Yet More Fantastic Skincare and Where To Find It

[botemp]

Thread 1

Thread 2

Thread 3

For those who are taking a peek and wondering whether thread 1,2, and 3 are worth reading, we mostly discuss a bit of advanced skincare here with a perspective of seeking out the right ingredients for our particular needs. Distinguishing the acid toners from the actives whilst avoiding the truly unimpressive and harmful ingredients with a hope to achieve a bit of anti-ageing, alleviate irritation and sensitivities with some idle chat in between. Deviations on this thread are mostly my fault.

This January we're doing some added extra chitchat about food and diet and reducing or eliminating sugar for both overall and skin health. Recipe sharing encouraged.

If you're in need of some advice coming to grips with your skincare routine please don't hesitate to ask, we don't bite, only occasionally sting with a bit of Biologique Recherche P50 now and then . Just make sure to state clearly what your concerns and needs are in as much detail as possible, skincare is highly individual and a random recommendation for a 'good' product will be completely different from one person to the next.

If you want help, please do read through the previous threads first. It takes a lot of time and effort to answer these queries and often the answers can be found in previous threads, but if you still have questions use the following form to make life easier on us. We generally answer one or to two people a day on a first come first served basis. Not everyone will have answers and sometimes we can't answer you at all. We're only a bunch of amateurs that can respond by suggesting what we would do in your place, for any severe conditions please seek out professional help.

---

Skin type:

Approx age (range):

Primary skin concern:

Routine :

AM :

PM :

Makeup : eg. no/light coverage/medium coverage/heavy coverage

Occasional treatments:

Things I've tried in the past with disastrous results:

Things that are really working well for me now:

Any dietary/health concerns/pregnant:

What I'm willing to spend on a single skincare item: eg. >£10, £10-20, £20-50, £50-100, no limits.

I specifically [want help with/am looking for a product to/am curious about trying]:

---

Ahem, and finally a little note on spending. I'm well aware these threads cause many to reach for their wallets and spend with wild abandon. There can sometimes be a bit of a frenzy surrounding the excitement around a newly discovered product or on the back of great improvements when someone reports back. This is all great, it doesn't however, mean everything that's a sudden miracle for one will be it for you. Usually, it's a light bulb moment for connecting the right skincare ingredient with an individual experiencing a specific problem. Take your time to mull over decisions and question whether it's right for you too. Skincare is highly individual, it's a slow game that should cost mostly in patience, input, education, and perseverance. Please don't make it cost you financially needlessly either.

Thank you.

The conditioner is even more hollin!

Great curly hair tips. DD is 2 and has beautiful curls but is like the wild woman of the roads every Morning! Will try that spray definitely as I only ever leave a bit of conditioner in it and wet to detailed. I was straight until puberty then got thick curly 3b type hair but 5 children later and it got thin and the curls 2c /3 a. I could not manage it anymore as it just looked lifeless so got it cut up to a short pixi. Have spent $$$ on products that did nothing for myou hair!

Wet to detangle ....flaming predictive text

No INCI on the Oribe either, I'd like to see the flecks of gold dust acknowledged somewhere with that price tag..

Horizon programme about hair care on BBC 2 now! Looks interesting. I have the total opposite problem, I can't use any conditioner at all or my hair is a greasy, lank mess, even the "light" ones for greasy hair. But without conditioner my hair isn't greasy at all, for years I thought I had greasy hair but it was just the conditioner. I've just ordered a sample of Bumble and Bumble surf shampoo, the salt spray things seem to give me a bit of body and texture.

Thanks so much for the advice re TO products, I will try and contain my excitment and introduce slowly even though I'm itching to try them all 😬

I don't use a particular brand of rosehip, just any organic, cold pressed one I see around. My baby has hidden my current one!

You're supposed to do the hair porosity test with fairly clean hair. If possible, no products on it like hairspray etc. AFAIK, if different strands react differently, it's likely because one is more damaged by heat, chemicals etc. Bleach in particular increases porosity - you know how bleached hair often looks & feels very dry, rough - it's due to the hair surface (the cuticle) which has been opened up by the bleach & doesn't close again very well. If your hair goes frizzy in humid weather, it's likely quite porous. My hair stays exactly the same... I need to squeeze DD's hair to to get the water in when I wash it, it repels water like a duck's feathers, mine always did when it was long as well. That British Curlies site explains porosity really well, the glass test is an indicator but you need to look at how your hair is overall.

I can't forgo shampoo for DD... she usually has glitter or sand in her hair.

My moisturiser has 24k gold in and costs me £8 from eBay

I'd have to read up on it further but the pH thing was interesting on the originally linked article with the porous hair test and I know Aurora does well with ACV rinses. There also seems to be a trend with clay for hair coming in (generally a higher pH but still slightly acidic where I'd have to guess that average soapy shampoos will be basic) but I also have to think about an article I linked a while back that deduced that high pH products (generally regarded as bad in skincare) is actually beneficial if you eat the average American shit diet, the two somehow balance each other out. So makes sense to look into the pH of hair products in relation to porosity too to find the ideal balance. So I'm guessing oil cleansers will be next in hair care

Thank you Aurora. I've started reading about gut leak this evening, I had not heard of it previously. As I grew up with a parent with psoriasis I had put mine down to genetics and stress so had not actually spent any time reading about alternative causes and treatments.

Hmmm very interesting! Must stress though that if you use ACV on hair too often it may dry it, whereas if you use it sparingly it really softens it.
I have used Dead Sea mud on my hair on occasion and it also leaves it very soft, but it's such a hassle....
The oils I use at the moment are macadamia avocado and jojoba, but argan is great too of course.

Lego god forbid we don't use shampoo on children's hair Though mine are older they still roll on the floor inside and outside daily! At least glitter looks pretty

Depressing - that is very interesting! Please do keep us posted. My friend is now going to go gluten free as well. She has gone low carb in the past and had already seen the benefits (found it hard as she travels a lot), but knows she was kind of lying to herself by going half-way, at least as far as giving it a real honest try in order to truly asses the benefits.

I'm rereading the article properly now, acidic products closes the cuticles so technically no good for low porosity hair but I guess at the end of the routine it works for sealing things in. The article suggest alkaline products for low porous hair but that's like dishwashing soap, isn't it .

Depressing, I always think it's worth looking into diet and food allergies when skincare issues fall outside of the expected for prolonged periods of time (so psoriasis, eczema, acne, etc.). Obviously consult your GP about it before cutting out food groups only on suspicions of possible allergies/health issues, always best to get it confirmed and proper guidance.

My hair goes a bit frizzy in damp weather but I used clean strands of hair and they definitely floated. The description of low porosity hair in that second link matches my hair exactly so I think it's right. Hair takes a while to soak through before shampooing and takes hours and hours to dry by itself. Its shiny and hair colour lasts a very long time.

And I'll have to double post because my memory has gone again.

Actually no more to add. Apart from holy shit! That's the most expensive shampoo I've ever seen! No way is a shampoo worth that.

enid can't be anything I've eaten as haven't really eaten anything different to usual?! Who bloody knows! Thank you for actually responding to me though lol I'm a little ignored on here sometimes maybe because I'm a pest?!

Can someone please tell me how to do the hair test in a glass??

Anyone heard of this product?

www.amodelrecommends.com/2017/01/23/prai-ageless-throat-decolletage-cream-review/

Haven't reviewed the blog post, but in short, neck creams fall into the category of cellulite creams. All promises but no actual science backing it or long term improvement some temporary improvement may be seen but it's not sustainable. Also, if iirc AMR has some sort of business ties with that brand (or some form of intense working relationship).

mint/jo, not ignoring, I think we all assume that you're just venting. My guess is worse than yours as to what is triggering you, it's almost impossible to tell from my end considering the endless variables. I'm on mobile so can't link, but Lego linked to the article a few pages back in response to Enid. Basically you drop a clean hair strand in a glass of water if it sinks to the bottom it's highly porous, middle is medium, and if it floats it's low porosity.

bo thank you I will give that a try and report back.....

Aurora - lots of people comment on how lovely DD's hair is, how long, shiny, how much work it must be etc. They'd no doubt recoil in horror if I told them how often I wash it. (Clue: frequent washing strips the hair...) It's easier long, as it stays up / back & doesn't get as tangly. It's curly & very thick.

I've read (on the LHC site) though, that some people don't use "products" of any kind - they use certain traditional herbs (the easiest being soapnuts). Some use sodium bicarbonate & cider vinegar, some just use water, or don't wash it & just use a brush to clean out any dust bits etc & distribute the sebum to the ends. Personally, I like shampoo, although I do prefer the soapnut shampoo bars by Living Naturally when I can afford them. Not sure how their products would be for skin health though? If someone could tell me if any are likely to irritate my back skin, I have used & liked the Bay & Laurel, & the Calendula & Chamomile bars in the past. Who wanted to stick to natural products as much as possible? I think all their products are pretty much natural, lots of Vegan society labels on the products & very short ingredient lists. There's not much by way of moisturiser etc, but they do soaps etc as tester packs, & lip balms as well as shampoo & household cleaning supplies.

Here's your reminder to cut tubes open...
This was a spluttering BB cream that seemed empty which probably has 3 months worth left in it!
I also had a few samples of ones that don't give enough coverage, are a bit dark, or I just haven't used so I've mixed those in too

Picture might help!

Wow hollin. That's a lot of product!

My TO Vit C arrived. I also ordered some azelaic acid to try.

So, having got to some basic understanding re skincare ingredients and what works for me I'm trying to do the same for my hair. Not rocket science is it! I don't have the easiest of manes and I'm daft for not looking into it fully before. This morning I did a wash with my Aveda clarifying shampoo. Then I used the PK elasticizer for the first time. Wrapped my hair in cling film, then a towel and left for 20 minutes (must buy shower cap). Showered and washed/conditioned. Squeezed hair - no rubbing (usually would) - with a towel. Put head straight into one of those microfibre towels. After about 20 minutes I took the towel off, combed with a wide toothed comb and let my hair be for about half an hour. Then I put some Liz Earle hair oil on the mid ends to roots (would normally just do this straight from wet) and blow dried straight. I want to get to a point where I can leave it wavy, drying naturally. But I couldn't tell how it was going to go (would normally be too frizzy) and it's DS' bday today so we are out for an early family dinner, then his GCSE options evening at school so it felt too much of a risk. But I will next time. BUT, it is silky silky soft and sleek. I usually have very shiny hair so not much change there, but it was a lot easier to dry and the top section at the back that usually looks the worst is sitting beautifully without a hint of frizz/dryness.

I have ordered some shampoo and conditioner to try, plus a styling cream (not sure the oil is the best option) so I have high hopes that my hair is about to be more manageable and less frizzy. When it's looking good I feel like it's my best quality. Sadly that's not the case very often any more.

The PK elasticizer has a bit of silicone in it, but I think I'm gonna try to use it once a week. Hopefully with a once a fortnight or so go with a clarifyer it'll be okay.

See!! (Bit of my kitchen for ya too).