Aspirin Mask

The aspirin mask is probably one of the most famous home remedies used to treat acne. (Check out Michelle Phan's demonstration of how to prepare the aspirin mask) I have been using the aspirin mask on and off for a few years and I always like the soft and smooth feeling that I get after washing the mixture of crushed aspirin and cleansing cream off my face. After using it for so long, I am actually very curious behind how aspirin actually works on the skin to provide that smooth feeling that I get each time I use the aspirin mask and so here’s what I gathered from the book “Can You Get Hooked On Lip Balm?”

What is the Aspirin used for?

Aspirin helps to relieve minor aches and pains, reduce fever, has anti-inflammatory properties.

Active ingredient in Aspirin

The active ingredient in aspirin is known as acetylsalicylic acid. Acetylsalicylic acid is being transformed in to salicylic acid when it is broken down by our digestive system. Salicylic is a form of BHA (beta hydroxyl acid) and it can help to slough off dead skin when applied topically.

The book, “Can You Get Hooked On Lip Balm?”, suggested that when we put crushed aspirin on our face, we are delivering acetylsalicylic acid to the skin and not salicylic acid. It also carried on mentioning that in the process of mixing the aspirin tablet with water, part of the acetylsalicylic acid might be converted to salicylic acid, but the dosage applied to our skin is probably not of the optimum dosage. (Note: Aspirin is different from Panadol, so it doesn't work if you use Panadol because the main ingredient in Panadol is paracetemol)

My personal observations

I am not a chemist and I have no idea how much percentage of one aspirin tablet actually converts into salicylic acid, but I really do notice a decrease in the redness of my acne after applying the acne mask. And perhaps due to the grainy texture of the aspirin pills, it provides exfoliation when I gently rub it on my face during the process of washing the mask off.

I am not sure how the aspirin mask would fair if it is put in comparison with other products that contain BHA or AHA (alpha hydroxyl acid), but for a home remedy, I felt that the aspirin mask provided a good job in subsiding mild to moderate acne. However, despite the benefits of the aspirin mask, I feel that it cannot replace a proper skin care regime. 

If you are having active acne currently, I would suggest you to be very gentle when you wash the aspirin mask off because the grainy texture of the crushed aspirin might scratch your skin (and that’s not a nice feeling)

However, if you have sensitive, acne-prone skin that has been dried out by acne products, then I would suggest that you skip the aspirin mask because the aspirin mask can further irritate your skin.  In this case, the main issue would be to calm the skin first before moving on to further acne remedies. That would be another post for another time ! :)

A bittersweet end of life journey of Ol Boy

A friend of mine shared this link on Facebook a while back. The video is posted by an animal rescue group in Singapore called, Save Our Street Dogs. It is definitely one of the most touching videos that I've seen this year. I am really appreciative that the animal rescuers treated the dog with love and respect during its end of life journey. Instead of putting the dog to sleep, they did what they could to help Ol Boy to ease his suffering. If you're an animal lover or have pets of your own, you would be able to empathise with Ol Boy's plight. 

To read more about the article which was published online on DailyMail, click HERE. And if you're interested to find out about Save Our Street Dogs, click HERE :)

3 minute lotion mask

I managed to borrow Saeki Chizu's book - "The Japanese Skincare Revolution" - from the library a while back. Among the various techniques introduced in her book, I felt that the 3-minute lotion mask is a cost and time saver, but yet provides good results. The principal behind this technique is to get the skin to absorb the active ingredients found in your toner/lotion and to provide hydration to your skin.

An analogy provided by Saeki Chizu.

 Let's imagine that your skin is like a piece of cloth, and when two substances -soya sauce and chilli sauce - are dripped on to the piece of cloth, which one absorbs better? The most probable observation that you would notice is that the soya sauce gets absorbed into the cloth much more faster than the chilli sauce. Therefore the 3-minute mask can be used to prep the skin so that it can receive the nutrients from your face cream or serum better.

Why 3 minutes?

It is observed that it takes about 3 minutes for the toner/lotion to be absorbed into the skin. If the lotion mask is left on the face for more than 3 minutes, the cotton pad would re-absorb the toner/lotion which had penetrated into your skin. Thus, defeating the purpose of using the lotion mask technique.

Why do we need to wet the cotton?

When we wet the cotton, it helps to "soften" it, because the fibres of the dry cotton pad could have an irritating effect on our skin. Secondly, when we pour our lotion/toner on to the moist cotton pad, the moisture in the cotton pad helps to spread the lotion/toner more evenly. (Note: It does not dilute you lotion/toner and neither does it make your toner/lotion less effective)

What type of cotton wool to use?

When I first started using the lotion mask technique, I used normal facial squares. I usually have to use around 3 pieces to cover my whole face and it took me too much time to separate the facial squares into thinner pieces. Then, I noticed that Muji does sell unbleached cotton pads. The one I bought was $6.90 for 102 pieces (7cm by 9cm). I guess it's rather affordable. Considering if you use the lotion mask once a day, one packet of Muji's cotton pad could probably last you for around 3 months. And yes, it definitely took me less time to peel off the cotton pads into thinner pieces after I made the switch. 

If you were to ask my opinion, I feel that normal facial squares and the ones that Muji sells work equally well, it's just that for convenience sake, it would be easier to get a larger piece of cotton pad. But it's really up to you :) 

Here's a detailed video of Saeki herself demonstrating the lotion mask technique. Her Japanese-accent English has an endearing charm :)

Hello :) My first post !

After pondering over the thought of setting up a blog for a few months, I’ve finally decided to do it, because I feel like I want to do something that is productive and brings meaning to myself. I have always wanted to create a space that’s somewhere between a cross of a beauty blog and a lifestyle blog, because these two topics are something that interest me a lot.

Why a beauty blog?

As a person with have sensitive, acne-prone skin, I am always interested in natural/herbal remedies and products that can make my skin feel and look better. I used to have bad cystic acne, I am very conscious of my skin especially the box and ice-pick scars that are most prominent on my cheeks. Although there is no miracle procedure that would erase all my skin issues all at once, I am trying my best to maintain the health of my skin and to prevent it from getting worse.  We all want naturally beautiful, flawless and glowing skin – that is something a lot of people yearn for.  However, despite my aspiration to look better, I do know my limitations. For example, the acne scarring is probably going to stay with me for life, I will never have the kind of flawless skin that you’d see on magazines (Oh wait, that’s Photoshop-ed, but you get my idea), but there are things I can do to minimise the appearance of it, and there are preventive measures I can take to avoid developing new acne scars in the future.  Taking care of the skin is a lot of hard work; after all, it’s the largest organ of the human body.

My thoughts about beauty

My  idea of beauty  is to work on what you have because, we do need to realise that each of us is unique and different in terms of lifestyle habits, diet, skin type, health, financial ability and so much, so much more. Being a part time student myself, I have limited financial resources (except that occasional splurge) to try out some products that are of a higher range and boast positive results. Therefore, I need to work my way around to find out what are the products that are within my financial means and at the same time work for me. Through this ongoing process, I’ve realised that using a more expensive product does not necessarily equate to good results because remember, a lot of the money actually goes into the packaging and advertising of the product itself.Of course in the pursuit of external beauty, one must not forget to nurture our inner beauty as well (the reverse is also true, for me), and I hope to be able to discuss issues of self-acceptance, kindness etc. along the way. 

As for the lifestyle aspect of this blog, I haven’t actually thought of a specific theme, but I have a strong liking for Zakka-related stuff, arts and craft, illustrations and…FOOOOD ! So, that’s probably where it will steer towards.

I hope that this blog would be a place for me to record my progress and process of growing into a better person and I hope that the stuff that I share would be helpful to whoever who might drop by this space :)