Hydrated Face - Me?

Wow, I can't believe this I walked around all day long. Inside the shopping mall and outside for two hours and my face is still hydrated. It's incredible. Me of all people.

My eye lids and the skin around my eyes have been continually flaky since this winter. Actually, my skin around my upper lids have been dry for long time now ---but not anymore.

I didn't believe the write-up on the Keys website about their Eye Butter Cream, but I ordered a sample to try because it's all natural and we all know how I'm into the all natural products and the 0 to 3 rating on Skin Deep website. :) I'm so glad that I did because it's all true, my eyes haven't looked this good for a very long time. So it goes without saying I'm going to order the real thing before I finish my sample trail size. It's going to last for awhile I think. I've been putting it on for one week now and I still have a lot! I'm so happy!

So that's that. Using the Tortuga for my face and using the Eye Butter has hydrated my face to my total satisfaction. I think I'm going to see if I can put in a testimonial on their site!!! I love the products they have. In LOVE.

Natural Cleaning Ingredients

So I've been reading about all the wondering things about Baking Soda and Vinegar for cleaning and decided to try it out today, to prove to myself that they work. Plus, the more chemicals I can eliminate from my home the better it will be for managing my eczema. The bed sheets and duvet cover sometimes irritate my skin. I'm sure when that happens bleach was used. Even though we use hypoallergenic detergent...I don't know, sometimes wearing my washed clothes just sets me off itching.

I started with the kitchen sink and oven and WOW, it really works. No chemical smell and the peace of mind that I'm using stuff I can actually eat. I didn't follow any directions, just sprinkled some baking soda and wet the sponge with some vinegar and water to clean the oven. After 3 minutes, it was looking so clean and sparkly! And no yucky chemical smell. For the sink I just used the baking soda to clean it and it's shining in the kitchen right now!

My goal is to slowly change out all our household products to all natural ones. My obstacle is going to be my man. He's quite skeptical about this stuff. So I'm going to show by example. I'm just waiting for him to see how sparkly the sink is and the oven is right now. Then I'll tell him what I used and then I will figure out how much getting these products would cost and I'll have him in riding on my Eco-friendly bus.

If the whitening happens with the vinegar and baking soda mixture, instead of the Javex, that would be great. My skin is so sensitive to the bleach. Even though my robe is nice and white after it has been bleached, once my wet skin contacts the freshly washed robe, I can feel my skin getting itchy in seconds.

Next room to try out the natural cleaning agents is the bathroom, I'll do that tomorrow. If the solution gets rid of the mildew I'm a HERO!!! Plus, eliminating the chemicals in the air inside the house, my man's allergies may get better. I hope that happens. He's been having eye and nose allergies lately and I really think it's the stuff we are using...plus smoking doesn't help!

One day at a time, I'll have my way. :) I'm going to http://www.goneshopping.ca/ to get that Eco-friendly starter kit. It will tell me exactly what to use and apparently it comes with essential oil that will make everything smell really nice, disinfect and the essential oil mixture has anti-bacterial properties. All natural, good stuff.

It's only $34 so it's affordable I think, considering it will last for awhile. I mean, other chemical products out there are like at least $4 to $9 and they smell like death. Plus, you have to buy a different product for the kitchen, bathroom, living room...you get the idea.

My friends just moved into a new condo and this is what I'm going to get as a housewarming present. I think it's going to be great! Hmm, I may have given the surprise away if they see my post. Anyways, no matter, I still think it's going to be cool. I'm going to get one for myself too while I'm at it. :)

So excited. I'm going to do that right now. I'll give an update on how it works once I have a chance to use the solutions.

Tortuga - Super Emollient Lotion - Update

Just a quick update on how I am really in love with Tortuga lotion from Keys now. It smells great and because the bottle is not very big, I have decided to choose this all-natural product to hydrate my face as well as managing the redness that occurs with my super sensitive face!

I just finished the bottle I order awhile back and just order a new bottle. This time it should last a lot longer for me because I was using it before for my body as well. This is another reason why I like this product so much. I'm not allergic to it and I can you is almost everywhere! Not the eyes though I just read. So I ordered the eye cream trail size to try. :)

So happy I have decided to stick with this product for it's super natural ingredients. It just gives me a peace of mind knowing that at least I am using some products that are natural and safe for my body. Whatever you put on your skin gets absorbed into your system as you know.

Witch Hazel - Great for cuts

Okay, when people say communication is key in a relationship it's true, because I've been looking to buy witch hazel for awhile now and guess what? I was just going through the medicine cabinet and discovered that my man actually had a bottle! If only I mentioned to him earlier that I was looking for it, I would've been able to use it much earlier!

I read that it's good for speeding up healing process of cuts and broken skin and I wanted to try it to see if it works. For me, when I scratch too hard my skin breaks and I know it takes me weeks and weeks to try and get the wound to heal. My scraps and scratches doesn't heal as fast as other people for some reason. It's gross I know but that's the truth and I'm always looking for ways to help me manage my own skin issues! So, I must say that it really does work. It cleans the wound up and then it dries it up a bit so that it starts to heal. :) I'm happy I was able to use it to help out with the healing process. The issue is sometimes I don't know if I should treat it like eczema or not. I mean, I did scratch because my skin was itchy from the dryness or eczema but once it's broken I'm treating it like any other scrape. I'll see how it works out and report here again.

I think it would help if I could take some photos of my skin before and after to show how it works and what it worked on! So far I think it works because it actually helps me not to scratch the scrapes. Till then, you might want to see if it works for you.

Curel - Fragrant Free Lotion Reins Supreme!!!

This is the ONLY lotion that does the job for my dry skin.

As I've mentioned in my previous entries, I have tried to look for other lotions as back ups and guess what? They don't work as effectively as Curel. The Tortuga Super Emollient Lotion was good and natural but it was 100ml and in no time it was almost gone! And it was expensive compared to the price for Curel, plus I had to order it online from the U.S.

One of my close friends know that I use Curel and that i had issues getting the Fragrant Free version. So whenever she knows the lotion is on sale or when she see it available at Walmart near her place; she would contact me. Well last week the lotion was on sale at Walmart for $5.77 for 600ml bottle. Needless to say, with all the problems I had looking for the lotion near my place, she helped me stock up! I just realized that I must have this lotion in stock at all times.

I only have to put on the lotion once when I get up and then again after I take a shower before bed. It's just amazing for me. My skin looks 100% better on the first day I put it on.

I know that Curel has other versions as well and I bought the Post Menopause version for my mom and my aunt. My aunt told me that it was really good and not sticky and she loves it. I'm sure you've heard of Keri Lotion right? I mean, my dermy recommended that lotion to me when I was a little girl, and I hate it now as I hate it then. It went on so greasy and it never gets absorbed, especially when my skin was so dry. My aunt didn't like Keri either and when I recommended Curel, she hesitated thinking it would be the same texture. Well, Curel is her choice for a body lotion now. :)

So this is just an update to remember to stick to what works for you and don't be tempted to try anything new without having it near by.

I wish I could still find a product that is:
1. Natural
2. Easy to get
3. Moisturizes without reapplying
4. Reasonably priced

So for now my Curel meets three out of my four criteria for a good product.

You are what you eat - Triggers

Okay, I did something so stupid a few days ago and I'm still paying for it today! I have no will power when it comes to food. I love eating and curse the day I discovered seafood. I love seafood and seafood is definitely one of the triggers that causes my eczema flare ups. Trying to recover from it takes many days later after eating what I'm not supposed to.

I took a picture of the dish before I ate it because it looked so delicious and it was a treat from my man's dad. He is such a great cook. Normally I would just eat one or two pieces and I'm fine, because right after I would take an antihistamine to stop the itch. But nooooooo, I ate almost half the dish and I loved it. The worst decision I made because now I'm still suffering from my actions!

Check it out. It's lobster tail with beef. Maybe it was the combination that made it even worse. I'm telling you it was so delicious -- but bad for me. Very bad.
I will have to practice more will power because this kind of stuff was unnecessary. Now I'm of course using my medicated cream and I'm still itchy as hell. The antihistamine is kind of working. I feel drowsy even though it's supposed to be non-drowsy. Drugs affect people differently my doctor told me when I told him about how I get affected by non-drowsy medication. He said that just because it say non-drowsy it doesn't mean you won't get drowsy. Some people do ---and I'm one of them. Nice!

Anyways, I just wanted to share this and to warn not to give in and eat something you are not supposed to. There are consequences! Live and learn, I'll never do this again! Back to one to two pieces...but not for a long while. :(

However, I thank goodness I did find that Kiss My Face olive soap because even though I was rashy, the bar soap did not sting. In fact it helped. Plus, I now alternate between using the Pure Shea Butter mixed with vitamin E and Olive Oil mixed with vitamin E. Works pretty well.

Kiss My Face - Olive Oil Soap

I was running out of the La Roche-Posay bar soap and wanted to get something that is cheaper and natural.

Found out from Skin Deep and Good Guide website that this soap is really good. You know olive oil is good for your skin. The only ingredients listed for this soap is Saponified Olive Oil, Water, Sodium Chloride.

Simple.

It's a big fat bar, so I cut it into manageable pieces. :) It's great. It's moisturizing and the best part is that it does not sting. So even if you have a rash you won't have to worry about being uncomfortable using this soap.

I love it and I found it at Walmart for $3.97. If you want to try it and you can't find it at the drugstore then you can also go to Well.ca. The website is selling it for $4.69 but it's online and you can order it with free shipping if you are in Canada.

Olive Oil and Vitamin E

I was desperate last night for some face moisturizer. I had some Vitamin E oil that I bought awhile back but it's so thick, it was just so hard to apply on my face. So I went online to see if I could mix it with olive oil. I knew I had olive oil at home and I've already been told it's good for your skin. I've used olive oil in the past but didn't find that it worked at keeping my skin moisturized.

Well, guess what? I poured some olive oil into the glass jar containing what's left of my vitamin E oil and mixed them together. The mixture went on so smoothly and it kept me moisturized even after I went out to walk my dog for 15 minutes. I usually come back and my face is dry. I think the olive oil helped with the absorption of the vitamin E and the vitamin E kept my skin soft. I didn't put any make up on my face today and it looks like i did. Weird. But I like it. :)

So I think I stumbled upon something that works for my dry skin in the winter baby! And it's cheap and natural. I'll run out later to get more vitamin E, but I might get the capsules so I could break them when I need them. I read that when exposed to air vitamin E doesn't really have any benefits. I'll have a look when I get to the drugstore. So happy. :)

By the way, my Tortuga Super Emollient Lotion came by post today! Yipee. Can't comment on this product yet, but so far so good. I put the lotion on my hands and it smells so good! All Natural so it's the fragrance from the different oils. I'll give my feedback on how it works for me after a few days.

Magnesium Sulfate Epsom Bath Salt - I Got It !!!

Okay just a very quick update to let you know that I got the Magnesium Sulfate Epsom Bath Salt today. So excited. For $5.49, I got myself a 2kg bag. I'll take a picture of the bag tomorrow.

I didn't take a bath today because I wasn't sure if I wanted to plunge right in so fast. It is salt afterall...it's going to sting isn't it?! I got a rash on my upper arms and thighs. It's due to the dry and cold air..for sure. I haven't been using Curel because I still couldn't find any and Lubriderm as I said earlier is not really working. It actually stings when I put it on, so I haven't been really moisturizing enough for the past 2 weeks. Not to mention my panic attack about the "white petrolatum" and the "parbens" in both Curel and Lubriderm. I'm still waiting for my new lotion to arrive via the mail.

So I put 5 teaspoons of the bath salt in a container and fill it up with water. Just when I was about to finish my shower, I soaked a sponge into the mixture and just applied it over my body. I must tell you that when I sponged over my skin where I had my rash, it didn't sting at first but it did sting after a bit. And by the way, if you want to try what I did with the sponging first, DO NOT have your shower turn to HOT. It has to be lukewarm. If it's hot you are going to feel the sting from the salt for sure!! I learned by trail and error. Ouch.

After applying the mixture I used my towel to pat myself dry. I did feel the sting in my skin where I had my rash but after 1 minute it subsided and it actually felt really good. I feel really relaxed and the sting/burning sensation didn't really hurt at all. I actually liked the feeling.

I had to use Lubriderm because that is the only lotion I have right now and after half an hour I'm not itchy or anything. I'm just feeling really relaxed. So, for now I'm going to stop and continue tomorrow. I'm sleepy. :)

I'm going to continue using this method until Friday, when I'm going to take the bath. And I hope by tomorrow I get my new natural lotion.

See you.

Magnesium Sulfate Bath Salt, Keys Tortuga Super Emollient Therapeutic Lotion and Eczema

Magnesium Sulfate Bath Salt

I've been reading up on more skin care for eczema and it seems magnesium sulfate is good for the skin. You can find it in bath salts.

When I was in Singapore, my masseuse told me that swimming in sea water is good for my skin. She was an Indonesian woman, who by the way was the best masseuse I've ever...and I mean EVER...had!!! I still haven't found a place in Toronto that beats any massage you would get in Asia!

Anyways, I'm going to go out and get me some magnesium sulfate bath salts and will see if it improves my skin condition or not. I just need to make time for the bath routine though. I'll let you know how it goes after a few weeks.

Keys Tortuga Super Emollient Therapeutic Lotion

Meanwhile, I'm waiting for my bottle of Keys Tortuga Super Emollient Therapeutic Lotion to arrive in the mail. I found the description of this lotion from the Skin Deep website. It's supposed to be quite safe for the skin. This emollient contains ingredients like avocado oil, carrot seed oil and black cumin seed oil. I've read that black cumin is good for helping eczema so I was quite excited to have found this lotion with this ingredient. :)

I haven't tried it yet, so I'm crossing my fingers that I won't be allergic to it for some reason. And I hope that it's hydrating enough so that I wouldn't need to continuously reapply it throughout the day. The Lubriderm is just not doing the moisturizing job. I'm so excited. I think it's going to be here by early next week.


You can read about this product here: https://www.keys-soap.com/xcart41/product.php?productid=22&cat=2&page=1

Spectro EczemaCare - Intense Rehydration Cream

I forgot to mention this cream that was introduced to me by a friend of mine last year. I used it for awhile but for some reason forgot about it. Something must have happened for me to stop using it.
I think it's because unless my face is moist it's hard to put on.

This cream does work though. Since discovering the Good Guide website and the others on my favourite link list, I've submitted the product to the team to evaluate. It would be good if it comes back with a good review. I hope so.

Anyways, this cream is not cheap and so that's probably another reason why I didn't use it as much. I mean I can use a 100g tube of cream on my whole body at least twice a day. I'll go broke. So as a moisturizer for the entire body it's not a good choice. For affected areas it's good because it doesn't sting at all and it does the job for moisturizing and stopping the itch.

I just found my tube in my drawers and put it on my dry chapped fingers. Didn't sting and looks moisturized to me. I'll be checking with Good Guide on a weekly basis to see if they review the product. I really doubt though that it would clear eczema, but it definitely hydrates the skin.

Check out the product at this link: http://www.spectroskincare.com/eczema_care_rehydration_cream.aspx

Here's how the box looks like.

I'm going to start putting prices on these products so you can decide yourselves. My problem is I never remember how much I pay for things. A trait my man has a huge problem with. I'll start this and edit as I find out. :)

Panic Attack

Okay, so I was searching online again for eczema relief products and discovered some disturbing information about ingredients used in the lotions I've been using and are working for me. I'm so torn now because they are working but some of the ingredients used are known to be toxic and is not good for your body. They get absorbed into through your skin and can then cause problems. :(

Aaargh, now I have to really look for totally natural remedies because I want to eliminate putting on lotions that may cause other problems for me. I know we can totally eliminate all the bad things in life but I'm going to lessen the amount of harmful substances my body intakes. So the search is on for creams/lotions to use on my skin again.

After reading that "white petrolatum" is not good for my body because it can cause cancer!!! This ingredient is on every product that I use including my medicated cream base, I'm sure. I know I need my medicated creams when I have a major flare up so I can't avoid using it but I'm determine to lessen the exposure to this ingredient as much as I can. So last night I started using the 100% Pure Shea Butter. That is purely natural so I feel better about using it.

I'll talk about what other medicated ointment I'm using later tonight after I come home from my dinner with my friends. This ointment is suppose to be better for my face because it's an ointment so it help hydrate and skin will it stops the eczema. It's not steroids so it's safe to use on my face to avoid the thinning affects on my skin.

Anyways, this is just a short update to let you know that I'll be searching for organic natural products to hydrate my skin now. For my body and my face. It's going to be a long search because I am so allergic to so many ingredients that whatever I choose will be products I can both tolerate and works for my skin. There seems to be a lot of these products out there. They are a lot more expensive than what you'll find in the stores but hey man or woman, our health is important.

I'm going to continue to use the Shea Butter tonight to see if I could make it work. Oh I mix in tea tree oil on spots that was itchy just to help and that also is natural. I know I'm freaking myself out but I just feel if I can keep it as natural as possible it's going to help me in the long run.

Before I head out I'm going to spray a bit of the Thermal Spring Water on my hands and put some of the Shea Butter on. It's freezing out there today and that isn't good for my dry chapped hands.

Later.

Lubriderm Lotion - Unscented Moisture

Just as I said before, I'm always looking for "backup" lotions just in case my favourite body moisturizer, Curel, is not available at my favourite store. Contrary to what my friends may think, I'm a frugal shopper, especially when it comes to necessities. :)

You guessed it, I wasn't able to buy my usual Curel body lotion, so I had to find something else. I've heard about Lubriderm from my friends before but never tried it because I'm always worried about anything scented. However, I saw this unscented lotion the other day so I bought it to try. Well, I had to get something. The Shea Butter was a bit too greasy to use other than after my shower. Plus, it was starting to make me itch. :( So sad about that by the way, because I really wanted to use something that is all natural.

Anyways, I've been using this Lubriderm lotion for about 4 days now and it's okay. 580ml and around $6. One thing I like about this bottle is that you can see how much you've used, that will help me keep track of when I should get more. With the Curel bottle, you can't see through it and that's why I am in this situation now having to use a backup. :( You've seen the commercials haven't you? It claims to help you change your crocodile skin to soft and smooth all day long. Or am I remembering another brand?

Moving on, I would say that when I first put the lotion on my skin felt and looked moisturized. However, it only lasts for about 2 hours for me, not like Curel where it was really 24 hours or at least 8 hours because I didn't need to put on the lotion again until after I shower.

As a backup to ensure I moisturize my skin without irritation, I would recommend Lubriderm for those of you with the same dry skin type as I have. However, if you are looking for 24 hour moisture...Lubriderm Unscented Moisture is not going to do it for you. Nevertheless, it is still a pretty good product for sensitive skin. So I'm glad I bought it and am using it until my Curel is once again available at Walmart!!! (I still can't believe there was nothing available for at least 3 weeks now at all the locations near my place!)

Avene - Micellar Lotion

Not sure why I didn't mention this before but here's another product I use that is great for cleansing my face. It's for sensitive skin prone to redness. Instead of using water to wash my face I use this especially when I have a flare up. What I do is take a cotton ball and soak it with the lotion (which is like water) and wipe my face with it. It cleans all the dirt off and if I'm wearing make-up it takes it all off as well. There isn't a need to rinse it off with water afterwards! My skin stays moisturized without drying and the lotion helps reduce the redness.

Of course, I still have to put on some sort of moisturizer after that because my skin is so dry, so now I use the CicaPlast. Or if my face is flared up I use my medicated cream. The lotion helps with the absorption. It's great!

Here's how the bottle looks like. You can get it at any Shoppers Drugmart. I got this one last year and I still have a lot left. As you can see it was on sale, but I can't remember how much it cost. I think it was about $22 or so. That's not too bad considering it lasts a long time and lately I've been using it day and night.

CicaPlast - Great Stuff

To follow up with my first post, I've been using the Cicaplast cream from La Roche-Posay for 2 weeks now and it's been really good. My skin is not flaky anymore so it looks a lot younger than it did before I started using it. My tiny wrinkles are not so noticable anymore, which is great because they were bothering me. That's the thing about dry skin and Eczema, it really matures the skin.

Anyways, since it was my Dermatologist that recommended this cream after I asked her about what I should use for my face other than my medicated cream to moisturize and keep the wrinkles at bay, she told me to try Cicaplast.

I thought I could get it at Shoppers but they didn't seem to have it so I went online to get it. I found a website http://www.well.ca/ and it was great because shipping is free!!! Love that plus for sure.

I've taken a picture of the cream here, so that it's easy for anyone to recognize the product. The Shoppers sales lady tried to convince me that Avene has the same product with the same ingredients but I didn't want to try something that my Dermatologist didn't recommend. If she wanted me to use the Avene product, she would've told me about it. But I do use the Water Mist from Avene when they are on sale, with the spring/mineral water sprays I just think all water mists would be beneficial to hydrate your skin; whether it's from Avene or ever Evian.

Okay, more on other great finds as soon as I find some. I'm still in search of anything good for my skin and that includes clothing.