Dry, Oily and Acne - What kind of messed up Skin Type is this? Sensitive!

The Issue
A year ago (almost exactly), my skin went haywire. I had moved from having clear complexion to one with cystic acne. I think at one point, I had 5 of them on my face and those suckers HURT. I could feel them throbbing on my face. The only thing that changed in my routine was that I was working out more. I wasn't about to change my workout schedule for my complexion, especially since working out is supposed to help push toxins out and give nicer skin!

My skin felt dry and oily. I know that must sound crazy. There would be a layer of oil on top of my skin, but my skin felt somewhat tight underneath. It feels this way moreso after a run outdoors.

That's me running. I'm so SLOW!

But I think I've finally pinpointed the issue here. My skin is dehydrated. It wants water. My skin produces more oil because it is dry, to keep whatever moisture it can in the skin. It isn't the oil per se that hydrates the skin. The excess oil breeds acne. Thus, when I go running, I'm losing water to the elements and in sweating, thus my skin is thirsty despite my 8 glasses of h2o a day.


What I did

I stopped taking the product advice from the people at the spa, and at Sephora and ditched the products they recommended. They would look at my oily-on-the-surface acne-ridden face and declare that I had oily, problematic skin. Boy, were they completely wrong.   Thank goodness for good return policies.

I switched to Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser. For the past 2 weeks, I have been acne free, have reduced wrinkles (because skin is hydrated), and my skin is glowing (in the words of my coworker). I've also noticed that my pores aren't clogged, and my skin has stopped overproducing oil.

I've actually used Cetaphil before during this past year without success. However, I'm using it a bit differently now. Why does it work now and not before?

 I stopped using it with water.

I slather that stuff on, and use a clean, dry face towel and gently wipe it off. Then I apply moisturizer.

Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser removed all my mineral makeup and mascara. I've even run a toner-soaked cotton pad to test the cleanliness of my face and Cetaphil got it all. It doesn't work as well though if I wet my face first as Cetaphil doesn't seem to have anything to cling to. Wetting my face just meant Cetaphil slipped off my face without taking the makeup with it and it also meant it didn't soak into my skin as easily.

Who did I get addicted to Cetaphil?

My entire department at work. Whether they had dry skin, eczema or normal skin, they all love Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser now. How did I get them addicted? I had them rub the Cetaphil cleanser all over their hands and wipe it off. That feeling of residue-free hydration was enough to get them hooked. One of them commented that their hands looked less wrinkly. Another commented that her hands were no longer so dry that when she closed them, she could feel the skin tighten.  

What have they've got to lose? Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser comes in trial size at many stores (Walmart included), and a 1L bottle of the stuff costs about $20 (Canadian) at Costco.

Did you know that Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser is multi-purpose?

• It can be an exfoliant: I mixed a bit of baking soda with some Cetaphil to exfoliate my face and it did not break me out. It was a bit drying though, so will try it with sugar next time.
• It's gentle enough for babies.
• You can use it on your body.
• Great for camping!

YAY CETAPHIL GENTLE SKIN CLEANSER!

A Healthier Brunch...you win some, you lose some...

The family had been going out for brunch the past two weeks after Church. Each time the bill came to about $40! Although it's very nice to go out to brunch every once in a while, $40 is pretty steep, I mean that is pretty close to our weekly grocery budget (not including costco or sam's club runs). I told the hubby that I'll cook us brunch on weekends.
My husband is prediabetic and has high cholesterol so if it's possible, I opted for healthier options of the brunch menu. Once I said the words, "TURKEY BACON" my husband's face turned pale. I might've had it before but I honestly don't remember it. I bought a small pack of apple wood smoked pork bacon for the hubby just in case he didn't like the turkey bacon. The Turkey bacon tastes pretty good, but the crispiness is nothing like regular bacon which is one of the reasons why I like bacon. I did spray my pan with some non-fat cooking spray before cooking and used Med heat. The turkey bacon burns pretty easily.

my review for Turkey bacon compared to Pork bacon goes as follows:

• Taste: Very close to regular pork bacon.
• Texture: Not as crispy as pork bacon since it lacks the fat. The texture is comparable to pan fried ham more than pork bacon.

All in all it's a pretty good product but I would suggest using this as an ingredient in dishes (i.e. sandwiches, casseroles, etc) rather than eating it as part of brunch (that is if you don't mind the texture) although it is a great alternative for those who really shouldn't be eating regular bacon.

PANCAKES!!! The husband told me to buy the shake bottle Pancake mixes, but it only makes about 12-14 pancakes and costs nearly twice as much as a small box of pancake mix. I noticed there was a Heart healthy pancake mix. Reading the nutrition information online, the calories are about the same, there is just a little bit more dietary fiber. I bought the Krusteaz Heart Healthy Pancake mix.

The Pancakes are very delicious! You really can't tell the difference between this and regular pancakes although, I really don't see that much nutritional value enhancement from this than other pancake mixes. If I went shopping alone (i had my 2 year old son with me) I would've spent a little more time reading labels.

Hair in your face because of your odd shaped head?

I really can't stand the feeling of hair sticking to my sweaty face when I'm working out. I can't exactly throw it into a ponytail as I have short hair and bobby pins don't see to keep that hair out of my face because my hair is thick and stubborn. Not to mention that my odd shaped head tends to pop thicker fabric headbands straight off my head. Oh, and I find that plastic headbands squish my head from behind my ears. Yes, I have a lot to complain about. ;)

However, I did find myself the perfect solution: Lululemon's Mesh Headband

 It is the perfect width for my odd shaped head. Not to mention, the silicone strip down the middle on the inside keeps it from slipping off. It's the perfect tightness as well -- it is adjustable afterall. Most importantly, it stays on.

Wonder how it tested out? It has survived my runs and the ultimate test...my yoga class which included inversions (like handstand, forearm stand, etc.), and a lot of bending at the waist.

Find it at your local lululemon store or at www.lululemon.com

A Taste of Couponing and I think I Like it!

So with successful weight loss comes the bittersweet task of having to buy new clothes. It's awesome that I "have to" buy new clothes, however it sucks to have to spend money because you "have to".  I've learned to wait until there are sales or coupon promos and I've gotten some pretty sweet deals on decent stores like Ann Taylor Loft (So far my biggest bargain there is a nice glittery sheer cardigan originally about $60 and I got it for like $7!). My patience with trying to get a good deal came only with clothes shopping. I've seen TLC's extreme couponing several times, I knew I didn't have the patience to do what most of those people do but guess what? I gave it a try.

I had to go to Target after work, I went on http://coupons.target.com/ to see if there are any decent coupons before I left and selected any coupons that looked like it was something I could use. To my surprise, most of the Items that I had printed coupons for had temporary price cuts!

Here were some of my awesome buys (I don't aim to get 90% savings...i'm just happy to save on stuff i normally pay full price for):

Rice Krispies Treats 8-count! Orig $2.54, Temporary Price cut $1.99 + $0.50 printable coupon = $1.49.

 

 Dropps Laundry detergent 20count. Original price $7.99, Temporary Price cut $4.99 + $2 printable coupon = $2.99!

Original price 2/$4.48 + $1.25 off 2 printable coupon+ $0.75 off 2 newspaper coupon = $2.48 for two!

Original Price $0.99 + $0.50 printable coupon = $0.49

Original Price $3-something, Temporary price cut $2.39+ $1 newspaper coupon = $1.39!

Orig. $9.99 + $2.00 Printable coupon+ $3.00 newspaper coupon = $4.99!

Please remember that these are all prices from Target in my area. But i believe you can print these coupons for any store, although your store may not carry all items with coupons. Be cautious as well. Becaue of the increase of "Extreme Couponers" target does limit the ability to print coupons. So don't goof around and hit "print" because you won't be able to print again! You also cannot print to PDF.

Some of you may know that I am a bigggg Greek Yogurt Fan! I love Fage but it's so darn expensive. Right now Safeway has them on sale for $1.25 each! On top of that, you can go to http://www.fageusa.com/products/offers/ and print out $2 off 5 Fage yogurt! $0.85 each!

You can always go to costco and buy a huge tub of Fage 0%  for $4.99 and put your own ingredients to sweeten it (i.e honey). but the Cherry is to DIE for. I am going to try the blueberry acai one.

Anyways...I've learned that Target does allow for some coupon stacking. A really good resource is www.krazycouponlady.com she's always posting up great deals, has breakdowns for several popular stores and even lists their coupon policies (if available) she even has a page on facebook so you can get the latest and greatest deals!

Now that I've got a taste of couponing, I think I'm sorta hooked now! I'm not as aggressive as most couponers but I'm definitely enjoying the savings! :) I'll definitely be snatching up the company's sunday coupon inserts for SURE!

Have a great weekend!