I have found the Fountain of Youth in these four(4) carrier oils

Have you ever looked at celebrities such as Madonna, Tracee Ellis Ross or even Pharrell Williams and wondered how is it that as each year passes, everyone seems to be getting older while they seem to be ageless? We all want to preserve our youth for as long as it is humanly possible. Well I know I do! There are four (4) oils that I will detail in this post that I find to be quite helpful in maintaining the suppleness and overall health of my skin. The oils are Rosehip Seed, Jojoba, Coconut and Macadamia Nut. I will be examining these oils from four angles: skintype recommendations, weight, uses and shelf life.

Coconut and Rosehip Seed oils are on the heavier side.  If your skin requires extra moisture, these two oils have your name written all over them! Jojoba oil falls under the medium category while macadamia nut oil is quite light.

Rosehip Seed oil is perfect for dry and aging skin. If your skin is oily, macadamia nut oil will not clog your pores and acts as a great moisturizer as well. Jojoba oil can be used by all and is often found in many expensive beauty products.

Recommended Uses:
1. Rosehip Seed Oil (extracted from the seeds of Rosa moschata or Rosa rubiginosa in the southern Andes or Rosa canina which are types of roses found in South Africa & Europe)...Contains vitamins E, C & B-Carotene. These vitamins are responsible for the rejuvenating and regeneration of your skin cells. The oil reduces age and dark spots, lightens stretch marks, controls hyperpigmentation and improves the general appearance and feel of the skin & nails.

2. Jojoba Oil (obtained from "pressing" jojoba seeds of a shrub which can be found in the USA and Mexico)...Powerful face moisturizer, mimics the sebum produced by your scalp and as such is perfect for keeping your scalp healthy, calms eczema, psoriasis and sunburns and aids in wound healing.

3. Coconut Oil (found in most tropical islands and is extracted from Coconuts)...Eye serum, body moisturizer, nail cuticle oil and hair conditioner. This oil has penetrating properties and as such is great in helping to moisturize your hair and thus reducing hair breakage.

4. Macadamia Nut Oil (the tree is found in Australia usually and extraction is done through pressing)...Face moisturizer, makeup remover, eye serum, facial cleanser, helps to prevent split ends by sealing in moisturizer in the hair.

Storage:
Rosehip Seed Oil is prone to rancidity so great care must be taken when storing this oil. It's best to keep it refrigerated after opening. Jojoba oil stores well and is sometimes used to extend the shelf life of other oils. Macadamia nut oil should be stored in places that are cool and should not be exposed to heat and excessive light. My favorite oil, Coconut oil, has a shelf life that goes up to two (2) years.

It's always fun to experiment with oils so grab your wallets and purses and start shopping! You can never put a price tag on your health or grooming. Often times people will see our skin before they see us. It is therefore essential that we preserve our skin and maintain its natural beauty so we can all have that feeling of being Forever Young!

NB: Persons who generally have allergic reactions to nuts should do a skin test before using macadamia nut oil.

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How I CURED MY ACNE on my own

But first, lemme take a selfie!

Okay so a selfie would be the last thing that you'd want to take when there are huge pimples on your face. You hate cameras right? Maybe you only have fine bumps or just regular sized pimples that you absolutely loathe and you want them gone like yesterday!!! Whatever the case may be, nobody wants bumps or blemishes caused by acne scars on their face. Want to blast those pesky bumps into oblivion? Read on my brothas and sistas!!

The first thing I did was to learn how to distract myself from the obvious things that stressed me out. This was a hard task but I had to do it. I love to laugh so every thing that I could find on TV or online to give me a bellyfull of jokes, you can bet my eyes were fixated on those things. I tried to increase my physical activity as well. Busting a sweat can do your body good. All those harmful toxins in your body will be removed easily via a good thirty (30) minute work out, dancing, running, jogging, playing a sport etc. Kick stress in the ass and half your battle has been won!

That internal change that you've been working on by reducing your stress levels must be accompanied by increasing your water intake. Lord how I hated drinking water. I mean, I was always inside an air-conditioned office so I seldom got so thirsty that I had to be drinking lots of water. Who has the time for that anyway?? Uuuhh ladies and gents, you HAVE TO make the time and go gulp that water down! If it means that you have to put a time schedule in your phone via an alarm/reminder every hour, or maybe writing reminders on colourful post-its or by simply keeping a 1 litre bottle of water on your desk, you have to find a way to get that water in! Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!!! Remember when your parents would say that you needed water to flush your system? They were right! Water gives moisture to the skin and helps to also remove toxins when you sweat or head to the Loo. 

If you're a junk food lover, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you have to eliminate that stuff from your diet for awhile. Weaning myself from KFC for two months was one of the hardest things I had to do in my entire life! I did it though. Those scary looking pimples were a daily reminder that I had to change my diet. I started to eat more fruit. I juiced for breakfast. This even contributed to some weight loss for me as well. My morning juice consisted of water, pineapples, papaya, callaloo, American pears(optional), grapes, apples and sometimes cranberry juice if I could afford it.

Oh before I forget, stop touching your face so much!!! Dirty hands and fingers are some of the main culprits that contribute to acne outbreaks. If you use your office phone regularly, clean the area that touches your face as often as you possibly can. Wash your pillow cases regularly too. Twice a week at least. Stop looking in the mirror so much. You'll be tempted to touch your face unnecessarily. I didn't realize how much I touched my face until I developed that adult acne. I definitely had a problem. Acne makes you conscious. It affects your self-esteem. You hate when people look directly in your face while having a conversation with you because you think they're looking at those ugly buggers on your face! You try to cover the bumps with make-up... BIG MISTAKE. That will make matters worse... Believe me!

Grab your pens/pencils and paper peeps! Class is in session. Oh wait, we're in the 21st century right? Okay screenshot this section and save it to your motherlovin' phone! Lol...

1. Sulphur Soap
2. African black soap
3. Dove or Olay bar soap
4. Witch Hazel
5. Aloe vera Plant or Aloe vera Juice
6. Jojoba Oil
7. Macadamia Nut Oil
8. Tea tree Oil
9. Lavender Oil
10. Face Scrub

Sulphur based soap is often prescribed by dermatologists for acne problems. This soap does help to remove the oil build-up and has a host of other benefits. I used Sastid which is cheaper than Arisulphur and both do the exact thing! So in the initial phases when the acne is TERRIBLE it's best to use a sulphur soap. Because I'm an organic product junkie, I soon switched to African black soap. Please note, do not buy black soap that looks Black. That's a dye which may cause further problems for your acne not to mention that your sink and shower will be annoyingly filled with black scum forcing you to clean your bathroom more often than usual. African black soap should look like a piece of pastry almost. It's very easy to break into pieces as well. Fun fact: African black soap can be used on your entire body! Please note it's good to cleanse your face with warm water. It really helps!!

So after you've cleansed your face and dried your face with a clean rag or towel, use the Witch Hazel. This is a natural astringent. It also helps with removing blemishes and minimises your pores. It's an excellent make-up remover which is very gentle on your skin.

Once your face is dry, it's time to moisturize! Jojoba oil and macadamia nut oil... Extremely lightweight oils. You don't want to use anything that will clog your pores. The awesome thing about these oils, is that you can use them from head to toe!!! Budget friendly right? Yaaaay! Okay let  me stop... Add a few drops of tea tree and lavender essential oils. I recommend 5 drops of each to two (2) ounces of jojoba or macadamia nut oil. Essential oils are very concentrated so a little goes a long way. This moriturizer must be used each time you cleanse your face. Tea tree oil is antibacterial, antifungal and antimicrobial. Lavender oil also has similar properties and is also extremely beneficial in healing the skin and removing blemishes and scars. These two oils are ALWAYS in my skincare products esp Lavender Oil because it also smells oh so good!

Try to use a scrub at least 3 times weekly. You can use the ever faithful St. Ives scrub or u can make your own. My recipe for my scrub, is a paste of sugar, aloe vera gel and honey or coconut oil! All of which are in my kitchen cupboard... Well except the aloe vera which grows in my backyard. When I initially started breaking out, I would apply aloe vera on the bumps before bed and then do my usual face cleansing routine the following morning.

As your face improves you can skip the sulphur or African black soap and use the very moisturizing dove or olay bar soaps. Any soap that is good enough for my face has to be also good for my entire body. My latest soap obsession is the Nubian Heritage Coconut & Papaya Soap.

Patience is key! Be very gentle with how you cleanse your face. Do not tug or rub your skin too vigorously especially around your eyes. Nobody wants premature wrinkles!!! I switch up a few products in my skincare routine depending on the "season".  For the hot summer months, my cleanser will most definitely be African black soap and I always use lighter oils in my home made moisturizer. However, when it's cooler, I use the Olay or Dove soap. I'll also swap the jojoba or macadamia nut oils for my good old Coconut oil! I think it's important for every woman to own a face serum. I will elaborate in my next blog post. Until then... Happy Reading! 

Disclaimer: I am not a Dermatologist. The information in my post is all based on personal experiences. 

Why I absolutely cannot live without Coconut Oil

I'm in love with the Coco!!!

The use of Coconut oil is by no means a new phenomenon. However, since I was apparently living under a rock, I only discovered the wonders of this oil in recent years. It is a carrier oil which pretty much means it is a vegetable or base oil which is used to dilute essential oils for use on the skin or in the hair. For the sake of not sounding repetitive, I'll be referring to Coconut Oil as CO for the remainder of this post. In another post I will also delve into the difference between a carrier oil and an essential oil and how they compliment each other.

Throughout my teens I suffered from slight skin discoloration on my face. This used to annoy the heaven out of me(yes I wrote heaven and not hell lol)!! This discoloration was predominantly under my eyes and around my lips. For the life of me I couldn't understand it. When I became pregnant with my daughter the discoloration around my eyes worsened. After giving birth my skin returned to what was my "normal". In 2013, I was ballin' and had cash to spare(rolls eyes) and I went to Jencare Skin Farm hoping I could find a cure! So after the in house dermatologist examined my face for a minute, maybe less, she diagnosed me with eczema. Of course I had no clue what this was. She told me to stay away from acidic and dairy foods even oily foods. Hellooooo, everything that I love fell under those three categories! Orange juice, milk, chocolate, cheese, pizza and the list goes on! The dermatologist prescribed some products and I left feeling like I was just told that I was cured, til I went home and looked in the mirror. Earth to Renée, your face is STILL discolored! 

I used the products and they provided a temporary fix but I did not have the discipline to fully alter my diet nor was I ballin' consistently so I had to watch my spending. And so the search began for cheaper skincare products. Where do you turn if you want to know something? Google!!! I then learnt that CO was not only useful in your hair, but would be greatly beneficial for my skin! Imagine my excitement!!! A Budget friendly skincare product that could actually work?!? You didn't have to tell me twice.

Typically us Jamaicans tend to look to farin(the USA) first when seeking to source beauty products because we think we can save a few pennies by shopping online... and yes I'm a typical Jamaican lol. From my reading the Nutiva CO had great reviews so I purchased three(3) jars. Maaaaan did I love that stuff! It was thick and it smelled great! Liquid gold comes to mind when I think of CO. I used it on my whole body. Yes mi did frighten! But what a good thing I did!! My skin began to feel much softer and many scars I had from my childhood either disappeared or diminished in appearance significantly. Stretch marks became lighter as well. My face liked the coconut oil but Lord the "shine" was a bummer for me. I mean who wants to walk around with their face looking like a frying pan?

The CO kept my eczema under control but then I faced a new problem of having an excessively oily face. What to do? Use less! Duuuuuh. So while the skin on my body from the neck down was loving the CO, my face was far too greasy for my taste. Through a series of "quantity testing", I soon learnt the sufficient amount that I needed for my face. Then, adult acne happened!!! Now I don't believe that there was a correlation between the CO use and my acne. Simply put, stress and life happened! Seriously! Lol Yes now I can laugh but in 2014 it was another story.

I stopped using CO on my face completely because I now had to become my own dermatologist and find out how to cure this darn acne. My body was still loving CO then, but the face, hmm not so much. I cured my acne on my own and yes I used all natural products! I will share how I did this in a future post.

My hair loves CO when it is used in small amounts on my dry hair. I use it also as a Pre-poo and when I do this I use a very large quantity because when rinsing most of it is removed and it helps me to retain moisture in my hair. I sometimes use it as an ingredient in my hot oil treatment. Cold pressed CO has trace elements of protein and for those who are protein sensitive like myself, must learn how to use CO effectively in their hair.

Benefits of Coconut Oil:
-Skin Moisturizer

-Natural Sunscreen

-Removes/Diminishes Scars & Stretch marks  

-Hair Oil(scalp and hair length/strands) 

-Natural treatment for Yeast 

-Weight Loss

-Excellent for use in turning your regular baby wipes into SUPER wipes 

-Cuticle Oil 

-Base ingredient for your eye-cream

Believe me the list of benefits goes on and on but you can find that out in your homework! Yes I gave you homework! Hello I just schooled you! Lol Kidding! I buy my CO at the Coconut Board on Waterloo Road in Kingston, Jamaica for JMD$1000. A 500ml bottle lasts me for three(3) months. Both my daughter and I use it.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. This post was based on personal experiences.