lifestyleblogger – Insha's Skinology

How to Use Epilator

There are two types of epilators in the market, corded and wireless. Both have the same functions but wireless can be used while taking shower, as corded once are for dry epilation. These come with multiple heads for particular areas of the body. So, use accordingly.

Attach the required head to the epilator and start the process of hair removal by holding the epilator at a 90-degree angle. Place the epilator just above the skin, do not press it against the skin, it will lead to injury if you do so. Start moving in the opposite direction of the hair growth, keep it slow and study. Don’t rush because you feeling pain. A little to moderate pain is expected as it removes the hair from the root. Do not repeat multiple times as it will cause dry skin and sometimes might cause scratches.

Pre-care steps: Scrub or exfoliate a day before epilation and apply moisturizer. Do not apply any cream, lotion, oil, or moisturizer while epilating. Just start directly, while in the process keep a cloth and aloe vera gel handy. Press down the skin with cloth and aloe vera gel.

After-care steps: Don’t scrub immediately after epilation, keep a gap of at least 1-2 days. After the epilation apply aloe vera gel, and let the skin be for about 4-6 hrs. Later a day after washing the skin with plain water and mild soap/facewash. Then apply moisturizer. Exfoliate after all the above steps, later in 2-3 days. To avoid any ingrown hair or pimples. Checkout the complete video of me doing the same process in detail on YouTube.

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Insha

Acne vulgaris – Treatment and More

Acne is the most common skin disorder around the world. It is caused by blocked hair follicles and oil (sebaceous) glands of the skin, often triggered by hormonal changes. Some people get acne on other parts of their body too, such as the back and chest.

It occurs when sebaceous glands in the skin are over-stimulated to produce sebum and skin cells are not shed normally. These sticky cells block the skin’s hair follicles, trapping the sebum. The blocked, oil-filled follicle then causes the bacteria normally in the hair follicles to multiply. This leads to inflammation, redness, and pimples (pustules).

Factors that can lead to acne include:

Oily cosmetics
Humidity
Heavy sweating
Problems with the ovaries or adrenal glands
Drugs such as: Lithium
Steroids, both prescription steroids, and potentially harmful “body-building” steroids

Treatment – Acne can be treated with:

Salicylic acid washes. These washes help to empty comedones of sebum.
Benzoyl peroxide gels. These medications are applied to the skin as a thin film. They: Dry and peel the skin, Fight the growth of bacteria, and Help to clear blocked hair follicles. Azelaic acid cream. Apply to clean, dry skin twice per day to start. Then can decrease to once per day. Improvement usually takes a few weeks. It helps fight bacteria and may decrease comedo formation. Tretinoin (Retin-A). This is applied to the skin as a cream, gel, or liquid. It helps to clear the skin of plugged follicles by increasing the turnover of skin cells. It also increases the skin’s sensitivity to sunlight. So tretinoin should be used with sunscreen. Antibiotics. Certain antibiotics can be applied directly to the skin to reduce the growth of acne-causing bacteria.

If these topical treatments fail, acne is treated next with oral antibiotics. However, these medications can have side effects. They are available only by prescription.

Acne treatment by a dermatologist is important because acne left unchecked can often lead to permanent scars and dark facial spots.

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Insha

Vitamin C Serum

Vitamin C serum is the latest sensation trusted by many cosmetic and skin care experts for radiant and glowing skin. However, you need to pick the right one to get the desired benefits. Topical vitamin C can seriously benefit your skin. It is a key ingredient in many skin care products because of its reputation for reducing acne scarring, erasing fine lines, and evening out skin tone. And with a good vitamin C serum, you can improve your skin complexion, minimize hyperpigmentation, and help improve skin texture.

Skin care enthusiasts tout vitamin C skin treatments and serums as having a range of benefits. Many manufacturers package vitamin C products as serums, which are thinner in consistency than lotions or creams.

So what does that mean for your skin? It means that visible signs of aging disappear, and those pesky wrinkles and fine lines stop showing. You end up blessed with younger-looking skin that radiates a natural glow without artificial products or procedures.

You should replace your artificial serums with natural serums to always have that radiant glow. “usage of vitamin C on the face supports the epithelial barrier function against pathogens and promotes the oxidant scavenging activity of the skin, thereby potentially protecting against environmental oxidative stress.” Oxidative stress is a leading cause of aging, and vitamin C’s effective protection against oxidative stress is linked to its ability to reduce signs of aging. Daily use of a vitamin C serum will help protect your skin in the long run.

Work on Hyperpigmentation:

Natural Vitamin C inhibits the melanin production in your skin, allowing the gradual fading of sunspots and brown spots. Maintaining normal skin pigmentation while helping take away brown spots is one of the most valuable vitamin C serum benefits for the face.

Vitamin C Soothes Skin Inflammation and Reduces Acne:

Using a vitamin C serum for the face regularly helps soothe skin inflammation, reduces the appearance of red spots, and reduces acne.

It may help prevent skin sagging:

Applying a vitamin C serum may boost collagen production, resulting in an overall tightening effect. This is true for sagging due to natural aging, oxidative stress damage, or extreme weight loss.

This means it can help reduce the appearance of sagging skin, making your skin look firmer and more toned.

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Insha

Rustic Art Juniper Berry Face Wash

Rustic Art is an organic and natural personal and home care brand. The products of this brand are Organic, Natural, Vegan & Cruelty Free and Biodegradable. The values and message of this brand is very good and strong with regards to the environmental impact of skincare, personal and homecare Industry. Something which I also believe and try to practice as consumer.

Coming to the product Juniper berry face wash is an organic concentrate of natural ingredients. It specifies that it’s for dry skin type and hence got my attention. In summers my skin becomes a bit oily at the T-zone.

The face wash has a gel-like consistency, smells, and looks like orange jam with a bit of berry fragrance to it. 50 gm of the product will cost you around Rs.199 INR. As the fragrance is citrusy it’s quite strong and might cause dizziness to some. It does not foam much and cleans the face nicely.

The issue is that it’s drying, it does tingle a lot to the eye even if it’s near to them, and a bit itchy at the corners of your nose. Now all these things might be subjective from person to person and how skin reacts to all-natural ingredients. As a dry-skin type person, this face wash should be less harsh and moisturizing, plus as I am using it in summers there is a chance of oil and sweat on the skin. But after using the product the skin feels drying and a heavy moisturizer is needed.

Overall the product is decent but not meant for dry skin as per my observation. Oily skin type can defiantly give it a try, as it will remove oil and cleanse the face nicely.

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Insha

Summer Face Packs

The top 5 and my most favourite summer face packs for oil free skin.

Multani Mitti (Fuller’s Earth):

Now, I know you must have heard about it so many times but this is the ultimate face and body pack for summers that can be used by any gender regardless of their age. There are so many combinations with different ingredients giving amazing results. Due to it’s oil sucking, cooling and skin firming properties it is usually used in many Indian and Asian households. Another substitute for this is Kaolin clay but still Multani Mitti is much more cheaper and easily available.

It reduces fine lines, remove external impurities, firms and soften the skin. It’s a bit drying due to it’s oil sucking properties, it may remove the natural oils which are essential for skin. But for that reason it is usually combined with moisturizing and nourishing ingredients. Honey, Milk, Curd, Milk Cream are most common. You can add enhancers such as turmeric, cucumber, rose water, liquorice, besan, etc to target conditions or just to give some extra love to your skin.

2. Aloe Vera Gel:

It is super cooling, antifungal, antibacterial, and protects from UV rays. Such an amazing ingredient for skincare. Your skin gonna love the texture and feel of this product. Mix it up with other enhancers or just apply directly the results are amazing. It can calm the skin down, adds hydration, treats sunburns and redness. It goes really well with all the Skin types. If you are skin is super sensitive then try to use cosmetic aloe gel with 99% purity and fragrance free.

3. Green Tea:

It is one of the best ingredients for anti-aging and dull skin. Perfect for a summer pack. Due to its relaxing and anti-inflammatory properties it is used for dark circles. It increases the blood flow, reduces the tension of the skin, brings calmness and boost freshness. Mix it up with Multani Mitti or Besan for a thick pack. Mix it with aloe Vera gel for a sleeping pack. Plus you can always use those tea bags for under eyes.

4. Coffee:

Yeah so this face pack is so good for winters as it super moisturizing but I have noticed that it makes a pretty good pack for summers too. Here’s why:

In summers the chance of skin becoming tanned and red is more. Some may love the tanned skin tone but for those who doesn’t or if it’s gone too far then coffee is best to bring back your original skin tone, reduce the redness and nourishes the skin. Mix it up with milk or oat milk for extreme sunburn or sensitivity and apply to the target area of the skin.

Note: This is the second step in case of sunburn as the first step will be to calm the skin down and that aloe vera gel is best.

5. Papaya:

Last but not the least is papaya face pack. It is for pigmentation or is an anti tanning face and body pack. Mixing papaya with tomato gives really good results for pigmentation, tomato bleaches the skin naturally and papaya works on pimples.

Pimples are a common concern for youth these days. This papaya face pack for pimples helps greatly to reduce pimples and also dark spots related to it. This bleaching pack is good to use once in a while and is great to remove dead skin cells and to give hydration as well to the skin tone.

Turmeric for Skincare

Turmeric is a popular spice all around the world, it’s also used for healing and to colour everything from cheese to cosmetics. With so many uses comes a lot of benefits too. Lately, turmeric has been touted as a super food that can fight cancer, ease depression, and more.

Another variety of turmeric is wild turmeric which is widely popular since ages for skincare. Turmeric has anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and antioxidant effects, which can benefit the skin in many ways. It helps with eczema, psoriasis, acne, and wound healing. As it contains the antioxidant curcumin, which is also anti-inflammatory and can lighten pigmentation.

Wild turmeric or Kasturi Manjal does not stain the skin, it is very fragrant and is best for external applications, it slows the skin aging process, and is used to diminish wrinkles, keep skin supple, and improve skin’s elasticity also helps heal and prevent dry skin. Below are few more benefits :

1. Prevents Acne
2. Reduces Dark Circles, Dark Spots, & Hyperpigmentation
3. Lightens Scars And Reduces Stretch Marks
4. Moisturizes Dry Skin
5. Prevents Early Sign Of Aging
6. Treats Psoriasis, Rosacea, And Eczema
7. Heals Skin Inflammations Or Wounds
8. Skin Rejuvenator

How to Use Wild Turmeric :

Make a face pack combining it with other household ingredients such as besan (gram flour), Multani Matti (fuller’s earth), honey, sandal (sandalwood powder), and milk. It’s basically an Ubtan ( a creamy paste) used as body and face wash for ages. Use it as a massage cream or moisturizing scrub.

Make a sleeping face pack by adding aloe vera gel to it.
Mix it with honey for dark circles.
Apply it with Liquorice powder for skin lightening.
Make a cooling eye pack with cucumber and wild turmeric.
A skin lightening and bleaching face pack with lemon juice and wild turmeric. (Note: Lemon is acidic in nature hence use a very little amount dissolved with water

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Insha

Beminimalist Salicylic Acid Serum

Beminimalist is an Indian brand that has an amazing range of products on skincare, it is transparent with ingredients and does a good job overall.

The BHA serum is again based on aloe vera juice, so if you have a sensitive skin type then be careful and consult experts before applying.

Now everyone starts with packaging and ingredients, both are good and you can find many reviews on that. What I want to talk about is the experience of the product. Its consistency is runny almost like water and has no smell/ fragrance.

Firstly using acid on the face will peel your skin, yes you may notice the peeled skin if you use this serum.

But this is very mild peeling and you can see the tan peeling off from the face. At first, this bothered me a lot, but after a few uses, it reduced as there was not much tan remaining on my skin to be peeled off. The peeling of skin will stop. So no worries about that if someone is facing that and looking for answers.

If in can case it doesn’t stop after a few uses and if peeling is causing you rashes, purging or any difficulty then stop using the product and reach out to Doc.

Secondly, you might feel mild tingling and itchiness, it might be around lips, nose, or cheeks.

All that is fine as you are using a new product for the first time, this is normal however if it becomes painful or is not going away after some time then you may have to approach for help.

Thirdly you may not see the drastic difference on your blackheads, it removes whiteheads and all the gunk on the skin, exfoliating the skin well, but it will not remove blackheads. it will lighten them by time.

Now coming to its positives it’s an amazing exfoliant for removing tan, pimples, impurities, whiteheads, and of course milia.

Including this serum in your routine is an easy way to remove milia. If you don’t know what’s Mila then watch my video on that topic.

This serum is not too harsh on the skin, it will not tear the skin barrier and after using this exfoliant the other products will get absorbed well.

The next point is Purging may be there and may not be there, I was waiting for purging to happen thinking that the product is not working, it’s not the case for everyone, I have normal to dry skin and I haven’t experienced any purging.

However even if it’s happening, it’s normal up to some time and if it’s in limit. Remember that any new product will take time to work on the skin so be patient. I recommend using it for at least 2-3 weeks to make it compatible with your skin.

Usage: Coming to its usage, I will not recommend using it daily, as that will be too much exfoliation. Alternate days at night will work best.

Don’t use it for morning routines, no matter what your fav influencers or brands say, using acid at Day time might grab sunlight and cause more damage. And I don’t trust your sunscreen application skills so, stay away from it during the mornings.

Layering:
So if you are someone who is using multiple products and want to layer with BHA then is mindful of these things:

Always dab the product, don’t get influenced by the popular dropping action, the serum may go into your sensitive areas, like eyes or inside of the nose.
Keep a good gap of 2-5 min
Don’t layer with other acids or peels.
Use a good moisturizer
Always wear sunscreen in the morning, even though you don’t apply it in the morning.

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Insha

Skincare Actives

These are nothing but chemicals that are already present around us in different forms and different formulation. We may know them by the main ingredient or product in which they are presently naturally. Some of these were used in many Pharmaceuticals and dermatologist recommended products.

Modern technology and studies have gained these actives an individual ingredient identity that can be used for targeted concerns of skin. As we all know the skincare industry in India and around the world has gone through a big, recent changes in terms of skincare products and habits.

The overall idea started from Korean skincare Industry but I believe that changes were happening and impacting worldwide as the technology to connect has upgraded. Coming to the Indian skincare Industry, it was also impacted by ideas, routines, habits and lastly by products.

Importing the products from other countries rose up the competition for in home brands, resulting in an amazing growth in products, ideas, transparency and affordability in the skincare market. And present day trends were able to achieve incorporation of actives, ceramides and chemical exfoliants by a vast majority of users.

Retinoids, Niacinamide, Vitamin C, BHA, AHA, Hyaluronic acid, ceramides and many such individual ingredient are called actives. They particularly work on condition or areas of skin where you want to see results. By saying this I mean that you should first find out the area were the skin needs some extra external effort and then apply them as per your need.

For example I have blackhead issues, then I must opt for BHA/salicylic acid as it is known to exfoliate and work on blackheads. similarly every active serve a purpose. These are supposed to be concentrated according to the skin type and concern, balanced in a formulation that is meant to keep them stable for usage and also to retain their potency.

Many actives such as Vitamin C are very sensitive to light and air, which may cause them to loose their potency within few minutes of exposure. Hence these are formulated and packed accordingly. There are amazing visible results noted from users worldwide and India is no behind.

Anything in too much is not good, the rule apply same while coming to actives. Also there are certain ways to use them, certain steps for layering them and not overdoing things. By keeping simple checks, it can be used without any worry. For example wearing a sunscreen is essential, otherwise it might cause damage.

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Insha

Simple’s Rich Moisturizer

Hello Everyone..!

Today I have Simple’s Rich moisturizer with me. Simple is a cruelty free brand, known for making products for sensitive skin-type. As you all know I am a dry skin person so, this product got my attention for winters.

It retails for rs.450 for 125ml of quantity but as I mentioned, I usually buy things in discounts during sales, so I got this for around rs.340. Packaging is sturdy and convenient. It comes in a white bottle. All the ingredients are mentioned on the bottle. There are no perfume or colour added to it, it’s free from alcohol and harsh chemicals.

Coming to the texture of this moisturizer, it is a bit like lotion unlike other moisturizing creams, which are thick in nature. But it’s soft and creamy… it’s more like moisturizing milk. There is no fragrance as I mentioned earlier. It takes a few secs to get completely absorb into the skin. Even if you apply thin layer..it does take time.

It moisturizes really well, does not feel sticky or greasy. Doesn’t irritate or give acne to your skin. It does the job nicely.. it’s not too heavy also. I don’t about others but I usually find moisturizers to trigger a sweat or a kind of wetness on my palm when I apply them.

it’s very common to me ..specialy if a moisturizer is in a runny or liquid form.

But this product is one of the few which doesn’t cause this condition or wet the skin. I don’t know if this point is helful or not. But as I have such condtion so, I shared..

Let me know in comments .. if you can relate to this..

If you are a very dry skin type then I’m postive that after few applications dryness will reduce and skin will feel healthy, plumped and moisturized.

Overall it’s a good product, I recommend this for Dry to Sensitive skin type person. And please make sure do a patch test before applying directly to your skin..

Let me know down the in comments.. Did you find it helpful. I Would love to hear from you.

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By Insha

Nykka’s Superfood SkinPotion Oil

Hello my beauties ! Today I have nykka’s skin potion oil with me, now this is not sponsored by the brand. It’s just that I am near to finish off this product so I wanted to share my experience. It retail for rs.699 for 30ml last me for about 2 months. There are always discounts, so check the site for latest price. Always buy in discounts as most of the websites will have one or other sale around the year. For this product I think the price went as low as Rs.534.

Coming to the product the packaging is good except for the dropper, it’s a bit tilted, must be a manufacturing defect, might not be the same for all. But still it could have been better. All ingredients are mentioned on pack, I will read out a few to you there’s coconut oil, jojoba oil, rosehip oil, grape seed oil.. and many more oil.. so basically it’s a blend of all the sort oils which are known to be superfoods for healthy skin.

The consistency is very light not so sticky.. it does absorbs into the skin nicely. It has a mild fruity smell which doesn’t bother and is calming. it does not give oily or shiny look. At first it’s obvious you wont see a difference, but after 3-5 days.. yes the skin feels supple, clam, nourished and moisturized, as winter are here it will go very good with it. I usually used it as massage oil at PM but you can use it as moisturizer or makeup base also.

I am a dry skin person with no serious acne issues, it really did well for me. But it will not reduce any acne or dark spots as far as I have experienced. At least not if you use it for a 1 week or so. Maybe in the longer run it may make visible difference for pigmentation. Overall it’s a good oil, a calming therapy for your skin, you can give it a try this winter. But make sure to do a patch test before applying anything to your for the first time.

A Small Note : Please know that skincare is subjective .. and results may differ from person to person, also skincare is not gender specific so everyone out there should take care of your skin, remember to be consistent about it. No mater what product you use. If you are not consistent then you may not see visible difference.

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By Insha