Valen’s Vanity Square

Why is the acne cream not working on me? That CL******* something ultra rapid action, that claims to be able to shrink blemishes and reduce redness in just4 hours? I used it for 4 days, and that big pimple on my chin didn’t get any better.

Jeez, how to get rid of acne fast like this? At the end, I was ‘forced’ to burst it myself. Now, I have to wait for the wound to heal.

Luckily me cousin sister’s wedding is over. The pimple started to emerge on that day itself, but got worse two days later. And the cream didn’t help at all!

I think I must have forgotten the lessons I learned in my younger days. OTC acne creams never work on me. I think those anti-blemish stickers are more effective, but had ran out of it.

Lucky for me, the acne cream is cheap. I can just discard it tonight.

Since I complained about the giant zit on my chin last week, IT IS STILL HANGING AROUND today and won’t go away!

Went for my facial treatment last week, but my beautician can’t do anything about it, as it was red and big and as my beautician said ‘It’s not time to ‘poke’ it yet.”

Tried using Nexcare acne patch (a round sticker to stick onto the acne and it will absorb sebum out of the congested spot) for a couple of nights. The pimple seemed to shrink slightly. But after stopping using it, the zit resumed to its normal size.

Last night I managed to squeeze out some pus and blood from it. Today it got flatter, but it still appears as an obvious dark red round bump on the chin. I don’t have an acne facial cleanser to cleanse my face, but I just bought an anti-acne gel. I have neither used or heard of it before, but I just want to give it a try. It’s one of those acne gel in a pen thing, looks cute. Hehe…

I really don’t get it. I’m almost 4 decades old and I still get pimples! I  must be so hormonally active, haha!

May be I wasn’t sleeping well in the past few nights, plus I haven’t been to for facial treatment for almost 2 months, blemishes started to develop on cheeks and chin. From what I observed of my skin condition, I think I will have this occasional acne ‘eruption’ up till I’m 50 years old. Haha!

Acne is indeed a skin problem regardless of ones age. The root cause is the active sebaceous glands, that can be due mainly to changes in male hormones in the body. While this hormonal changes usually occur during puberty age, certain changes - in the body or environment - can cause a change in the hormone levels in adults, too.

For example, acne that flares up during menstruation or pregnancy, or recurrence of acne that cleared up after adolescence. Other times, dusty environment, stress, insufficient rest or touching the face with dirty hands can all trigger hormonal fluctuation as well.

Sometimes, acne that occurs in adulthood may be more difficult to treat than teenager acne. No wonder adult acne treatment is so in demand nowadays.

While my acne usually resolve on its own most of the time, I think I should have a bottle of tea tree oil standing by. You see, I’m a working woman now, I meet people, so I need a clean face to show people all the time.

I may be bugged by pimples once in a while, but in general my skin condition is considered steady and free from serious skin problems compared to many out there.

One of my colleagues has been troubled by acne since her school days, and she is still in the search for the best acne treatment or anything that can at least maintain her current skin condition and not worsen it. Even if this means that she has to spend almost 1k for three bottles of daily skin care items. But at least she doesn’t need to go for expensive facial treatments, like me.

Sometimes you can’t blame people for wanting to keep on trying different acne treatments, because they have been disappointed by the so-called skin specialists or dermatologists at the first place. Hormone pills, skin peels, injections, etc, nothing worked for good. And so much money had been spent on those treatments. Even if she had been avoiding eating oily and spicy foods for years, that didn’t change a thing.

Of course, her current acne problem is no longer as serious as she used to suffer during her teenage and college years. She is now using some ‘brand-less’ new products that seem to be able to keep her skin condition under control. Well, if her skin improves few months down the road then may be I can inquire if there the brand-less products have something for aging skin, hehehe.

For those who have been suffering from acne, you might be wondering if there is any effective natural acne treatment to help solve your problem, so that you would no longer have to rely on OTC or prescribed acne medications. You then might also wonder what the best natural acne treatment is.

Well, the best and most natural treatment for acne is none other than…. live a healthy life! Eat a healthy diet, be physically active, and learn how to manage the stresses of life.

Proper diet as a natural acne solution

Increase fruits and vegetables in the diet, preferable at least 2 pieces of fruit and 1 cup of vegetables daily.

Eliminate sugar and sugary foods because sugar makes the skin sebaceous glands more active and secretes more oil. These glands are easily infected by acne-causing bacteria.

Avoid junk foods, fried and oily foods, and dairy products, as they tend to aggravate acne.

Take vitamins and supplements. Vitamins that will help improve acne skin are such as vitamins A, C and E. You can also take garlic and evening primrose oil capsules.

Other natural remedies for acne

You may also try herbal acne remedy  and homeotherapy to help cure acne problems. To use homeotherapy, it’s advisable to have a trained homeopathic health care provider to prescribe your acne medication.

Last but not least, practice good skin care. Cleanse your skin well every day to remove dirt and oil as well as acne-causing bacteria. Exfoliate your skin once or twice weekly to remove dead skin cells and prevent clogged pores.

People are all the same over the world. When it comes to festive seasons and special occasions, we all will want to look our best. At these times, for those who have acne problems will be crazily looking out for the best acne medications to clear up their zits and blemishes in a couple of days.

But there are so many types of acne medication available, which one should you choose? Well, first of all, you need to recognize the type of your acne, because different forms of acne requires different types of acne treatment. There are different ways to handle the different kinds of acne, you will get good results if you get the right help.

Acne generally has three stages as it develops - a beginning, middle and end. The best time to use acne medication is at the beginning stages. In the early stages of acne, the pores will enlarge and create thick oils. The pores will be filled up with black and white matter, resulting in blackheads. This is what that will cause acne and needs to be treated immediately. Also, it is important to exfoliate and remove the dead skin at this stage.

Generally, acne medication creams and gels sold over the counter in drugstores can be used to treat all types of acne. Of course, some may find that these treatments work very well and in a short period of time.

If you have a serious case of acne problem, then you might find the OTC acne medications not working well on your skin. You might then have to take it to your dermatologist. Usually, your dermatologist will prescribe some form of ointment or sometimes oral medication to get your acne under control, or even recommend other forms of therapy to help relieve your acne problem. In this case, it will take some time to clear up your acne. So it’s best that you get help way before the day that you want to appear looking clean and radiant.

Even if you are 30 years old, you may still have acne problem all the time, and naturally you’ll be constantly looking for the best acne treatment. Which woman wants to carry the ‘burden’ of zits all through their life?

While there are many over-the-counter anti-acne products you can get from the pharmacies, serious acne problems may need to be treated with medical options.

FYI, the top three acne medications are the following:

1. Benzoyl peroxide

This anti-bacterial medication (antiseptic) takes care of killing the acne-causing bacteria, P. Acnes. It is both over-the-counter and prescription drug that comes in gel or cream. After you start using BP, it usually takes approximately 3 weeks to notice the changes.

2. Salicylic Acid

Salicylic acid is normally used to treat skin disorders such as dandruff, calluses and warts,  but can also be used as an acne medication. It slows down the cells in the follicles from cracking; this helps to prevent blockage. It also assists in breaking down the whiteheads and blackheads.

Salicylic acid comes in many forms including cream, gel, lotion, ointment, and many more. You have to be careful when using SA - must use according to the directions from your doctor or on the label recommendations. It may cause side effects if wrongly used.

3. Sulfur

This ingredient is common among soaps, washes, and creams. It allows the skin to peel and dry, enabling the breaking down of the whiteheads and blackheads. As with SA, you have to carefully check the label directions to avoid unnecessary side effects or complications.

Some people might be allergic to the ingredients mentioned above, so you’ll want to be sure you are not allergic to them before you start using. Anyhow, it’s still the best to seek the advice of skin experts for acne treatment that is tailored to your condition.

Oh dear, I’m down with a flu again. Am also having sore throat and slightly feverish. I must have got it from my mom, coz when I went to my mom’s house few days ago she was coughing and speaking in a hoarse voice.

Okay, may be it’s partly due to my own fault, coz I had been indulging in too much fried foods for the past week, hence my body got ‘heaty’. Oh, and lots of coffee, too. Yeah, coffee is considered as a ‘heaty’ beverage according to the Chinese. And in traditional Chinese medicine. flu is associated with ‘heatiness’ of the body.

Somehow this ‘heatiness’ is also reflecting on my face! Several zits sprouted since two days ago, and now there’s some acne marks on my face. I wonder if there’s a really fast acne scar removal cream that can remove my acne marks by tonight? Because I will be going for my facial tomorrow, and I don’t want to hear what my beautician who will be most likely going to say, “Hmmm, are you picking on your zits again?” Hahaha!

Hands off my face today!

My Cellnique pro-sebum gel is going to be used up soon, not sure if I should get another bottle now. Am a little bit tight in money this month since I’m waiting for my paychecks, hehe.

But if I don’t get it now, I will miss the current promotion at Sasa. The original price of this product is RM139, offer price is something like RM99.99. Plus, I now know of someone working in Sasa, I can get further discount if I buy it through this person.

If my main problem is blackhead, I won’t be so troubled about it because, in my opinion, blackhead removal is relatively easier compared to whitehead removal. I believe my beautician won’t complain as much if she were to extract blackhead instead of whiteheads or closed comedones during my facial! Haha!

Of course, it would be good if I can get hold of a product that can treat both blackheads and whiteheads at the same time. Although I sometimes use pore strips to get rid off blackheads and whiteheads, I also understand that it may cause some damage to the skin when pulling the strip. While it may clean up the nose in 10 minutes, it does not permanently stop the formation of blackheads and whiteheads. It is still preferable to use a product that targets the underlying cause of blackhead and whitehead formation.

So, to buy or not to buy now?