Every Acne Has A Story : What your acne is trying to tell you

 Do you ever wonder why do you have breakouts in the same place every time? The other area of your  face seems fine but that one spot is always infested by horrid bumps and cystic acne. Just as they are about to heal itself, a new one appear at the same spot. Seems familiar?

 The ancient Chinese medical practitioner comes up with art of Face Mapping to see the underlying causes of these. These acne flares up are symptoms of what is going on with our internal health, and this concept of face mapping is very popular among beauty gurus nowadays.

Now, it may not be 100% accurate, but it can serve as a guideline and a place to start that journey to healthy and problem free complexion.

1 & 2: Digestive system  - Toxin build up due to poor digestion. Consume less junk food, fried greasy food and processed food.  Eat more cooling food such as cucumber. Drink plenty and plenty of water

3: Liver - Alcohol and dairy products could be the culprit. Any sign of food allergies will appear here first. Cut off alcohol and dairy intake, try to do light exercise daily and get adequate sleep

4 & 5 : Kidney -  Anything around the eyes including dark circles point to dehydration. Increase water intake

6. Heart  - Get your blood pressure checked. Eat less spicy food and meat . Watch your cholesterol  and eat healthy diet rich in Omegas 3 and 6 such as nuts, avocados, fish and flax seed. Since this area is full of dilated pores, check that your makeup brushes are clean and your make up is not past its expiry date .

7 & 8. Kidneys -  Take less or cut down soda drinks, coffee and alcohol as to prevent dehydration dehydration.

Zone 9 & 10 : Respiratory System -   This is your problem area for those who smoke and prone to allergies. Eat more cooling foods, cut down on sugar, dairy and caffeine. Dirty cell phones and pillow cases are two of the top acne culprits and this area is what they affect.

Zone 11 & 12: Hormones -  Hormonal imbalance. Get enough sleep, drink plenty of water, eating leafy veggies and keeping skin scrupulously clean. Another interesting point: breakouts in this area indicate when you are ovulating (and on which side).

Zone 13: Stomach - Increase fibre intake, drink herbal teas to help with digestion and prevent toxin overload

14: Illness — Acnes on this area may be a sign of illness and your body is working hard to fight it. Drink plent of water, destress, get enough rest and sleep.

I tend to fall on zone  no. 11, 12 and 13 especially during that time of that month. I guess it's time for detox and hormonal imbalance check up. Which category are you?

Growing My Own Vege

 Unlike my sister who really has green hands, I am totally the opposite. She can grow anything from squash to strawberries in this humid weather of ours. But I was in mood of something DIY and so I set my journey to AEON Jusco to purchase a packet of chinese mustard seeds, drop by the neighborhood's nursery to pick up organic soil and on my way home, I found abandoned foam wine crates outside a liquor shop..lucky me!

I mix 3/4 of organic soil with 1/4 sandy soil, water the soil and sprinkle seeds

After 2 weeks

3 weeks later

4 weeks

Ready for harvesting

The fruit of my labor, or should I say the vegetable of my labor ready for stir fry. I fertilize with blended banana skin mixed with water and I watered them daily with rice wash. I guess it's true that people said gardening is therapeutic, you consume what you yourself grew, and feels good knowing that you are doing something good to yourself. So, what's next to grow?...maybe coriander? We'll see..

Whiten Your Teeth With Baking Soda

Mission : White teeth, homemade style...hihihi

I was browsing the pantry for something interesting when this tiny jar of baking soda caught my eyes. No, I don't plan to bake anything today, but i was thinking of whitening my chompers...with baking soda!

That's right peeps..this humble ingredient in the kitchen pantry is all you need for that little 'microdermabrassion' for teeth

Baking soda is a household products with many wonders. It's a mild abrasive that effectively removes surface stains on your teeth. So, let's begin!

Step 1:
Mix one teaspoon of baking soda to water in a small bowl, enough to form a paste.

Step 2:
Rinse your mouth, then dip your toothbrush in the baking soda mixture

Step 3:
Brush your teeth, not exceeding 2 minutes, be very careful not to brush your gum as it may leaves a burning sensation. Then thoroughly rinse your mouth and the toothbrush

Caution:
Do not exceed 2 minutes. Do not do this daily, every other day for the 1st week is okay, then proceed to once a week. The abrasions of the baking soda could erode the enamel of your teeth if used longer than 2 minutes or used frequently.

Dr Oz recommends adding lemon juice to the baking soda mixture (you can read abt it here), but I think I'm fine with just the baking soda.
So there you goes, no need for expensive teeth whitening treatment or teeth whitening kit.

Soft, Beautiful Feet In 5 Days!

Hello beauties....

Have we been taking a lot of TLC of our face, hair and etc that we forgot about our hardworking feet?

Well, here's what I want to share on how I revive those tired looking pair when they started to look old and weary. Actually this should be done on a weekly basis but it seems that laziness always gets the best of me...huhu..
So whenever i have those extra minutes to pamper my poor feet, here's what i do;
and I prefer doing them before bed and as you read on you will see why

Soak
First, prepare a medium size basin or a pail with luke warm water. The height of the water should be enough to immerse your feet. Mix about one cup of  sea salt, then soak your feet for at least 15-20 minutes. I did mine while watching TV so time just flies.

Scrub
The second step takes you to the shower. Scoop a dollop of your favorite foot scrub and start scrubbing those dead cells off your feet. Do this gently. I love St. Ives Apricot Invigorating Scrub which is quite harsh on my face so I turned them into my foot scrub. You can get them from Guardian or Watson outlets. Other options ; Oilly Spa Salt Scrub or any Brown Sugar Scrub that you have. In fact any foot scrub will do. Massage the scrub all over your feet. Rinse off  and pat dry.

Moisturize
Get your favorite lotion ready..foot lotion or body lotion or body butter. My favorite is Rosken Skin Repair. Apply GENEROUSLY okayy..haha..just slather dollops of them to your feet. No need to wait for it to be fully absorbed.
And finally the most important step, put on a pair of sock and voila!..u can go to bed now. The socks will trap the moisture of the lotion to your newly scrubbed feet and combat the dryness. Plus you won't end up staining your bedsheets.

Continue to moisturize and put your sock on the following night, and after 5 nights of doing so, that soft, beautiful and healthy looking pair of feet will be finally be yours. Good nite...