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California, United States
Hi! Thanks for visiting ^_^ My social media platforms: Instagram: meowmier Youtube: http://goo.gl/U5SnNM (formerly under the username francesvlogs but I don't have access to that anymore). I don't really do videos anymore simply because I think blog posts are more informative. Hope you enjoyed your time here! :)

Monday, January 10, 2011

My skin problems

Hello!


Let's talk about my skin problem xD

GROSS SKIN PROBLEM PICTURES AHEAD, YOU'RE WARNED!!!

LOL

So normally, my skin is pretty good... just some redness like any other fellow homo sapiens, and never-ending blackhead obsession... XD Never had acne before (although who knows maybe down the road I might get adult onset acne lol) I rarely break out... unless reacting to products or that time of the month LOL or I eat something excessively sugary/greasy or just not prepared well...

BUT....

Occasionally, I will struggle with some pretty bad skin problems... I saw many many doctors (even Chinese medicine too) and none could tell me what it is... at first I thought I'm allergic to something, but then the doctors told me the affected areas shouldn't spread with scratching if it was allergies (is that even true?) I think it's probably just some kind of eczema. Anyway, I've decided putting a name to it isn't important. Suffice to say whatever it is it falls under the "atopic dermatitis" umbrella LOL.

So here's the detailed process

If any one has my condition, please please please do let me know!

1. Skin starts to feel itchy (usually starts with a "spot" or two. When I say spot it's more like a lump... kind of resembles a mosquito bite), soon became swollen, and I will have circular patches of affected/swollen areas mainly along the sides of my face, and my chin, sometimes on my cheeks.
2. Skin is swollen, inflamed, extremely irritated. Then the affected area begins to crack and tear ='( flesh exposed and extremely painful
3. Skin starts trying to repair itself since it's torn...  new skin started to form while the affected skin started to shed
4. Skin heals itself

The weirdest thing is, this skin problem has a cycle thing going on... #1-4 is the full cycle, and a full cycle from start to end usually takes about 3-4 weeks to heal. After that, if that external stimulant that triggered this condition is still present, the whole cycle would repeat itself. IT. IS. NOT. FUN.


Ready for gross picture?!


These pics were taken in 2007. I took them because I wanted to show them to doctors
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Believe it or not, this is my skin already in healing process... since it's shedding. It looks yellow cuz at that time I was using Clinique moisturizer which is yellow. At that time that was the only moisturizer my face could take since it was fragrance-free and allergy-tested.
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So painful ='(


Some remedies that help with my skin

At that time I was experiencing the skin problem, it was so inflamed and painful, that I decided to put some chilled yogurt mask on my face to soothe the pain, and to my surprise, the skin problem was under control and soon went away.

So you all remember a while back I was complaining about breaking out in late 2010? Well yes it was precisely this condition I was talking about, except with the help of natural yogurt, I was able to control/reduce the problem to this:
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pretty. freaking. amazing. isn't it?!

The picture isn't very good, but my chin was more red and swollen in person, and there were little red bumps that didn't show up too well in the pics. It didn't look bad but I can tell you it itched like a mo**** f*****!!

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You all can see the AMAZING results I got from using yogurt mask right?! It's insane. If it wasn't for this yogurt mask, I'd have to look like these pics I took back in 2007. Now I'm a believer of natural yogurt masks. So if you're like me who always watches tutorials and never try anything out XD at least go try out this mask =]

Even this yogurt mask helps me significantly, my skin still will take a full week to a week and a half to heal completely.

Some of my own advice to using this mask:

1. Yogurt is all you need lol. Use 100% natural, plain yogurt. Please do not use flavored yogurt! It's all sugar lol. Fruit will add vitamin C to the mask which means extra brightening, which helps with scar prevention actually, so I'd say fruit is a nice addition but not a must.

2. You really don't need that much. I usually just use one strawberry with one table spoon of yogurt. I like to start fresh every time-- letting it sit in the fridge increases the chance of bacteria growth.

3. Cut your fruit on paper towel, instead of a cutting board. Your cutting board probably has a ton of bacteria accumulation... and this fruit is going to go on your face...Or better yet, just mash the fruit up with a fork in a bowl lol.

Update: I discovered the best way to keep my problem under control XD while hydrocortisone actually doesn't do much if the break-out process is in full swing... if I apply it at the first sign of a "flare" and just keep the itching under control, it usually just goes away O_O++ I usually just keeping apply hydrocortisone on the "lump(s)" until it/they go way. Takes anywhere from 3-7 days depending on how severe it is.

I strongly encourage you guys to try and use oatmeal as a cleanser if you ever have some sensitivity issue going on. Seriously, oatmeal is my savior whenever my skin just can't tolerate any sort of chemical cleanser.

I wrote a detailed post about it a longgg time ago. Check it here.


Other products that help:
1. Origins Dr. Andrew Weil Mega-Mushroom facial cleanser and face cream.


There's also another skin problem I want to touch on, and it doesn't happen on my face, but rather, on my neck. I actually know people who actually have this same condition! It usually happens during the change of season or something, not quite sure.


This pic was taken in 2009?
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It looks like a rash, maybe it is? It's extremely itchy and skin feels really raw.

Unfortunately, my natural yogurt remedy doesn't really help with this skin problem :(

What did help though... surprisingly, was my Lancome Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate.

Remember in my review how I said I could feel no difference? Well it did make a difference on my problematic neck area! (However it didn't really help my "face" problem... really not sure how the heck these things work)

I didn't take the initial problem pic for my neck this time, but it's basically the same as the 2009 one.

The next day after using Genifique, I found that my neck healed almost 50%.
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After three days, my neck was back to normal. So I guess the Youth Activating Concentrate does restore your skin's healing properties?!

By the way I don't usually apply the concentrate on my neck, it was an accident I discovered this XD was blending the excess concentrate to my neck, and miraculously it helped =] cuz usually I probably have to wait a month until my skin decides to heal itself.



Hope someone out there found this helpful?! lol??? <3 Frances

20 comments:

  1. Your pictures from 2007 looks like the skin issues one of my friend has. She said her skin gets irritating and then dry and flaky looking. It's not an allergic reaction and it comes and goes. Could it be some sort of eczema?

    I normally use hydrocortisone for mosquito bites or hives.

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  2. Those are some amazing results! I haven't tried any home remedies/DIYs because my mom usually buys the groceries (and I'm too lazy to DIY lol :X). But after hearing so many great things I think I should try it out! :D

    I've had similar rash(?) problems to your neck situation but on the back of my leg (opposite the knee). It was really annoying because it was soo itchy and nothing really helped it. But it would go away and come back. So strange. Glad to hear the lancome product worked for you though! Now it doesn't have to go to waste :P

    Ah! The yogurt you recommended doesn't sell on the east coast! I'll need to hunt a natural yogurt down then..lol

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  3. ooh wow i hope its nothing seroius.. you know since noone knows about it. but! im super glad you found yourself a cheap remedy for some of the pain! omygoshh i will try it too! it mite be good for just overall skin! ty for the post! post more i luv your blog!

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  4. wow, that is so weird..0_0 and looks itchy as hell too.. Okay, now you made me believe in the words of Youtube beauty gurus! I followed bubzbeauty too.. =D
    Thanks for the tips! If you hadn't mention it, I would have cut the fruit to be used on a cutting board..XD
    sorry couldn't help you with identifying the causes and named the disease..U_U Thank God the mask helps though..^^

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  5. wow that yogurt mask really helped ! i get those types of rashes on my neck when i wear fashion jewelry,. it gets pretty bad too =( i haven't found a quick way to make it go away yet.. i just let it heal "naturally" which takes a really long time so i try to avoid fashion jewelry at all costs. i'm glad your skin is a lot better now =)

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  6. Wow, my skin was irritated and torn too when I used benzolperoxide on my eyes (accidently -.-) and it went away when I stop using it and applied loads of vaseline but this might work even better! Thanks for sharing, whenever my skin is irritated, this will sure be helpful :D

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  7. WOW! I'm amazed by the effect yoghurt mask have on your skin! Great that you managed to find a cure for your allergy reaction. Maybe you can start taking note of your diet before the rash appears to see if it's food allergy or environmental.

    I think I would try that mask out too (after trying to finish using all my other masks!) but I love eating yoghurt and it would be a torture for me to sit there with yoghurt on my face. LOL.

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  8. hi frances~ thanks, i'll try to get some samples next time from lancome..

    btw, the polish i'm wearing is Rimmel London's Steel Grey =)

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  9. nice tips ! <3 i kinda have dryness in that area too ;_; sucks

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  10. nice tips ! <3 i kinda have dryness in that area too ;_; sucks

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  11. WOW! I'm amazed by the effect yoghurt mask have on your skin! Great that you managed to find a cure for your allergy reaction. Maybe you can start taking note of your diet before the rash appears to see if it's food allergy or environmental.

    I think I would try that mask out too (after trying to finish using all my other masks!) but I love eating yoghurt and it would be a torture for me to sit there with yoghurt on my face. LOL.

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  12. wow that yogurt mask really helped ! i get those types of rashes on my neck when i wear fashion jewelry,. it gets pretty bad too =( i haven't found a quick way to make it go away yet.. i just let it heal "naturally" which takes a really long time so i try to avoid fashion jewelry at all costs. i'm glad your skin is a lot better now =)

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  13. Hello, this is kind of a late comment, I suppose, but it still might shed some light on your problem. I have something that sounds like your problem, it's called eczema. Mine is on my upper lip ): but I found that drinking water a lot keeps your hydrated and keeps the problem at bay, but when it does get really bad on my face, the yogurt remedy helps. Also I tend to stay away from Clinique's lotion, I've found that it doesn't really help and it actually stings. I like to stick with a hypoallergenic, fragrance free lotion. It's also best to keep your affected areas free of allergens, so wash your bedsheets every week or so and try to keep the areas clean and dry, just don't over do it. Hydrocortisone does help with the itching and helps it heal, but you shouldn't rely on it to heavily.

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  14. hello~~

    Actually... I thought it was eczema too... and I asked the doctors if this was it and they said no O_O so I don't know... what moisturizer do you recommend???? ^_^

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  15. A lot of doctors recommend Lubriderm, Aveeno, Cetaphil, Aquaphor, etc. Easily found in drugstores. I personally didn't like them that much .___.;; I just use a St. Ives moisturizer for my skin, and I guess it does the job lol (http://www.allure.com/beauty-products/skin/2010/st-ives-intensive-healing-body-moisturizer) But experiment and see what works for you (because although Lubriderm and Aveeno doesn't sting for some people it does for me...) But stick to color free, fragrance free, and irritation free/hypoallergenic lotions so it doesn't provoke any irritations.

    and I suppose this is a weird tip and if your skin isn't too sensitive or in pain you can use blue painter's tape to take the flaky parts of your skin off, because it's not too sticky, but sticky enough to get off the flakes that bother you.

    And if your skin problem happens often, get a prescription cream (from doctors) to help heal it up, but use it only when needed.

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  16. thanks for the list of suggestions! i will look out for st. ives next time! i like their face scrubs and i've tried their body lotions but haven't tried their facial moisturizer :D

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  17. I think you could have seborrheic dermatitis( seborrheic eczema),i have seborrheic dermatitis, my skin is oily but I have flaky skin, now is 99% gone.I changed my diet,no sugar,no milk,no gluten.I drink plenty of water and I eat a lot of veggies,fruts and nuts and now is almost gone my skin looks better.

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  18. thanks for the input! but I don't believe I have that. It probably looks like seborrheic dermatitis because it's white/yellow and scaley but like I mentioned the yellowness is from the moisturizer :) furthermore the skin along my jawline and chin isn't even oily and seborrheic dermatitis is predominately caused by overproduction of sebacious glands and exaccerbated by yeast/bacterial infection

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  19. thank you!!! I got a question for you What is the best liquid foundation for flaky skin? I'm now using lumiere mineral foundation its really good because it doesn't accentuate flakiness as much as other foundations but I really miss the liquid one.

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  20. I wish I have a good recommendation for you but I really don't :( I personally stick to powder foundations when my skin is flakey too. However if your skin is not horribly flakey, the best liquid foundation that comes to my mind is Givenchy Photo'Perfexion Fluid Foundation SPF 20 PA+++ (not the light one, that one I haven't tried yet). Go to Sephora (or you might want to call first to make sure they have a counter for Givenchy) and get a sample to try it out first to see if it works because it is a very pricey foundation. And remember to only use gentle patting motions on the flakey areas. Good luck!! :)

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