Entries from August 2008 ↓

I’m a complete doofus for not seeing this before. I just discovered a “new” feature on MakeupAlley (MUA) that makes searching for products a lot easier.

In the product reviews section (and after you’ve done a search), there’s a function that allows you to filter the results by skin type. This is great for those of us with acne prone skin, because we can choose to only look at the product reviews by others that have the same skin type as us.

When I look at product reviews on MUA, I’m only really interested in looking at others with acne prone skin because the main thing I’m looking for is whether or not the product has the chance that it will break me out. If all the acne prone skin reviewers say it was great on their skin, then I know the product is good to go. If I read about clogged pores, blackheads or unusual breakouts, then I stay far away from that product.

Or if you’re reading this and you don’t get spots (lucky, lucky you), then you can choose to sort the results by whatever skin type you have.

And while we’re here, I might as well mention that you can filter by age as well. This makes reading reviews according to your skin type even easier. For example – my acne prone skin as a 28 year old is going to react differently to products that a 14 year old is using.

I’m going to be a hippy again, yay!

Well, in skin care anyway. I’ve come to the end of my pot of evil chemical filled moisturizer, and since my skin is doing so well I thought it’s time to return to natural products. I’m very excited about not putting chemicals on my skin anymore, and I’m even more excited about choosing a new brand. I love the range of products in Canada (you Canadians have no idea how lucky you are compared to what we have in Australia), so can’t wait to get my hands on them.

I’ll keep you updated on my new skin care purchases and how well they go with my skin.

I used to love homemade fruit smoothies for breakfast.

I was never a ‘fruit eater’ and used to hate squishy fruit or fruits that contained any marks or bruises. So smoothies were the best solution for me. I just chucked all the fruit into the blender, zapped it for a few minutes, then drank it or ate it with a spoon. These smoothies were so delicious, and I would get an amazing morning boost of energy from them.

Drinking these smoothies every day actually made me love fruit. I still won’t eat a banana if it’s brown and squishy in the middle, or if an apple is too ‘flowery’, but I now love fruit and can’t get enough of it.

I’ve also started to add superfoods to my smoothies because they give that extra little energy kick. Adding superfoods is also a great way to boost up the vitamins and minerals of your smoothie.

I found an old blender in the house we’re looking after in Toronto, so made a trip to stock up at Whole Foods and yesterday made a gorgeous chocolate berry smoothie.

Chocolate Berry Blaster Smoothie

Serves 2-3

200 ml of milk or milk substitute
1/2 tablespoon of cacao powder
2 cacao beans with the husk removed or a large pinch of cacao nibs
1/2 tablespoon of goji berries
a dash of concentrated goji berry liquid*
2 tablespoons of agave syrup
1 cup of blueberries
1 cup of strawberries
a pinch of hemp seeds
a small pinch of Himalayan or Celtic sea salt

* I use Power4 which is a concentrated mix of goji, acai, noni and mangosteen juice.

Put all the ingredients into the blender, then blend until smooth. Yum!!!!

Before I finish off this post, I’d like to say hello to a very beautiful girl, Jen, who stopped me in the street in Toronto last night to say hello. To be honest, I still forget that people actually read my blog and watch my vidoes, so it’s very cool when somebody recognises me and says hi

Fran

Last night I dreamed that I had severe acne again. When I woke up (and after a quick check in the mirror to make sure it was just a dream), I realized that I’d previously forgotten how emotionally traumatic having acne can actually be, and how it can literally take a hold of your happiness, your social life, and …really just your life in general.

I recently had a phone conversation with Debi Byrnes, a very kind hearted soul who has founded the not-for-profit public benefit corporation – clearupskincare.org – an organization to provide an educational outreach program to middle and high school students about the physical and emotional effects of acne.

Like me, Debi has also had to fight her own acne battle, so she knows exactly what it’s like to suffer from the emotional and physical discomfort that acne brings along with it. And I guess it was through these years of acne that Debi’s determination grew to help others in the same situation as herself.

Here is a video interview with Debi:

I love how Debi educates students about how actors and celebrities get acne too. This is so true, and I’m sure you’ve already seen snap shots of stars like Brittney Spears and Cameron Diaz with pimples.

Program description

Clear Up Skin Care develops and disseminates information about acne, and teaches methods through which teenagers can build their self-esteem and increase their feelings of self-worth.

The presentations offer free, informative, and accurate information about acne and building self-esteem. The program empowers teens to understand that they can control how they take care of themselves, which will help them to feel positive about how they look, how they feel, and what they are able to achieve. Clear Up Skin Care is beginning to fulfill an important need as demonstrated by a 7th grader’s comments about the program, “I learned a lot about skin care and self-esteem. Thank you – you really helped me.”

Please help support clearupskincare.org

Clear Up Skin Care is looking for volunteers to help teach in the schools, so please contact Debi if you’re interested in joining the team. You don’t have to be a qualified teacher to help out, all you need is to share a similar interest in the cause.

If you’re a teacher or belong to a school community and would like to help bring the program to your school, contact Debi also.

And of course, I encourage all teen acne sufferers to check out clearupskincare.org, and to send Debi a message if you have any questions. She’s more than happy to help out, so I’m sure she’d love to hear from you.

Fran

I was lucky enough to be one of the 600 people in the Audience at the Bloor Cinema last night in Toronto to watch the documentary – Food Matters.

I’ve actually already seen the documentary, in fact I own a digital copy …but I LOVE it so much and find it SO inspiring that I wanted to see it ‘on the big screen’ this time. And Dr Andrew Saul (who featured in the documentary) was actually there afterwards answering questions. It was awesome.

Here’s the trailer if you haven’t seen it:

Every time I watch Food Matters I’m on the edge of my seat, consuming every tiny fragment of information. It is the most motivating and inspiring film I have ever seen, without a doubt. And as you can see, I can’t rave enough about it.

Today I’m still on a ‘health food high’. I’ve spent the day buried deep in the Internet researching nutrition, alternative health and raw food. I feel like a disciple to some of the nutrition and raw food gods out there, namely David Wolfe, Truth Calkins, Daniel Vitalis and Andrew Saul.

The first time I watched this documentary it was one of those rare life changing experiences for me. I know that sounds a bit over-exaggerated but I swear it isn’t. It’s almost like watching the film made me ‘wake up’ from a dreamy haze of resting comfortably on the border of nutritionally healthy and nutritionally unhealthy.

It doesn’t matter if you have acne, or a skin problem, or any other possible health problem out there …you just cannot ignore the healing power of nutrition. You can’t expect your body to function without any problems if you fuel it with junk. We all know that using premium fuel in our car makes it run better, or using quality materials to build a house makes it more solid ..so why is it any different when we’re building and running our own bodies?

If you want to view Food Matters for yourself, you can view it here.

I’m not talking about those little heads you get on inflamed pimples, I’m talking about comedonal acne – whiteheads.

Like blackheads, whiteheads are also clogged pores. They’re tiny, flesh colored, and often quite hard. There’s no redness or irritation around a whitehead so usually the only person that notices them is you.

Left alone, 9 out of 10 whiteheads will just go away by themselves. There are however a few ways of gently helping whiteheads to move along, and more importantly – simple ways to prevent any new whiteheads from forming.

These are the steps to follow if you missed them in the video.

To prevent whiteheads from forming:

• Do not use any oily skin care products on your face. Also check the product you’re using is non-comedogenic.
• Use a gentle surface exfoliant, like baking-soda mixed into your cleanser.

To get rid of whiteheads:

• Use a deep pore exfoliant, such as a product containing salicylic acid, BHA or AHA.

Fran