Category: Makeup

Retin-A: Use with Caution

Hello everyone!!

In this month’s post, I am going to talk about a product that, at least until a few months ago, was unknown to me: Retin-A (as they call it in Latin America) or Retirides (known by this name in Spain). If you read my post about acne and Roacután, you will know that I strongly defend its use to defeat acne for good, despite the urban legends and horror stories that some people tell about. I defend it because it went well for me and for all the people I know personally and who had this treatment well, and it’s been like that until today. That said and taking into account that I had this treatment 13 years ago, I have to say that occasionally I have a pimple mainly due to my period, but nothing worrisome. It helps that I am very careful with the products I put on my skin and very scrupulous with hygiene (I never touch my face, I use towels that are exclusive for my face, I change the pillowcase often, I use little and mineral makeup, aloe vera …) . I also take great care of my diet, this and the changes I have made over the years are something that I will talk about in another post.

But getting to the point, in November of last year, I suddenly got one of those horrible-big-painful-pimples with pus in the middle of my face. For me there are serious and non-serious places where you can get a pimple, and in the face, that is, the cheeks, is the worst place. It is the worst place because that is where the serious-cystic-the kind that leaves marks acne occurs. So obviously I panicked, because it hadn’t happened to me in over a decade. Yes, I had the typical pimples in the T zone (forehead-nose-chin) and impurities in my neckline, which is also oily, but not those type of pimples. What I did was wait for the pimple to fully develop, and it took almost 3 weeks!! I tried not to rub it when washing my face, to sleep on the opposite side of my face so as not to spread bacteria, obviously not to put on makeup there…When it had grown up, I put some iodine on it, because I heard that you shouldn’t put alcohol on it, but then I heard the opposite, that you shouldn’t put iodine on it… It ended up disappearing, but left a round red mark, and I didn’t exploit it or anything. To this day you can hardly see it, but that confirms my theory that there are harmless pimples and mass destruction pimples of mass destruction (like that one).

Apart from the food issues that I will address in another post, I began to investigate what could I do, because at the cosmetic-hygiene level I already considered that I did everything well. And that’s where I discovered Retin-A or Retirides. It is an ointment with the same active ingredient as Roacutan (tretinoin) that occurs in concentrations of 0.025%, 0.050% and 0.1%. I saw some videos and blogs that talked about it (the most scientific one: Cómo se aplica el Retirides), and I decided to try it.

The good thing about being an ointment is that it does not pass through the liver or have as much risk to health as Roacután, but obviously its effectiveness is lower and slower. It would be like a light version of Roacután. Doctors recommend starting with the lowest concentration and going up, because it is a strong ingredient and reactions on the skin may occur (redness, skin peeling… I bought it after the horrible pimple because another one came out right next to it, confirming my other theory that bacteria in pimples move… In analogy with what happens now with the virus of the moment, if a mass destruction pimple comes out, you have to take serious measures as soon as possible to prevent it from spreading. And since I only wanted the ointment for that, because I was not willing to buy a bottle of 0.025% or 0.050%, spend it (which could take me months or years, since the recommendation is to apply a very small quantity and only twice a week) and then buy another one with 0.1% concentration. Also, it seems to me that there is quite a difference between the concentration of the first two and the third one. So, I started buying the 0.1%, the maximum concentration. As happens when having Roacután, this ointment can cause the area where you put it to peel (but not your lips constantly or as heavy as it happens with Roacutan), and it causes your skin very sensitive to sun (I have no problem with this because I am very careful, although in my daily routine I do not use sunscreen (normally).

In my case, when I applied it, my skin itched a little, but nothing else. It should  always be applied at night and with dry skin. And well, the start of massive destruction on my cheek luckily stopped, applying the ointment to the area twice a week. On the rest of the face I did not dare to put it on, because it is supposed to have the same effect as Roacutan: multiply by 6 the rate at which the skin is renewed and “bring out” hidden comedones. I had no intention of seeing what would happen because the rest of my face is fine so I didn’t want to risk it. I say this because Retin-A is also used a lot to eliminate spots and as an anti-wrinkles ointment: many people use it, let’s say, as an anti-aging cream. What I have done lately is to put it on my nose, to see if it reduces the appearance of pores, and on my neckline, because it is very oily and impurities form. I’ve noticed a great improvement in my neckline, not that much on my nose.

In Mexico Retin-A is sold without a prescription, but in Spain, Retirides must be prescribed by a dermatologist. However, Retirides is sold in Andorra without a prescription, so one can go there or maybe buy it online. In the United States, you can find it as Retinoid.

So now you know, if you decide to try this pseudo-Roacutàn, use it with caution!

Until next post!!!

*To buy the products I speak about (I only recommend products that I’ve tested):

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

*From the United States:

·Retinoid 0.1%: https://amzn.to/35PO2m8

*From Mexico:

·Retin-A 0.1%: https://amzn.to/33Iizzx

*From Spain:

·Retirides 0.1% (disponible sin receta en farmacias de Andorra): https://www.farmaciaenandorra.com/shop/retirides-01-30g

UPDATE!!: read my post Double cleaning: oil+soap

A small summary

Hello everyone!!

This month’s post is going to be a compilation of everything I’ve been writing about on the blog, since I started with three posts in 2015, until I decided to take it more seriously and write a monthly post as part of my goals for the year in 2017.

When I started the blog I wanted to share things that I had discovered by myself, especially through the Internet and from my own experience and that of others, over the years. They were doubts, questions that do not appear so much in beauty magazines and on blogs and YouTube channels, or that in the case of appearing I considered they had wrong or incomplete answers (such as taking the pill if you have acne or resorting to laser if you have hair on your face…). I really wanted to address problems and solutions that I thought were not being publicized enough.

In 2015 I explained how the irrigator (in its eco-friendly and cheap version, the Italian So-Wash) is the secret weapon that dentists do not want you to discover, along with the coconut oil + bicarbonate toothpaste. A toothpaste that also works as a deodorant. I also published the most visited and consulted entry of the entire blog, the one that talks about electrolysis hair removal. A post that I updated later showing the progress of my “do it yourself” results in this regard.

In 2017, I started talking about my experience with hirsutism and acne, I defended Roacutan and Ovusitol against the contraceptive pill and I talked about some simple and cheap measures like aloe vera, castile soap (Dr. Bronners), the importance of changing face towels and the pillowcase (better if it is made of silk) often. I have also talked about the importance of nutrition (the now fashionable smoothies) for the skin and the little-known mineral makeup.

Also in 2017 I dared to confess the existence of tonsil stones and anal blackheads, in the most eschatological blog post. I spoke again about hair, but this time about hair on the head: I was interested in henna as an alternative to dyes and allergies, but I was worried that it would not cover gray hair well.

I also talked about health issues, such as period pain, and how I try to control them by always keeping omeprazole and ibuprofen close at hand, in my emergency bag. Or the problem of belonephobia, so poorly treated by most health professionals and which causes serious trauma to many people. I still hadn’t found a definitive solution to this issue, but reading the book Overcoming Medical Phobias gave me some hope. Trying psychological treatments (hypnosis, neurolinguistic programming) gradual exposure (with images, videos…) and using the applied tension of the muscles could be the key. In my case, I also think that choosing a different site from which to draw the blood (perhaps the hand and not the inside of the elbow) could have an influence. I’ve been working on this for the past few months, and I’ve gone from feeling a bit dizzy just reading or watching videos about it, to being able to tolerate it (at least from a distance). I also think that the time of day influences, since for example I have the lowest blood pressure and I am weaker in the morning, which is precisely when the blood extraction procedure is done (and on an empty stomach). A reader advised me to use Buzzy and I have it ready to try in the future. What I’d really like to try though is the Seventh Sense Biosystems TAP. I keep writing them to see how to acquire it but it seems that at the moment only certain laboratories have it (I have also written to them and they do not respond). I hope it is only a matter of time, because it gives me the impression that there may be the solution. Other alternatives are the use of Vacutainer or butterfly needles for extractions. I had considered these alternatives, so I would also like to try. Anyway, hopefully in the future I can write a post explaining how I finally solved the issue. It would be my personal big hit on these issues, along with the discovery of electrolysis :))

In the blog I have also shared my personal manias, such as my rejection to long nails (which does not mean that I do not take care of my hands), my rejection of feet, of absurd fashion stupidities like ripped pants, my horror of intestinal parasites and of noise. And I have defended the use of the forgotten bidet, protection from the sun but not with creams, internal and external hydration and attention to the lymphatic system.

Some posts include novel therapies, such as the natural solution to myopia (including much cheaper glasses), a problem that I had previously discussed. In this regard, I recently read a piece of news about some drops to solve myopia developed by a university in Israel … I’ll be watching too. Hopefully ending myopia without surgery will my third hit :))

*To buy the products I speak about (I only recommend products that I’ve tested):

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

*From the United States:

·Buzzy: https://amzn.to/2ZTLvDF

*From Mexico:

·Buzzy: https://www.buzzy.com.mx/

*From Spain:

·Buzzy: https://amzn.to/2RUnzMh

Mineral makeup

Hello everyone!!

In this month’s post I am going to talk about mineral makeup. I have already spoken about issues related to the skin, such as acne, how to prevent it with hygiene and nutrition measures, how I clean and hydrate my skin … But I realized that I had not talked about makeup, so let’s go.

I don’t use makeup every day, I just use a bit of blush and Burt’s Bees lipbalm or a very soft lipstick from Ere Pérez. I don’t like having paint on my face every day, and since my skin looks good, I don’t think I need it either. I do not paint my eyes because I wear glasses or contact lenses and I do not think it is good for the eye to wear mascara or eyeliner daily. As I have quite long and black eyelashes, I think I can do without it. That said, I understand that some people, because of their profession, out of habit, out of insecurity or to avoid comparative injury, put on makeup every day. I am not going to enter into evaluations of whether it is part of the slavery-of-beauty-if-you-are-not-pretty-you’re-not-valuable to which women and not men are subjected (although I think so). But I want to emphasize that, especially fo those who have acne, putting on makeup to cover it only makes it worse. Also, a fact: the makeup and cosmetics industry is one of the most profitable industries in the world. That’s curious considering that makeup and cosmetics are not basic/unavoidable necessities (as are having a house, eating or dressing).

Well, getting to the point, especially if you are someone who puts on makeup on a daily basis, you should look at the quality of what you put on your face. As in the case of creams or industrialized food, do you understand the list of ingredients of the product? Surely not. And makeup also passes into the bloodstream, in addition to the fact that if it is not hypoallergenic or non-comedogenic it can cause, respectively, allergies or blackheads. And even if it is, the fact is that makeup (especially foundation) clogs the pores and does not let the skin breathe. Eye makeup can cause irritation and conjunctivitis. And about lipstick (aside from charges of containing lead), it turns out we “swallow” a large part of it.

When I was a teenager and I had acne, I was recommended to use the Avène brand as a foundation and bronzing powder. I have done very well with it, but recently I discovered mineral makeup and I think it is an even better option, because it only has mineral pigments as ingredients. This type of makeup does not have any strange ingredients (in fact the list of ingredients is very short), allows the skin to breathe and usually comes with some sun protection (I already talked about the sun in this post). As with many of the products that interest me, they are not readily available in department stores or perfumeries, but rather in herbalists and organic stores. BUT: the good news is that they can be purchased online. The bad news it is better to try on makeup first buying it, to see if the tone suits us. For this, some brands (like the one I bought, which is called Lyly & Lolo) have mini-containers at a low price so that you can try a sample of different colors before deciding which one to buy. For lipstick and mascara, I use Ere Pérez or Belcils, and these brands also have their offers. The good brands I’ve found are: Bare Minerals (United States), Lyly&Lolo (United Kingdom) and Mineralíssima (The Netherlands). I use the foundation and bronzer from Lyly Lolo (foundation “In the Buff”, with 15 SPF, and bronzer “South Beach”).

The only thing I don’t like about mineral makeup is that foundation is in a powder format (there are some fluids, but their ingredient list is not so “pure” anymore). A powder format means applying it with a brush, and although the result looks good, I prefer that the foundation blends with the skin. With this, the result looks slightly powderier. But the truth is that it spreads well, with very little amount you cover your whole face. In addition, the container is very practical because it has a closure that only opens partially, with a few holes, to apply a very small amount. I do it directly on the lid of the container and from there I pass it to the brush.

I hope it helps you and that you try it! :))

*To buy the products I speak about (I only recommend products that I’ve tested):

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

*From the United States:

·Ere Pérez lipstick: https://amzn.to/32I2v1B

·Bare Minerals, mineral make up: https://amzn.to/2RH2ncm

*From Mexico:

·Pintalabios Ere Pérez: https://amzn.to/32KmGMk

·Rimmel Ere Pérez: https://amzn.to/3iMW6aO

·Avène polvos bronceadores: https://amzn.to/35MNf5v

·Bare Minerals, maquillaje mineral: https://amzn.to/3ccFNla

*From Spain:

·Pintalabios Ere Pérez: https://amzn.to/2FCz8Fk

·Rimmel Belcils: https://amzn.to/2RKvgnO

·Avène polvos bronceadores: https://amzn.to/2FzDIEj

·Lily&Lolo, maquillaje mineral: https://amzn.to/2FBk5vD

·Bare Minerals, maquillaje mineral: https://amzn.to/2ZNCgow