OT - Cleaning the Natural Way - You, Your Mask, Your Home

I just saw them Sunday at Marlene's and meant to post!

did not see the wonderous pump bottle. They were packaged just like Dr. Bronner's. Seemed like a reasonable concept, but I was buying other stuff and didn't buy any that trip. Maybe next time.

BTW, I couldn't find the shade of NutriTint I wanted to touch up my roots, and went with NaturColor instead. Didn't fully cover the grey. I'm going back to NurtriTing.

Cheers,
Barbara

Anonymous wrote:I just saw them Sunday at Marlene's and meant to post!

did not see the wonderous pump bottle. They were packaged just like Dr. Bronner's. Seemed like a reasonable concept, but I was buying other stuff and didn't buy any that trip. Maybe next time.

BTW, I couldn't find the shade of NutriTint I wanted to touch up my roots, and went with NaturColor instead. Didn't fully cover the grey. I'm going back to NurtriTing.

Cheers,
Barbara

I think you saw the refill bottles. PCC stocks the pumps : ) Now I'm putting my dish soap in one too!

I've neglected you, and I feel bad.

The truth is, today I ran out of homemade laundry soap and went to the store, and couldn't find Washing Soda, a main ingredient, and BOUGHT LAUNDRY SOAP.

I bought Seventh Generation, a NATURAL, ORGANIC brand I've enjoyed in the past. There's only so much I can stress over.

Anyway, I'm here not to confess my indiscretions, but to share something interesting I've been reading about acne:

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/index. ... 117898&hl=

This is a post from a long-time user of the http://www.acne.org Regimen counseling newbies on how to do the Regimen. It's got me thinking I want to try this.

OCM didn't work for me. The Nature's Gate acne products have been gentle and non-irritating, but have not cleared me up 100% and NOT AT ALL on my chest (which is a nightmare). Ditto the Murad products. Doc put me on Tetracycline at my request in late September. Not clear.

So, what do I have to lose to try something new? I think I'll try the regimen first with over the counter products, then maybe buy the DKR line they sell at acne.org or http://www.danielkern.com/

Not exactly "NATURAL" but we've strayed some in this thread, so I think you'll forgive me. If not, LET THE STONING COMMENCE!

Cheers,
Babs

TSK! I lied. I went ahead and bought the starter kit and the Body Buddy:

http://www.danielkern.com/cart.php?target=main

Demanded UPS Air 2-3 postage and got the whole schmear for $70 and change.

I just CAN'T WAIT to be all itchy and red and irritated like the blog promises I will be for the next four weeks! I mean, I already visited my family for Thanksgiving, so I have NOTHING to look forward to for Xmas, so why not look forward to red, irritated, itchy skin???

LOL,
Babs

Barb,

That website is interesting. My derm swears by benzoil peroxide. He wanted to give me a prescription form that has some steroid in it to keep the skin from doing the red, itchy thing. It took some talking and convincing that I'm actually ALLERGIC to BP--my face SWELLS up. He says that benzoil peroxide is a class of compounds and I must have been using a cheap over the counter one. I had to laugh because I had gotten the last bottle at the spa attatched to, and under the umbrella of, his clinic! I pulled the bottle ($26!) out of my purse and he finally said he would do something else for me.

So, he recommended a glycolic acid gentle cleanser for more exfoliation since that seems to be my biggest issue. And he prescribed azelaic acid. Apparently it is another fruit acid that not only kills the bacteria but also helps with exfoliation. This was a week ago. My face seems to be getting better, although he said not to expect anything dramatic for at least a month and to keep at it even if discouraged.

I've also been looking into the forms of phototherapy out there. There is a simple blue/red light treatment that kills the bacteria. It is so new that it is only really being done in Derm offices right now. But eventually it will be commonly available for home use, hopefully. The scientific studies I have read look promising. It is using light in the violet and red spectrum--the violet kills the bacteria, the red is healing.

My derm says not to buy the few you can find on the internet now for home use because he says there is no government control over the light wavelength and you could end up with some uv exposure. Since I have a history with a predisposition to skin cancer, he says it could be dangerous to try the home version until a good reliable one comes out. But he could be biased since he can charge so much for a session with his high powered lights and the fact that you need to do it at least twice a week.

Then there is another level to the phototherapy where they add a chemical to your skin to make the light work better. The reason the light works is that it reacts with a chemical in your skin and turns it into a free radical which in turn kills the bacteria. This next level of therapy adds this chemical called alpha-levulinic acid (ALA) to your skin in large amounts and it works harder and faster. A series of 3-4 treatments is all that is necessary to make permanent changes in the skin. Apparently the free radicals bouncing around in there also do something to the pores to shrink them and cause them to produce less pore-clogging sebum. It is being touted as a revolutionary new way to treat drug resistant acne.

I know for a FACT that being out in the sun clears up my skin. My skin is always more clear in the summer and during our Fla vacation in Sept, when I was outside every single day I had completely clear skin for a MONTH afterwards. It was incredible.

So, I'd really like to try the blue/red light therapy and the ALA. I'd rather just do the blue/red light at home so I'm tempted to buy the home lights I've seen online despite what my doc says. If I could get some reassurance about the uv problem, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

The ALA is on hold for now, but I have little doubt I will try it in the future.

For now the azelaic acid and gentle glycolic acid cleanser are working well and are not very irritating.

And as for soaps, I am still gleefully using my homemade soaps for showers but did not find them to be helpful for my face. In fact, I need to make another batch of shower soap.

I still sometimes use oils as a moisturizer but lately my acne has gottens so incredibly terrible that I needed professional intervention. I believe the issue to be hormonal and has nothing to do with OCM.

Jen

Thanks for all this Jen!

Have you given up on the Zeno then?

I can't decide if I have mild or moderate acne. I don't look as bad as some of the before pix I've seen, though it FEELS as bad to me. I really DON'T have those 4 inch cysts you see on some people's before shots. Though when they ARE cysts, they can be quite painful.

I'm still toying with seeing a dermatologist. My ARNP poo-poos the idea. I think she feels they are sorta like chiropractors - there to sucker you into treatments to make their boat payments. So, I haven't seen one in a long while. I guess I'll try this latest thing and see how it works for me.

Hugs and best of luck!!!
B.

This may not be helpful, but it cured me permanently from outbreaks. I can now eat everything below without outbreaks, but it took years for my body to be able to handle hormones and their effect on the skin and dietary fats.

I eliminated solid fat. I only ate liquid fats and didn't limit those. So, no roast beef, bacon, fries fried in melted solid fat, no butter, etc.

My skin began to normalize very soon, and cleared completely in several months. I began eating solid fats and poof, breakout.

The best part of eating liquid fat is it helps the skin to have a healthy protective sheen that traps moisture which protects again premature wrinkles.

Gasp, I'm now re-thinking coming to visit, since there will be no roast beef nor toast and butter.

I know you're probably right, but I also know I will lose my mind if I have to tell myself no more roast beef or butter.

Which is why I've "settled" for being a middle aged fat chick with zits... Sigh... At least my Roast Beef will keep me warm at night...

LOL,
Babs

I have been using the OCM intermitently since you guys introduced the idea to me, and it's worked great! If anything my skin is too dry, I sometimes have to put some oil on after wards to moisten myself up. But the sun light thing got me wondering if Vitamin D has something to do with it?

What are you guys using for shampoo? I switched to a non Sodium laur-whatever sulfate kind and my scalp is better, but it's icky stinky. Do you have one that doesn't smell too much?

I was loving the OCM....but I got really lazy. I usually just rinse with water. (I dont wear daily make up, so not so bad). But the OCM was and to some extent still is working pretty well for me. Then again I never had the really bad cystic acne. Just a lot of nasty surface stuff.

Anonymous wrote:Gasp, I'm now re-thinking coming to visit, since there will be no roast beef nor toast and butter.

I know you're probably right, but I also know I will lose my mind if I have to tell myself no more roast beef or butter.

Which is why I've "settled" for being a middle aged fat chick with zits... Sigh... At least my Roast Beef will keep me warm at night...

LOL,
Babs

I haven't eliminated for my entire life, just eat limited solid fats - good for the heart too : ) If you visit I'll have red meat and butter. We use real organic butter, going through about 4 sticks in 3 months - it needs to be eaten. Hummm, you can help us use it up before it expires : )

Gasp,

What you state about liquid oils/solid fats completely follows my theory about sebum and its pore-clogging tendency. I think it makes total sense. I eat very little solid fat since I'm allergic to dairy. But there are a few that I can consume and do--coconut milk has tons of solid fat in it and it is my dairy subsititute I go to when I'm craving something creamy and sinful. I make ice cream out of it.

The beef I eat is mostly free range, but the fat in it, while composed of healthier fats than contemporary farming methods normally produce, is still solid. And I do indulge in the occasional happy meal along with my son. I do believe that for some people this is totally the right track. It is amazing that some people can eat anything and their skin always looks perfect. They must naturally make sebum of a different composition.

Right now I have what is classified as severe acne. I might as well bust out with my secret now--it has been about killing me keeping it to myself for the last 6 weeks.

drum roll. . .

I'm due on June 23, 2008.

So, I'm at 10 weeks now. I had some touch and go moments. I wasn't sure at first it was going to stick. But two ultrasounds later and a month of all day morning sickness and extreme fatigue and I'm pretty sure this little gummy bear is going to be here to stay.

So, the pregnancy unleashed some hormones that led to utter and complete destruction of my skin. I have a lesion on my right jaw that is 1 full inch by 3 inches with numerous other cysts all over my face. I feel hideious and don't want to leave the house (no energy to do so anyway, so not much of a loss.)

I had to do something. I've never experienced anything like this. Thus my visit to the derm. I don't think all derms are bad. Mine seems to truly want to help. It is obvious he became a derm because he had full face cystic acne. He has had a lot of work done to his face, but you can still see the deepest pock marks.

Anyway, I'm hoping the second trimester will bring on the glowing lustrous skin I had during my last pregnancy! But the (very safe for pregnancy) drugs my derm prescribed are already helping after only 2 weeks of applying them faithfully.

So there you go! Thanks for reviving the thread Babs. Now you guys know why I have been lurking quietly and not saying much for the last 2 months.

Jen

Congratulations Jen!

I have been home for about 30 hours recovering from surgery with little to do except watch Book TV and C-Span and visit cpaptalk. Just this morning I wondered where you were. Best of luck.

Congrats Jen!

... and hope your recovery is comming along pain-free Rooster.


So what about avacados and nuts as fat solids? ... or are ya'll only eliminating animal type of solid fats?

Congratulations Jen!!! A baby!! How exciting!!

My sister is pregnant as well. She is due in early March, but she is pregnant with twin girls. They will most likely delivery via c-section some time at the end of February. I'm going to stay with her for 2 weeks. My nephew will barely be 2 years old then.

My sister struggled with severe cystic acne and infertility. She got pregnant through invitro fertilization. When she had to take hormones every day to prepare her uterus for the embryo, her acne flared even more. I do believe hormones have a lot to do with it.

It's weird because she is the only one in our family with acne. I have always had pretty clear skin. Pimples or zits once in awhile.

Psoriasis is my demon.

Anyway, that is WONDERFUL news about your little gummy bear!