Let’s start at the very begining…a very good place to start!!

anjalg — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:35:10 +0000

Now I have been to dermatologists twice once when I was 15 and my second trip to one was last year. I have always believed in natural remedies so basically if you can eat it…it can be applied to the face. So imagine my shock and horror when at the age of 15 after sticking to basic natural soaps and face masks of honey, turmeric and whatever else could be found in my kitchen I started getting little spots on my face!! My friends told me to apply toothpaste, my aunt for some strange reason advised me to apply butter, my grandmother was all for any kind of herb that she could pluck from the garden and grind into a paste…I tried them all. It was the most horrible thing that could happen to a teenager. Angry looking red spots which never dried up. I cleaned, I exfoliated, I moisturized…basically did everything I could to make them go away. Before I went to sleep each night I would stare into the magnifying mirror and think, “it looks better…its drying up…” and wake up to find two more companions to the one that had dried up or died the night before. It was a traumatizing time…

As last resort I decided to visit a dermatologist. He was really nice and told me I had sensitive skin and very slight acne. So he prescribed an anti acne soap along with a topical solution called Dalacin-T. As an extra precaution I stopped all chocolates for a month (I know, I know chocolates have nothing to with acne but try convincing a 15-year-old) and started drinking a litre of water everyday. It all worked beautifully and in a few months my skin had completely cleared up. Every experience leaves a lasting impression and unfortunately for me after this incident to this day I am afraid to apply any kind of moisturizer to my cheeks…

Since then I have had problem free skin except for a few months ago. I moved from London to Dubai and regardless to say it was a stressful time. To make matters worse I moved to Dubai at the worst possible time of the year…June. I guess the stress, change in climate, high heat and humidity all played factors in causing my face to start breaking out again. Now, I have used Clean & Clear products for the past 4-5 years and loved them. Suddenly, the products just stopped working!!! So once again I went down the herbal natural route. This time I tried Tea Tree oils along with my Clean & Clear products…did nothing for me.

So, I went back to a new dermatologist and I must say it was probably the most useless effort not to mention all the money that I wasted. I kept going back to this dermatologist for a few months and every time I would go back he would tell me to try a new lotion, a new sunblock, a new cleanser and the list goes on. It was an extremely annoying experience because not only was his medication not working but every session he would ask me to buy a lotion from a new brand which again did nothing for my skin!!!

I am happy to say that I decided to quit going to this doctor. Since then I have found a few products that do suit my skin and have cleared the spots up to a great extent but as I said I am on the quest to find the perfect cleanser and the journey has just started…

My bathroom cabinet

anjalg — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:37:43 +0000

I have a new obsession. Actually it’s not really new in fact I think it might be a genetic thing which means it’s not new at all. My ‘genetic obsession’ involves the quest to find the ‘perfect facial cleanser’. I know this might sound silly and trivial. I mean who really cares about facial cleansers when there is so much more to worry about on a daily basis. I have to admit this is by no means trivial to me. I have struggled for the past so many years to find a cleanser that will suit my skin and not cost a bomb. Pretty basic requirements I would say. I have yet to find such a cleanser. This quest has been going on a for a while now. Needless to say my bathroom cabinet is now packed with bottles of every shape and size, brand and color. It’s not that I have not found good products…I have. The problem is if they do work for my skin type they do so for only a few months or better yet they work for more than a few months and then for some reason they get discontinued or I move to a country where I can’t find that particular cleanser anymore. Change is good I have been told and I like changing my products from time to time and hence this quest.

The genetic cause of this obsession comes from my maternal side. My grandmother loves makeup. She loves going to the store and browsing around the makeup aisle. I don’t even think she uses makeup but she likes to buy it. My mother is fond of perfumes. She collects perfumes and still has the empty bottle of the cologne her father used or the empty bottle of the cologne my father was using when they were dating…so you see…this love of products is truly a genetic thing!! When I go to the supermarket I save the facial cleanser aisle for last (save the best for last and all) and I can spend quite a bit of time walking along that aisle. I have tried a number of brands and I will blog about them. Just notes to say how my skin felt, how long they worked for (if they worked at all).

Please note…I am not a doctor or a dermatologist. I am not a skin care professional. The ideas expressed in the following blogs are purely mine as a consumer. I have never been to beauty school or taken any courses on the subject. I do read a great deal about skin care and am pretty good with my daily regimen. I do not work for any of the beauty brands. I am purely a consumer looking for a good cost effective facial cleanser.

Anjalg's Blog

Let’s start at the very begining…a very good place to start!!

My bathroom cabinet