The Zen of Pacifying Problematic Skin

Don't you just hate it when you have a friend that has flawless skin with even the worst habits in the world—habits worse than your own; AND they're not even trying? It just gets my goat every time.

These people stay up late, eat all sorts of junk food, drink a ton of alcohol per weekend, smoke a jillion cigarettes, and so forth. Yet, their skin remains flawless. Sadly, not all of us are blessed with wonderful genes. People like me have to maintain good habits in order to barely avoid any breakouts. And the moment we slack, the nightmare begins.

For me, I cannot remember the last time I went more than a week without breaking out (until now since I don't breakout anymore). And in the most generous of situations, I would have at least one pimple. But when I do get pimples, they get inflamed, swollen, and last for more than a week. The slightest thing would give my skin trouble, from eating junk food to merely touching my face a little bit. And after terrible war with my face, I get scars that require heavy treatment. I've tried countless products and regimens, and have only recently finally found a way to maintain flawless skin without excessive and tedious routines. So I want to share it with all of you? I mean, if even my skin can be tamed by this regimen, then anyone can benefit from it. And it's cheap too!

Through this blog post, you should gain a sufficient amount of fundamentals to maintain healthy skin in your own accord.

First and foremost, lifestyle and habits must be adopted:

1) WATER. Get access to filtered, pure water. Drink plenty daily. After meals or any oily or dry foods, it's best to rinse the system and rehydrate. I know most of you can't do 6-8 glasses of water per day (that's about four 24-fl oz bottles), but at minimum, two 24-fl oz. bottles per day in addition to juices/milk.

2) HAIR. Always rinse out hair products before sleeping, as the oils and products get into your pillow case and transfer into your skin and cultivate through the night for HOURS and HOURS as you sleep.
Wash your hair often to keep it clean, but be careful not to get shampoo onto the face. Wash your face at the end of your shampoo/shower so you are sure to not having any unwanted stuff in your face.

3) FINGERS. Keep your hands clean and nails trimmed. The grime that gets lodged in your fingernails are horrible for your skin. Even if you've washed your hands/showered, long nails seem to still be a problem. When you're applying facial cleansers and moisturizers with dirty fingers or long nails, you are transferring all that garbage into your skin through the products... especially when those products are designed to get into your skin! You're rubbing your own custom concoction of death into your skin!

I've noticed when my fingernails and kept trimmed, and I apply a spot treatment for a pimple, the pimple goes away more quickly. But if my nails are untrimmed, the products seem to do nothing for me. Yes, I know, you apply with the ball point of your finger tips, but even then, for some strange reason... untrimmed nails keeps your fingers dirty!

Avoid touching your face. Your hands go everywhere during the day. You don't want the whole planet in your pores.

4) PILLOWCASES. Change them every few days. Turn the pillow over for convenience if you have to. But you really shouldn't sleep on the same pillowcase surface for more than 3 nights. Especially if you know sweated the night before, do NOT sleep on that surface again—EVERRRRR.

5) SLEEP & DIET. Sleep before 1a.m. The liver detoxes the body from 1-3a.m. and requires the body to be sleeping. Otherwise, the body overheats and the process becomes reversed and toxins are sent back into your system rather than being flushed properly. Chinese medicine principles call this effect "too much fire" in the body due to overheating the liver. It's another way of saying "inflamed". Western medicine agrees. Think about it though. Pimples are basically the result of inflammation. What do you think "inflammation" is? When something becomes inflamed, it swells and gets all red—ahem—pimple. So when your body has too much "fire" from lack of proper sleep schedules, deep fried foods, etc, you will break out. Deep fried foods, chips, etc, cause dehydration as well, which result in the body getting "hot". Doesn't that bring us back to #1... WATER?  Water is the remedy for most "fire" in the body, but the overheating from overworking the liver is a different case because toxins are being sent back into the body, which show up into the skin. That irritation will result in inflammation and horrible acne.

I don't eat meat, so it's easy to maintain a pretty pure diet, despite my weakness for potato chips, cookies, sugar, and fatty foods! Eating meat is a pretty toxic process, which will require frequent detoxing with things like Barley Green, juice fasting, detox teas, etc.

At best, you should maintain healthy restraint and moderation when it comes to unhealthy food. Eat more vegetables and control yourself when eating junk food. Eat less meat and more broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, bananas, berries, pomegranates, etc. These foods are high in antioxidants and nutrients good for the skin.

6) EXERCISE. Frequent cardio and/or daily activity helps you to sweat out the toxins and keep the body's energy circulating. The healthy energy and blood flow from stimulating activities encourages the skin cells to continue renewing. Your body requires stimulation and activity. If it doesn't get any activity, it becomes dull, like a corpse. You have to frequently get energy flowing through the body to charge all the internal organs and functions to keep them working. Tai Chi works great for optimal functioning in the body.

7) NO SLACKING. As I've learned it frequently the hard way... when you start slacking, you start breaking... out. Maintain a healthy routine, diet, hygiene, and you will be fine. It's really not hard. All good things require lifestyle improvements and discipline. It's going to be hell if you can't control yourself and you LOVE to do opposite of what I've been telling you so far. Once you get accustomed to these very basic lifestyle improvements, it becomes normal, practical, logical, and easy. So just do it. There's no time like the present.


THE ROUTINE



This is highly economical routine. I've tried the pricy gimmicks and products, and they're highly unnecessary. Of course, find a product/item that works best with you. Though my regimen is fairly safe and suitable in general, your customization may be better for you. I don't use anything extreme or harsh.
I have combination skin. It's pretty durable and isn't allergic to products.

Just follow the routine and customize with your own products of choice, or follow my routine exactly if you're a guy. But mind the checklist of things and types of products you should avoid.

THE GODLIKE PRODUCTS YOU'LL NEED:

I should make a note that many have acne, aside from habits, but also from cheap garbage products tha over-dry your skin, causing your oil glands to hyperproduce oils, which clog your pores, and react with all the other garbage that gets stuck in your pores, causing inflammation and serious acne.

Rice Water Toner: Better than anything else I've used over the years. All other toners don't do anything. This toner not only does its job of toning for uniform skin tone, but also delivers a load of nutrients into the skin, leaving it super soft and supple afterwards.

Take 2tbsp of brown rice (organic at best) and soak it with warm purified water (just heat the water for 10 seconds in the microwave before soaking) for about 15-30 minutes. Stir it around. Put in enough water for about 3 days worth of toner. You'll apply this with a cotton pad. REFRIGERATE and keep it covered with plastic wrap. I usually keep my toner for a good 2 days, 3 at most. It's easy and quick to make. Better if you can find a little bottle from a co-op store that comes with a flippable dispense cap so you can just squeeze the toner out onto a cotton pad. And yes, leave the rice in the toner so long as its there.

Kitty Litter Clay Mask: No, we're not using poop. But we are using the fresh, UNUSED clay straight from the bag. If you buy the $3.99 bag of pure clay, then you're using the pure, raw volcanic clay that high-end clay masks use. It's the same exact thing. High-end brands just dress it up, process it out with all kinds of chemicals and expensive things that your face can do without. DO NOT buy the scented kitty litter. DO NOT buy unscented kitty litter that advertises anything about special formula, special mixes, etc. BUY the unscented kitty litter with the ingredient that says, "pure clay". It should only cost $3.99 at most. I don't have the bag with me, but I'll edit this post with the brand later on. Basically, it gets confusin because some unscented kitty litter clay advertises about special formulas. That's all wrong. You don't want that. You want the pure, raw clay. 

To make the mask: take about 4 tablespoons of clay. Pour purified water over it just enough to cover the soak and cover the clay. Add some pure aloe if you want, and/or some pure honey. You can just use the clay and water too. Heat the mixture in the microwave for 10 seconds, 15 at most. Make sure it's not hot. 

Apply when it's safely warm in its temperature. You just want to use the water, not the clay itself. 

I learned this from Michelle Phan and it's worked wonders for me. Find her on Youtube.

**Ever since I used rice water toner and kitty litter clay masks, I've stopped breaking out.

Anthony Logistics Gylcolic Facial Cleanser: Use for night cleanser, or morning if you require heavy-duty sometimes. Glycolic acid helps buff out impurities and helps the skin renew. It helps out with scars as a result. $20 per bottle. lasts a good while

Guinot Cleansing Milk (for all skin types): Mild cleanser that is great on the skin. Guinot products are very good with keeping the skin's PH balance in check. I buy the one for all skin-types. *can be used for eye area as well.  This cleanser costs about $22 per bottle. You can find larger, cheaper quantities on ebay. As an alternative, find a mild cleanser that is easy on the skin and doesn't have all sorts of acids and crazy stuff in it.

Neutrogena Triple-Protect SPF15: Daytime moisturizer to protect the skin from sun-damage. You don't want to age do you? I like this one in particular because it has sfp15 without the heavy creaminess. Lab Series used to have something called the "Frequent Flyer" and that was magic... but they discontinued it and "improved it" into a piece of garbage. This Neutrogena one is a suitable replacement, but not as good of course. If you want to spend 3x more, get the Anthony Logistics SPF moisturizer. Costs about $6 per tube.

Anthony Logistics Exfoliating Scrub: It's an orange colored cleanser for about $20. You use it no more than twice a week for your facials. It's good. It works. It won't destroy your skin. And it feels good after using it.

Neutrogena RapidClear Spot Treatment:  Works very well on pimples as long as you follow my instructions. $8

Night creams:  

Anthony Logistics Vitamin A moisturizer $22 per bottle. I use that for facial nights, but daily is good too.

Anthony Logistics non-spf OIL-FREE face moisturizer. $30 per bottle. Or just get a light-weight, non-spf face lotion from somewhere that has aloe, vitamin E, and all the good stuff for cheaper. You'll use this for night-time. 

Neutrogena Stress-Control face moisturizer. $6. This has salycilic acid in it, but works great as a moisturizer. I use this, however, only if I happen to have a mild breakout or I see that I'm on the brink of breaking out and I instinctively feel that I need to zap some hidden acne gremlins. I haven't had to use this in months though... but I keep it on hand. It's okay to use it once or twice a week if you like, in case you feel really toxic. haha. Just don't get in the habit of using salycilic acid products.

AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID:

CLEAN & CLEAR™

BENZOYL PEROXIDE

$5 CLEANSERS... such as that orange cleanser from Neutrogena

SOAP BARS

Better to avoid salycilic acid or benzoyl peroxide cleansers. You only need acne treatment when using spot treatments or in occasional moisturizers, not in a cleanser. That's just overdoing it. You do NOT want to put all those chemicals on the face every single day. Your face will not only adapt to it and render it useless, but your face will also become too sensitive and more prone to acne in the long-run.

THE PROCESS

Morning: 
–1– Warm water rinse. Cleanse with Guinot cleansing milk, good for all skin-types and can be used to cleanse the eye area as well. Massage gently in circular motions with fingertips. The circular motion is inward-up towards the center and out. Wash for about 1-2 minutes. Remember: GENTLY! there's no need to wreak havoc onto your skin. Let the product and soft motions do the gradual cleansing. Rinse thoroughly with luke warm water.

–1a– If you are going to shave, wash the beard area with Anthony Glycolic Facial Cleanser or a daily face scrub like Neutrogena's pre-shave scrub. We'll discuss the perfect shave in the next blog post. Rinse with warmer water instead so that you set up the shave.

–2– Apply the rice water toner to the whole face with a cotton pad gently. Apply it to the neck as well. Let it dry by itself.

–2a– If you have any pimples you wish to treat, apply the Neutrogena spot treatment now. Do not over-apply. Just apply a very thin layer over the affected area.

–3– Apply Neutrogena Triple Protect SPF15 moisturizer. Be sure to apply to the neck as well. The neck is one of the most sensitive areas to aging and sun damage. When applying moisturizer, with fingertips, apply inward-up and out for a half-circular motion. Apply your eye creams now as well --always gently dab with your ring fingertip gently. The eye area is extremely delicate.

NOTE: Always avoid the eyelids and under-eye area with anything unless specifically mentioned to apply something to the eye area.

Evening: 

–1– Warm water rinse. Cleanse with Anthony Glycolic Facial Cleanser. Since the day is where you actually get your face really dirty, I like to use this at night for reasonable strength as it helps buff out impurities. 

–2– Apply the rice water toner to the entire face with a cotton pad. Apply it to the neck as well. Let it dry by itself.

–2a– If you have any pimples you wish to treat, apply the spot treatment now.

–3– Apply a non-SPF moisturizer or night cream moisturizer. Be sure to apply to the neck as well. Apply your eye creams now as well. Use the Neutrogena Stress-Control moisturizer if you have a breakout or feel the danger of one. 

FACIALS for FLAWLESSNESS

After many different regimens, this one is basic, easy, cheap, and does the job.  I do this once to twice a week, usually once since I'm lazy. 

1) STEAM: Use a facial steamer if you have one. Or you can heat up some purified water with ginger, or rosemary or lavender, under medium heat. Sit over the steam mechanism and let your face steam for a good 15 minutes. Your face will feel great from it. This will open up the pores and begin the declogging process.

2) OPTIONAL: I sometimes use the Anthony Algae cleanse right before exfoliation for about a minute. After rinsing the face with warm water, gently massage the face with the cleanser and rinse with warm water.

3) EXFOLIATE. Very gently, massage the skin with a nickle-sized amount of exfoliating cleanser, or use your exfoliation device such as the Neutrogena Wave with an exfoliating pad. Exfoliate for a good 2 minutes for the entire face and neck. Rinse with warm water.

4) EXTRACTIONS. If you want to extract blackheads and whiteheads, re-steam and then extract.

5) Apply the litter clay mask. Leave on for 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with luke-warm water, then cooler water. Pat dry gently.

6) TONE and MOISTURIZE. After applying any spot treatments and letting it dry, apply the rice water toner. Let the toner dry before moisturizing with a non-SPF or night moisturizer. I will usually use the Vitamin A cream.

Final Note: Less harsh chemicals, more natural, pure products, and a positive lifestyle maintains healthy skin.

Defeat the Cold & Flu in a Day

Since everyone's been getting sick twice lately, and it's a total germ bazaar right now, I'll teach you how to fight the cold and flu quickly and effectively. Ancient Chinese secrets wins this one. Toss out the expensive western "medicine" and go natural.

With the knowledge of Chinese medicine, my flu and illnesses only last 1 day. Yes, ONE. As long as you start the moment something hits, the less time it will take to recover; the sooner the better. It's hard to be sick for more than 2 to 3 days if you follow this regimen anyway. At most, you'll have an extra day of slight residual runny nose.

The answer to the cold and flu is ginger broth. It will help prevent illness and fight off the cold and flu by stimulating the immune system, providing antioxidants, and generating intense, soothing heat in the body to help restore the body's healthy temperature and balance.

This Chinese medicinal trick is more beneficial than the western approach of harmful drugs because it solves the problem at the root. Western cold and flu medicines are all just suppressants, soothing teas and vapors, and gimmick non-FDA products. Suppressants keep everything clogged and still trapped in the body. When the medicine wears off, symptoms are worse than they normally would be, which forces you to keep taking these suppressants, thus prolonging the illness until the immune system finally fends it off after a week or so. Soothers hardly help nor benefit the system. And gimmick products, especially western ones, are all just capsules made to contain ingredients with beneficial properties, but hardly ever in quantities that actually affect the situation at all. For example, a product might claim to have ginger, but does it have enough to even benefit the immune system? NOPE!

Since most common illnesses related to the flu and cold are due to catching chill, lowered body temperature, and lowered immune system, the proper approach is to restore the body's temperature so the body is back into balance. When the body's energies are balanced, everything functions properly and you obviously won't have that sick feeling.

I wasn't able to prevent my most recent illnesses because of neglect. I tried fighting it for 3 days, but lost. I kept going out, I partied on Friday night, caught so many chills in the cold evenings, and was surrounded by several coughers and congested in a room with sick people. The ginger broth wasn't enough to prevent this one. But despite the horrible weight of the flu when it finally hit as I awoke to a ton of bricks on my body, it lasted for just ONE DAY. A week later I caught a nasty chill and got sick again, but I fought again and this one last a day again. I'd feel nothing the next day.

WESTERN METHODS OF PREVENTING COLD: (1) If you feel a cold coming on, put on a cap, wrap yourself warm in a blanket, keep your feet warm, and sweat to trap the heat back in the body about twice a day until you don't feel any abnormalities. (2) If you notice drastic changes in temperature, take an antihistamine before going out. If you catch a chill, you won't be affected. The antihistamine trick works very well, but when you're actually sick, good luck. (3) Take vitamin supplements of C, B complex, and Zinc.

EASTERN METHODS OF PREVENTING COLD/FLU: (1)If you want to stimulate the immune system and keep the yang energy cycling in the body to prevent cold fronts, drink a big bowl of warm-hot ginger broth twice a day (morning and mid-afternoon, avoid evening). (2) Tai chi daily. (3) If you caught a chill or feel a cold coming on, keep extremely warm and stuffy. You want to trap heat into the body. Drink ginger broth. Take vitamin supplements with C, B complex, & Zinc.

------WHEN YOU ARE SICK WITH THE FLU/COLD: -------
this includes runny nose, excessive mucus, congestion, chills, etc

(1) Drink ginger broth 2 - 3 times a day (morning, afternoon, and late afternoon by 6pm).
(2) Dress warmly throughout the day. Underarmour shirts are ideal with fleece sweaters. Wear pants and socks.
(3) Keep covered when sleeping.
(4) Do NOT eat meats, SUGAR/SWEETS, or complex foods, junk foods, heavy foods, etc. You want your body to spend as minimal energy as possible in digesting and breaking down/processing GARBAGE. SWEETS/processed sugar will suppress the immune system for about 6 hours after ingested. It is best to make rice porridge and eat that nice and warm for dinner before 9pm.
(5) Take vitamin supplements of C, B complex, and Zinc. (DAILY) I tend to take my vitamins in the evening, but mornings may be more preferable.
(6) Drink water and 100% pure juices through the day between ginger broth. I just do broth and water.
(7) Sleep before 11pm at best.
(8) EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: BLOW YOUR NOSE ALL THE TIME WHEN IT'S RUNNY. DO NOT sniffle it or swallow any mucus. Anytime your throat feels like it has something, get it out. When you swallow or keep any mucus produced while being sick, you'll end up with a cough and the toxins and contaminants will remain in the body, further prolonging any infection and illness.
(9) Helpful: gargle Listerine twice a day to prevent or treat sore throat and kill any harmful cultures in the throat.
(10) Rest through the day as much as possible. Do not exert yourself with television or the computer. The body expends too much energy staying awake and paying attention while it should devote most of its resources to fighting the illness.

---------RECIPE--------------

4 to 5 generous slices of ginger root (about 2 inches in diameter)
4 cups of water
(optional)- Two WHITE tails green onion (scallions). DO NOT use green strips. Add together with ginger if used

Bring the water to boil under medium to medium-high heat. Put the ginger into the water. Let it boil for at least 5 minutes with the top covered. Then reduce the temperature to a low heat and simmer for 15 minutes. The broth should become a pale yellow.

Drink the broth warm-hot. Never searing, never luke warm nor cold. Sip it and finish at least 3 cups each session. Each ginger set can make the broth twice, and then you'll have to cut fresh new ginger slices. Ginger is cheap, use fresh ones each time to ensure optimal potency.

IF YOU WISH TO SWEAT OUT THE TOXINS AND FORCE THE TEMPERATURE TO MORE SPEEDILY STABILIZE...
Add the green onion with the ginger and follow normal procedure. Then after drinking the broth, cover your entire body, especially the head too, with a warm blanket. You will sweat. Be prepared.

---------OTHER---------

The vitamin supplements that help really well are Nature's Way Stress B-Complex. It has all your B's and vitamin C, plus Zinc and other beneficial, non-countering vitamins. These are all great for the immune system and body's need for energy.

For rice porridge, boil 1 cup rice per 8 cups water under medium high heat, top covered. If you want thicker porridge, use 7 cups water, or even 6 cups. Bring the rice to boil for about 3 minutes, and then reduce to low simmer. Open the top just slightly so that steam can come out. In about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, the porridge should be ready. You can add some salt, spicy radishes, fermented bean curd, or other small flavorings. But remember, the blander the better. I'd rather have bland porridge for a day than eat delicious hearty meals and remain sick for a week.

Good luck! Feel free to drop me a line if you have other questions or would like to request me to blog about other home remedies for other things.

Genius Production Switch "ON"

It's time to flip the switch to "ON". Let the genius flow on in.

In this day and age, many non-conventional or unmarketed bright ideas are shoved aside by the corporate bulldozer of new-age products and marketing. In many cases, marketing giants tout their next big thing as the newest, biggest, baddest of all, when in actuality, they're not. Corporate America merely tells us what they want us to think; what's the best thing to eat, do, buy, think, etc. They're the ones that are making the product, naturally, they'll want you to buy it. No surprise there...

So what I'll be blogging about are random ingenious ideas that not everyone knows about; non-mainstream ideas, from treating illnesses to beauty tips to even cooking! Remedies or tricks that assist in day-to-day activities will be covered as well. I admit, there are products out there that are just plain good as hell. So I'll talk about those as well.

But the one thing I won't do is lie to you guys. I hate marketing lies as much as anyone else. Being a business grad myself, I know all the gimmicks when I see them. I believe in the business of genuine products and the marketing of things that ought to be marketed, not garbage. So here's me doing my duty of sticking it to the marketing bullshit out there.

Learn something new, be more knowledgeable, and show some support and follow my blog! I am welcome to ingenious ideas that you've also come across. I'd love to explore, research, and learn more about what you have to share. And if all checks out, I'll blog about it too!