Beauty Talk: Hyperpigmentation lets talk about it

Not my usual kind of beauty blog post today, but I’m in one of those reflective moods, you know those moods where you just have way too many thoughts going on in your head, so I thought why not do one of the best things possible and lay those thoughts to paper or internet in this case…

I strongly advice you grab a cup of tea and settle in for the read :-)

Unless you have been living under a rock recently, I’m sure most of you have heard about the pop singer Dencia and her infamous new cream called whitenecious! This was followed by the beautiful speech Lupita did at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards ceremony, which completely brought me to tears and more recently followed up with the cringe worthy interview Dencia did on Channel Four!

But just in case you have missed it, here is the image and both videos that have sparked off the world to discuss issues surrounding shadism, bleaching, body confidence and which prompted my reflections for this post

Product Review: SkinCeuticals Sheer Mineral UV Defense SPF 50

Hey LPM Lovelies,

Those of you that have been following me for a while will know that in regards to my skin, one of my biggest issues is with scarring from previous acne breakouts. A big part of my fight against my scarring is with sunscreen. I cannot stress the importance of it enough, in that I find that using it helps to prevent further darkening of the scarring I have, by protecting my face from the suns rays. 

Needless to say I am on the hunt to find the perfect sunscreen and will be testing a few out until I do. So moving onto my first sunscreen review, I present you with SkinCeuticals Sheer Mineral UV Defense SPF 50

What they say

“Sheer Mineral UV Defense SPF 50 offers breakthrough formulation technology in mineral sunscreens: a first-to-market transparent, mattifying, paraben-free SPF 50 fluid. Employing all-mineral broad-spectrum filters, SkinCeuticals fills a void in the sunscreen market by providing high UVA and UVB protection in a lightweight, ultra-sheer texture for all skin types, even very sensitive. The photoprotection of trusted broad-spectrum mineral filters is enhanced by Artemia Salina, a plankton extract that increases the skin’s defenses to heat and UV stress. This silky sheer fluid spreads evenly and dries quickly, leaving skin bare and soothed.”

The good

I have been using this daily for the last 3 months and I think it has been fantastic for protecting my face from the sun and stopping my scars from getting any darker. It's very light and sits nicely with my moisturiser without that heavy sticky feeling you can sometimes get when you layer products in the summer. 

The bad

Sadly it’s just not transparent on my dark skin! which goes against the product blurb!! It leaves a white cast on face that unfortunately results in me looking like an extra from the twilight cast! – see a swatch of my hand below. It definitely improves when I put my makeup on, but I think the mix with my foundation gives me a slight grey tinge that is only wearable when I blend like mad..

My other problem (although this is an issue with my skin rather than the product) is that if you have any sort of dry skin on your face it seems to accentuate the dry skin making it more obvious. Like I said clearly an issue I need to solve - but still it's quite annoying as by the time you put your sunscreen on you are hardly likely to run back into the bathroom to have a scrubbing session.

All in all though I think it's a great sun protector and it seems to last for quite a while, I just wish it was actually transparent.The sunscreen retails for £31.00 and is available from a number of UK stockists, see the page for details http://www.skinceuticals.co.uk/stockists.php

#63 Question about scarring

One of the things I love about beauty is that it brings us together – we all have something we can’t live without, we all want to be beautiful in our own individual way and most of us have a beauty bug bear or question. I received an email a little while ago from a reader who wanted to find out some information about breakouts and scarring

Question

I’m on warfarin so I bruise easily and lately I have started to break out a lot. So whatever small scar I have, it turns into a huge scar! So, in short am looking for something that will clear my scar big time!!! I used to use Garnier cleanser/scrub and that was ok-ish but the Olay was on offer so I decided to get the Regenerist Polisher and Cleanser. The cleanser made me breakout a lot, I still use the Regenerist serum as at 26 pounds I wasn’t going to let it to go to waste! Now, am confused whether to treat my skin because it bruises easily or treat my skin breaking out from using Oil of Olay Regenerist Cleanser. What to do?!

Anyone who is a regular reader of my blog will know that the subject of scarring is one of my biggest beauty bugs – so I completely understand and sympathise

First up – you need to STOP using the Olay Regenerist Cleanser - It doesn’t matter how much it cost you, if your skin is breaking out then it sounds like your skin obviously doesn’t agree with something in the product and I don’t think continuing to use it is going to do you any favours. I personally am not a fan of the whole “oh your face needs to break out if the product is working theory” to me I have enough to deal with without also needing to treat my skin following the use of such a product. So unless you are sure that the serum isn’t causing you to break out as well then I would stop using that too

Next I would say you need to treat the breakouts first before you treat the scarring – with skin of colour we have more melanin in our skin which makes our skin more reactive, so a breakout, rash etc can act as a stimulus and trigger off the production of melanin which results in a dark mark or in scientific terms post inflammatory hyper pigmentation. As you mentioned being on warfarin means you bruise easily –so it’s important to reduce the damage and scarring being caused by your breakouts. You need a skincare regime that will help to deep cleanse your skin, exfoliate to remove the dead skin cells and a good moisturiser to put moisture back in the skin.

A cleanser/exfoliator that I have used and loved is Elemis Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Facial Wash. It stimulates the skin's natural cell renewal cycle, actively smoothing and refining, whilst gently sloughing away dead skin cells which dull the complexion. I love that it doesn’t contain SLS which I find can cause my sensitive skin to be reactive and I found that it really helped to polish and improve the texture of my skin as well as help to fade my scars. The only thing with it is that you need to use it on already pre-cleansed skin as it isn’t a cleanser as such, that you would use to take off your makeup. In the mornings I just use it immediately but at night I pre-cleanse to remove makeup etc. I would also suggest that you look into using a mask once or twice a week – combined with a steam (but don’t steam your face more than once a week).

To fade the marks I would suggest a combination of exfoliation, skin brighteners, an oil and daily use of an SPF. Exfoliating regularly helps to clear clogged pores and to polish and break down the pigment in the scar. I prefer to use non gritty exfoliators and firm favourites that I turn to are the Elemis Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Facial Wash as mentioned previously, Origin’s Modern Friction (read a previous review here) and Demalogica’s Daily Microexfoliant which I think is fantastic for creating an even surface and an instant brightening boost – they say it can be used everyday but I tend to use it every other day otherwise I find my skin seems to get slightly oily and sensitive. Skin brightening ingredients (completely different to skin lightening) will help to suppress the excess melanin and to even out your skin tone – ingredients to look for are Vitamin C, Mulberry, Bilberry etc. At nightime I love using oils and have used Bio Oil in the past which my face seemed to love, another oil that was recommended to me recently is Cosmetics a la Carte's Rose Elixir, It was recommended by Ateh, she used it on a scar on her hand and it faded it really quickly, see the review here atehjewelbeautyinsider.blogspot Follow this up with a good SPF every day to protect your skin from the sun’s rays which can exacerbate discolorations. If you would like to give your skin a big jump start then a professional facial that focuses on exfoliating and fading scars will really help and you can work on maintaining the results at home with the right products. Finally another important thing to note is that unfortunately there is no quick fix so you have to be patient and commit to a proper routine to keep it under control. I hope this has been of some help and wish you the best of luck. Keep me posted on how it works out

P.S check out my previous post on Lumecin Overnight Treatment and Darphin Clear White, they are both products that are meant to help with scarring and brightening the skin. However I have only just started testing them out so I can’t really tell you how they have worked for me yet but check back in a few weeks for a review.

Xoxo

#61 All things bright and beautiful

So one of my main beauty resolutions for this year is to sort out my skin and improve its look and feel. One of the way’s in which I want to do that is to fade away my post breakout scarring and even out my skin tone.

That is why I am so excited about the two products that dropped through my door recently. Here is a little info about the products that I have taken from the press release. I will be testing both products out over a period of time and will write a review of how they work on my skin.

Darphin Clear White Brightening & Soothing Serum


First up is Clear White Brightening and Soothing Serum from Darphin. Described as an intensive brightener that works to reduce the appearance of brown spots and uneven pigmentation as it soothes, smoothes and clarifies dull, tired skin.

It promises that I will have:


1) More unified skin tone
2) Brightened, enlivened complexion
3) Reduced appearance of dark spots
The Ingredients

It uses ingredients that are well known for brightening and fading away marks
Vitamin C, Mulberry Extract, Apple Extract, Scutellaria Extract, Licorice Extract, Rice Extract, Gentian Extract

Lumecin Overnight Brightening Gluco-Protein Treatment

The second product is Lumecin Overnight Brightening Gluco-Protein Treatment. It looks like a prescription product and is described as a “revolutionary, overnight topical skin treatment that helps restore the look of brightness, smoothness and texture to your skin”.

The Claims

1) Overnight, improves skin’s moisture barrier strength, smoothness and texture
2) After four weeks of continual use, increases the look of brightness and pore size appears reduced
3) With continued use helps fade the look of brown spots and discolorations

The Ingredients

Lumecin uses a combination of five key ingredients that immediately start working to improve your skin’s appearance.

1) Protectami - improves skin’s smoothness and texture by helping to optimize cell turnover, allowing new cells to emerge.
2) Glucosamine – gently exfoliates skin’s surface to visibly increase brightness and even out skin tone
3) Hydrolyzed Protein - helps improve skin’s natural defense shield through skin moisture barrier repair.
4) Urea, natural moisturizing factor found in skin’s outer layers, helps reduce the appearance of pore size and smoothes skin’s texture by helping loosen and release pore clogs.
5) LumaFade Complex - a unique blend of ingredients with skin brightening benefits, helps to visibly diffuse and fade dark spots and discolorations caused by hyper pigmentation.

They both sound fantastic and I have really high hopes, especially as I have seen good reviews for both products. So I can’t wait to try them out and let you know how I get on. Have any of you tried either one of them or any other brightening product? How did you find it?

Xoxo

#18 Herbal Green Peel Day 5

Wow what a relief it’s finally over! My follow up treatment ‘bacial’ felt like a complete treat after the week I have been through and I literally ooohed with joy when I felt the wet sponge on my back. Was it worth it? It definitely was. The scars are not completely gone but my back is noticeably clearer, more refined and the scars are lighter. I will keep you all posted on the results and on if anything changes but for now it looks good.

Xoxo

#17 Herbal Green Peel Day 4

I’m quite excited I received a comment/question about my blog and about the green peel to be precise…..it means someone out there is reading, yay! I was going to respond to just the reader but realised it was a valid question that I tut tut should have written about in my first green peel post. The question was as follows

“Sounds very interesting but as it is a herbal rather than chemical peel - i assume that is why you have to go back twice? what exactly is in the peel - do you know? Pain and Beauty go hand in hand - one word - threading!Waiting for part deux and please follow up so that we know the true effects i.e how long does it last? when does the pain actually end? is it appropriate for black skin - although i suppose you, as the guinea pig, will be the best answer to that! That kind of thing.”

My answer: First of all thanks for the great question. I have to go back twice because the second treatment is essentially a follow up treatment a ‘Bacial’ Back Facial where all the old skin will be massaged off and thoroughly cleansed, steamed, scrubbed and massaged. The green peel contains a combination of herbs, vitamins, plant hormones, enzymes, algae and minerals. It is meant to be suitable for all skin types, black skin included (yes I am the perfect guinea pig) and can help the following conditions – oily acne prone skin, scarring, and sun damaged and wrinkled skin. As for the pain and results, I will definitely keep you posted on the results. Hope this helps …

Moving on to today’s diary post. The word lizard woman and scaly really springs to mind, I seem to be shedding skin like its going out of fashion. I have taken to walking around with a dust pan and brush – I have never been so pleased that my floors are wooden and hiding out at home (I almost refused to open the door to the postman!). Thankfully the itchiness has calmed down considerably but its still there like an annoying fly in the background. I simply can’t wait till this is over……

See you all tomorrow for part five of my diary and hopefully the last

Xoxo

#16 Herbal Green Peel Day 3

I’m in major itchy mode today, well to be honest it’s been since last night really – seriously my back itches like mad! You know what its like when you get a weave, and it seems to go through that itchy phase so you have to pat your head gently rather than dig at your scalp, just in case people start thinking that you have lice! – Well intensify the feeling by about 100!!! I eventually called the salon this morning in a panic and was told it was nothing to worry about (apparently its actually good news!! because it means the herbs are stimulating my skin and encouraging new growth) I had to get Mr Lotions & Potions to pat my back with a book…thank God we are already married otherwise this might have scared him away. I also seem to be 2 shades darker and my skin has started to crack. I eventually take some nurofen and drink camomile tea and funnily enough this seems to help which is fine for now but I can’t help wondering what I have gotten myself into

See you all tomorrow for part four of my diary

Xoxo

#15 Herbal Green Peel Day 2

So today the million nails digging into my back have now been reduced to a bad case of constant pins and needles and I feel like itching my back (all the time!!!!). My skin is also starting to look quite dry but when I touch it, it feels really oily. I keep staring longingly at my long bristle brush which would be perfect for the itch…but no I’m strong and must persevere.

See you all tomorrow for part three of my diary

Xoxo

#14 Herbal Green Peel

So today is the first day of my five day diary on my Green Peel - I will be writing about the process and results on each day. I arrive at the Rag & Beau Salon feeling slightly excited but extremely nervous. This trepidation only increases when my therapist Anna asks me if i'm ready and if I took any pain killers before arriving…..I immediately panic and think – OMG should I have done? And question 4 on my consultation form “on a scale of 1-5 how high is your pain threshold?” doesn’t do anything to calm my anxiety! You see i’m here to put the theory of beauty is pain to the test by having the green peel done. Now you might remember me mentioning that in the past I had gone through a phase of adult breakouts? Well unfortunately this wasn’t just on my face; I also had a few on my back as well. So when I heard about the green peel I decided to have the treatment done on my back to help fade the scars away.

The green peel is an intensive exfoliation treatment – and is described as being an alternative to a chemical peel but with the same results. It uses a blend of natural herbs which when massaged into the skin is designed to increase blood circulation, inducing the regeneration of the skin cells and collagen fibres. As a result this then causes the upper layers of the skin to peel off. The treatment will involve two visits to the salon – the first which was today and the second is on the fifth day for the follow up treatment

The first part of my treatment which lasted for about thirty minutes started off with me thinking hmmm – it’s not as bad as I thought. The herbs were massaged into my back and initially just felt like a very grainy scrub. Fifteen minutes into it and its now starting to feel quite uncomfortably abrasive and hot which only gets worse when she turns on the steamer (i’m told this helps to increase the effectiveness of the treatment). Twenty minutes into it and my back feels like its on fire, i’m wriggling my toes in pain and thinking I really don’t think I can take this anymore when suddenly she stopped. Now just as i’m thinking phew! I’m told the herbs need to be taken off – all I can say is a sponge and a burning back does not equate to pain free. I emerge from there thinking surely my back is red and sore? But no its not, it actually looks quite clear and smooth on the down side though I feel like there are a million nails all over my back and i’m told the worst bit - which is that I can’t get water anywhere near my back until I come back for the follow up treatment. I leave there thinking this week will be an interesting shower or bath experience and what on earth was thinking!!!! I sooo need some pain killers and this had better be worth all this. It’s definitely not for the faint hearted.

See you all tomorrow for part two of my diary

Xoxo

#8 I'm protected

This post is a tad bit late this week. Why? Well I was suffering from post holiday blues! I mean it was all sun, sand, sea, glorious food and sangria for a whole week…I came back and what did I get? Crappy weather and shed loads of work, happily waiting for me!!! And I swear the work had a smug look as if to say…hah!! You thought you could get a way didn’t you – well I showed you!! Cue evil laugh…ha, ha, ha…I mean is it too much for a girl to want to keep that holiday feeling going?

As they say there is no rest for the good, is there? Anyhu I have now been cheered up by a box of goodies from the folks at John Frieda with a number of lovely looking products which are meant to be good for my hair – so will keep you posted on them once I have tried them out…seriously there is nothing like pressies and beauty stuff to get me smiling again.

Now on the subject of beauty stuff – I have to say my all time favourite product from my holiday trip was my new sun protection. A friend suggested Garnier's Ambre Solaire Sheer Protect 30 for my face….and I loved it! For a long time now I have been searching for a face sun protector that wouldn’t leave me with that horrible white filmy mask due to its zinc contents and I found it with this. It was light, non greasy and absorbed easily.

Now for brown girls who don’t already know this – although being darker does provide you with a little bit of protection it doesn’t fully protect you from the sun’s harmful rays. You do need sunscreen to prevent premature skin ageing and if you have any scarring that you are trying to fade away – it’s essential that you wear sunscreen otherwise the suns rays can remove all your good work and actually encourage your marks to get darker!!!

So get protecting and remember you need it even during winter. The sheer protect retails at £9.99

Xoxo