aqua-peeling-gel.html
Request samples: 

• http://www.japalang.sg/cure/About_Cure.html
• http://gemboxtrading.com/cure/index.html
• http://www.beautycarousel.com/brands/cure/cure-natural-aqua-gel-sample-pack.html

How to Use Cure:
I like to use Cure on one of those days that I do not wear any makeup, just moisturizer and lip balm kind of day.

1. Clean your face and dry well. This is important because Cure does not work on wet skin, the added water would make the removal of dead skin cells hard to remove.
2. Pump a small amount of Cure and put onto desired area such as nose, cheeks, forehead, and so on. Work in small areas in order to remove the most dead skin and dirt from your face.
3. Gently massage in circular motions for 30 to 60 seconds. This is the fun part! You can actually feel and see the dead skin cells collecting on your fingertips as you massage your face.
4. Rinse with lukewarm water and remember to moisturizer after you exfoliate!

Another natural exfoliate could be sitting on your counter right now. Can you guess what it is? Oatmeal!!  Simply, place a handful of oatmeal in the palm of your hand. Add warm water in order to make the oats softer and to draw out the nutrients-loaded water! 

I like to do this when I am in the shower and this has become an essential part of my cleansing routine. Not only will oatmeal exfoliate your face, oatmeal is a great alternative cleanser that will really hydrate and moisturize your face without all the added chemicals! Perhaps one of the best cleansers for sensitive, over-worked, acne-prone, all types of skin!

Love,

Sweet&Bubblicious

Disclamier: This post is not sponsored. All products were purchased by me. All opinions are my own and completely honest. Thank you for reading!

WARNING! Toothpaste for Pimples!!

I want to take some time to discuss home remedies on treating acne.  When you google "ways of getting rid of acne overnight" or "home remedies for acne," there are over 30+ ways that people have tried and worked for them. Let's discuss the most popular ways and how and if they even work.

A common way of reducing inflammation and the size of pimples is ice. Ice could shrink the size of the pore and constrict blood flow to the area. Ice does not decrease the size of the pimple, but rather reduce redness, temporarily. Your skin actually tries to warm itself back up and that redness comes back as quickly as it can disappear because blood rushes to that spot once you stop applying ice on it.

Another way of reducing the size of the pimple is toothpaste. People have said how toothpaste has dramatic changed the size of the pimple. Yes, I believed it as well. It did reduce the size of the pimple drastically and I was super excited that I continuously used toothpaste on my spots. HOWEVER, TOOTHPASTE IS NOT MEANT FOR YOUR FACE! IT'S FOR YOUR TEETH! Yes, toothpaste has silica, a drying agent in it that could "dry" up the pimple but toothpaste can burn your skin. Below is an image of the aftermath of my toothpaste disaster. 

My chin was 10 times redder and more painful than the picture above when I washed off the toothpaste. My skin was so thin that oil and bacteria easily spread and pimples just kept appearing and appearing. It was uncontrollable. Before I was able to get approved for Accutane, I struggled so much to keep the pimples under control. I turned to expensive acne systems, but the only treatment that worked for me was facial. To pop all those pimples at one time was so agonizing. But I had to release the pressure of the pimples. I went to get a facial biweekly to remove the bacteria from my face and prevent pimples from forming.

This blog post is to warn people about toothpaste for treating pimples. If you use toothpaste, do not use gel and minty toothpaste. Try to find a natural toothpaste. Also, do not leave on for more than 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the toothpaste. In addition, localize the toothpaste. Put a small dab on right on top of the pimple. Do not spread the toothpaste. If you feel that there is an unusual burning sensation, immediately wash off the toothpaste and put on an ointment for burns. 

Love,

Sweet&Bubblicious

Newest Updates on my Accutane Progress + DO's and DONT's of Accutane

Sorry for the late posts, but I had finals and went on a small road trip to Cape Cod. I had a lot of lobster and lobster rolls. There goes the diet :( I have to admit that I have not been the greatest at keeping with my diet rules, drinking enough water, or even moisturizing my lips. 

On my way to Cape Cod, I have forgotten my birth control and Accutane medication with me. I was panicking and did not know what to do. Luckily, the doctor was still in the office. She assured me that missing two to three doses of Accutane was okay. However, I am not to make up for the doses of Accutane when I return back home. During my trip, my skin did not feel as dry nor did my lips feel as chapped. 

My face is clearing up, no new acne appeared. I was getting better, even the redness is slowly disappearing. However, I did the worst things I possibly could have done while I was on Accutane.

There is a list of "DONT'S" for those on Accutane:

1. Tanning
2. Waxing
3. Get a facial
4. Get a chemical peel
5. Get a microdermabrasion

These actions will lead to permanent scarring on the skin because the skin is undergoing such an abrasive medication. The skin is fairly thin and any of these acts will cause the skin to scar. Unlike popping a pimple, these scars can become permanent. I have tried to not pop pimples or extract blackheads with a needle, in order to avoiding any scarring. Please be very very careful!

I also have a list of DONTs that would help avoid any breakouts during Accutane. These suggestions are from my personal experiences of acne and while on Accutane.

Things To DOs/DONTs:

1. DO NOT Eat Beef
• Beef sold in the market today have all been genetically modified to be fat and beef itself contains a lot of hormones. When these hormones enter our body, there is an imbalance of the hormones in our body and the cow's hormones. This is often what causes acne along the chin and jaw line, which is associated with hormonal imbalance or often called hormonal acne.
2. DO NOT Eat trigger foods like pizza, chips, bbq, all that bad food
• You already know, they are bad bad foods. Deep fried foods trigger acne!!! I do not know why, but if I eat chips the very next day I will have three new pimples. Not a good sight!
3. Eat less white foods like rice, white bread, potatoes, pasta --> switch to only whole grain
• White foods are also a major cause of hormonal acne because white foods are packed of sugar and considered "bad carbs"
4. Avoid soy sauce and high sodium foods
• In my culture, soy sauce can darken scars and in turn make them last longer. High sodium foods also cause our hormone levels to go off balance and make you very thirsty. Your body needs the water to cleanse out toxics and keep your skin hydrated. When your skin is dry, your body secretes more oil and that oil could cause acne. That's why moisturizing is important and so is drinking water.
5. Avoid processed foods (anything that comes out of a factory, refined grains like white bread, etc)
• My new rule of thumb is anything with a commercial is bad for you. Think about it.  Commercials are to sell their product, but they are just packed of sugar and sodium. Try cooking your own foods and pack ahead of time. You will see a clearer complexion and feel more alive once you break out of the cycle of processed foods.
6. Avoid sugary foods (coffee, breakfast cereal, froyo, spaghetti sauce)
• Sugary foods can also increase hormones and hormones, in turn, trigger acne. At each sugar spike in the blood, our hormones are trying to balance the sugar levels. Each time our hormones are out of whack, we break out. Acne could be consider an indication of what goes on in our body

Excuse the long list, but hope this helps with the "Accutane acne" or for those more fortunate acne. 

My skin looks so much better. I will be sharing my new skincare routine since I have been on Accutane, which has helped a lot to combat dryness and breakouts. This picture was taken two hours after I showered and the redness is not as visible. Back then, the redness would last for hours and hours. It was just horrible to look at. Thank you Accutane!

Love, 

Sweet&Bubblicious