This week has been a pretty stressful one for me and I’ve not really felt like posting or socialising until today. On Monday, I discovered a small, hard lump in my right breast. I could have seen a doctor that day, but the only one available was a man and I really didn’t feel comfortable with him prodding me about, so I booked in for an appointment on Thursday.

This probably wasn’t the best idea as I then spent the next four days worried sick. I came off the mini-pill a few weeks ago and now my period is late, so I was praying that this all tied together and was just a case of messed-up hormones. I never realised just how something like this can affect a person, even though I knew the odds were in my favour. I spent a lot of time looking stuff up online, learning about what might happen if the news was bad.

I checked the lump multiple times a day, hoping it would suddenly have gotten smaller or even disappeared. I have never wanted to cancel a doctor’s appointment so badly, but I knew I’d never be able to relax if I didn’t go through with it.

Turns out all my worrying was unnecessary though. The doctor said it was absolutely normal and likely to be just fatty tissue. She was very reassuring and and thorough, even checking at my other breast and my armpits. I was certain I was going to get a hospital referral, but the doctor was very confident the situation would resolve itself. She did advise me to go back and see her if I was still worried after my next period had finished.

So that’s my week. It’s certainly given me a scare and shown me things in a new light.

OK, not exactly flawless per se, but I’m relieved to say that, finally, this bothersome rash on my cheek is clearing up. I’ve been trying all sorts of things on it (and left it alone for as while as well) and I now seem to have found something that works.

I’ve no idea what the rash actually was in the end, but I noticed two stages to it’s disappearance. The first period when things started to improve was when I applied Maia’s Omnibalm several times a day. Though the rash didn’t get any smaller, it did stop feeling hot and tickly. I think my skin might actually have been broken underneath the surface and the Omnibalm helped it heal.

Still believing the rash to ultimately be an oily skin problem, I then switched to using my rosewater toner and Aubreys Oil-Balancing moisturiser on it. 24 hours later, the rash was less red and had started to dry up. As the moisturiser had not irritated me at all, I decided to try Aubreys matching “wet” clay mask just before bed. Amazingly, the rash looked even better still the morning after.

I now use the toner 2-3 times a day and the clay mask in the evening, which I leave on for up to an hour. The rash now looks like a couple of small red patches which will hopefully disappear entirely over the next couple of days.

Incidentally, although I say my skin isn’t flawless, it is looking the best it’s ever done as an adult. I currently have no acne at all and the few marks that were left from previous outbreaks are fading.

Now let’s just hope things stay this way. :)

A few weeks ago, the lovely Sharon of Maia Skin Care introduced me to her gorgeous range of products. Though I’ve been suffering from a strange flare-up on my face for nearly two months now, I couldn’t resist giving some of the products a try and have been really looking forward to posting my thoughts here on the site.

I was initially drawn in by the lovely selection of essential oils that the range uses and the simplicity of the formulas. I also discovered that Maia products don’t contain beeswax - olive wax is used instead - and I was keen to see how effective this alternative ingredient was.

As I’ve tried out a total of seven products from the range, I’m going to do another mega-review, so make yourselves comfy and read on! :)
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I was stumbling through the ‘net as usual recently and got very excited over a natural toothpaste and mouthwash range that I’d not seen before from a company called Sarakan. I’ve used natural toothpastes in the past and haven’t been very impressed with them - they usually taste yucky and, more importantly, don’t seem to clean my teeth particularly well.

Even more exciting was that these products are available at my local Holland & Barrett. It’s not often I can just walk into a shop and pick up a truly natural product, so I was looking forward to popping into town and buying some.

However, one thing concerned me. The product page on the manufacturer’s website has the following statement:

SARAKAN Mouthrinse comprises the main ingredients of the toothpaste together with a well recognized anti-plaque bacterial agent.

Hmm… what could that be then? And why was the name of this ingredient not disclosed? I decide to look up the products on some other websites and finally found the full ingredient list:

Aqua, glycerine (vegetable), witch hazel, polysorbate 20, Salvadora persica, CPC, oils of peppermint, geranium and clove, chlorophyll.

After doing a little research, the “anti-plaque bacterial agent” appears to be CPC a.k.a Cetylpyridinium chloride - a chemical which is very toxic when swallowed or inhaled.

In addition to this, check out the ingredients for the toothpaste:

Glycerin (non-animal), aqua, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, talc, Salvadora persica natural extract, Mentha piperita, Mentha arvensis, Eugenia caryophyllus, geranium, hydroxyethylcellulose, sodium phosphate, Methylparaben, CI 77491.

Oh dear, this one includes a paraben! That’s such a shame as the rest of the ingredients hold up well.

To be fair to Sarakan, their products are still a lot nicer than many of the common alternatives available on supermarket shelves and effective oral hygiene does require something with a bit of oomph. I would have felt a lot happier though if Sarakan had chosen to list the full ingredients on their own website - to exclude such information automatically generates suspicion on my part.

Last week, I decided to come off the pill and oh joy, my dandruff is back. It seems to have been under control these last few months, but over the last few days I’ve had the classic itchy scalp and flakes again. My apple cider vinegar and andiroba oil pre-rinse is preventing all-out disaster, but I may have to do a post-rinse as well.

Of course, it could be the sudden turn in the weather that’s doing it (boy is it nippy!), or the fact that most solutions I find stop working after a while. Looking back at my diary, I see that I used the vinegar with ylang-ylang to good effect earlier in the year, so perhaps I will switch back to that and see how it goes.

I’m off to the doctor later today to see about this rash on my face. While it sometimes calms down overnight, it’s just not going away. I intend to continue using natural products to treat it (the hydrocortisone wasn’t enough anyway), but I would like to get the doctor’s opinion on what it actually it.

Or maybe it’s caused by by spider bites. OK, I’m kidding, but I woke up to find one crawling up my neck last night. Have I ever mentioned that I hate spiders?

Answer: When it’s hazelnut oil.

Confused? All shall become clear soon. I stumbled across this disturbing article a few days ago and while it covers events starting almost two decades ago, the issues it discusses are undoubtably still current:

On August 10, 1991, a rusty tanker called the Mazal II docked at the industrial port of Ordu, in Turkey, and pumped twenty-two hundred tons of hazelnut oil into its hold. The ship then embarked on a meandering voyage through the Mediterranean and the North Sea. By September 21st, when the Mazal II reached Barletta, a port in Puglia, in southern Italy, its cargo had become, on the ship’s official documents, Greek olive oil. It slipped through customs, possibly with the connivance of an official, was piped into tanker trucks, and was delivered to the refinery of Riolio, an Italian olive-oil producer based in Barletta. There it was sold—in some instances blended with real olive oil—to Riolio customers.

Full article - Letter from Italy: Slippery Business

It’s worrying stuff and does nothing to ease the cloud of misinformation over what we put in and on our bodies. While it’s next to impossible to accurately determine if an oil is genuine, buying through smaller companies may be a safer bet. They are likely to have a closer, more personal relationship with their suppliers and thus be more confident of the origin of ingredients used within their products. Plus, you’re more likely to get an honest answer from a small company if you decide to query something. 

For a lot of people, this may ultimately not be a big deal. But where someone has a nut allergy or other important concerns over the oils used, it would be a good idea to ask before buying. If the company is unable (or unwilling) to clarify details, perhaps move on to something else intead.

Before I started using natural products, I never used anything on my face post-cleansing. After getting hooked on moisturisers, I gradually switched to using a toner in my routine as well. This was mainly because they looked so appealing and I simply can’t resist trying out new things, but over the last year I’ve been wondering about the necessity of this.

In a nutshell, toning isn’t an essential part of a routine. The main purpose is to remove final traces of dirt after cleansing but, unless your face gets incredibly dirty, that seems a bit pointless if you’ve cleansed properly. It’s also claimed that toners close pores after cleansing, but I’m not really sure they do this any better than simply splashing your face with cool water.

All that said however, the decision to use a toner is a personal one. I like how it makes my moisturiser go a bit further when if I apply it when my skin is still damp. I also think toners are great for spritzing onto a tired face throughout the day.

I think it’s important to take a look at what kind of toner you use as well. When you think of toner, an alcohol-based product with a variety of ingredients probably comes to mind. But a toner doesn’t have to be this complicated or harsh. Plain floral waters (or hydrosols) are a lovely alternative resulting from the distillation process of essential oils and are particularly good for people with sensitive skins. You can pick them up pretty cheap too!

I have a variety of toners to hand, which I switch between depending on how my skin is feeling. For regular use, I use a mild astringent to take care of my oiliness. I have a bottle of rosewater which I use for refreshment as needed. Finally, I have an alcohol-free mineral water and aloe based mist which is very soothing on hot, inflamed skin.   

So in conclusion, I personally like to use a toner, if not for the primary reason of being ultra-clean. It’s not a necessity and I don’t think my skin would care if I stopped using one, but it does enhance the use of my moisturiser and keeps me feeling fresh throughout the day.

Price: £11.49 for 59ml
Rating:
Link: http://www.aubreyorganicsuk.co.uk

Ingredients: Coconut Fatty Acid Cream Base, Witch Hazel (natural herbal extract), Natural Grain Alcohol, Organic Aloe Vera, Calendula Oil, Mucopolysaccharides; Extracts of Fennel, Hops, Balm Mint, Mistletoe, Camomile, Yarrow, Horsetail, Coltsfoot and Nettle; Inositol, Panthenol (Vitamin B-5), Aubrey’s Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E), Amino Acid Complex (Cysteine, Methionine), Balsam Oil, Goa Herb

I’ve used this product as my safety backup for over a year now. Whenever my face is going through troubled times, the gentle formula takes care of my skin while still keeping it moisturised. 
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Just a quick post to say that I’m currently trying out several lovely products from the Maia Skin Care range and will be reviewing them later this month. After only a couple of days use, I’m very excited about the results I’m seeing already.

I shall also be writing about mineral make-up from Purity Cosmetics and adding reviews for products I’ve been using long-term. :)

If you’ve read my Suki review posted a few weeks ago, you’ll know that I really like the range. Unfortunately, I seem to have hit a snag - my skin is playing up in a rather disturbing way.

In early October, I posted about a blotchy red rash which had appeared on my right cheek. I attributed this indirectly to a nasty infection which I had at the time (and am still recovering from), however it’s been showing no sign of clearing up. I’ve plastered a variety of natural and non-natural products on it during the day, the most effective being sudocrem and calamine lotion, but they only control the intensity of the redness.

A couple of days ago, I decided to completely stop using the Suki moisturising products and return to my old routine of Aubrey Organics Toner and Oil-Balancing Moisturiser with only my microfibre cloth and water for cleansing. The rash has already calmed down and appears to be getting smaller. 

I’m obviously very disappointed that I’ve encountered this problem with Suki, especially as I’ve bought several full-size products and they don’t come cheap. I’m almost out of the serum, but still have roughly half the velvet creme and the toner left. I did use some of the lemongrass cleanser yesterday and it doesn’t seem to have aggravated the rash, so I’m hoping I can at least continue to use that.

I’m guessing that perhaps the Suki products may be too rich for my skin and/or I’m using them too often. I did cut down from toning/moisturising twice a day to only once, but it made no difference.

Hopefully returning to my old routine will clear this up for good - I’ll keep the blog updated with any news.