I may no longer have pink hair and my square-toe docs are 3,000 miles away, but I like to think that being punk requires more than such outward signals. I’m nowhere near as in to anarchy as I once was, but I still totally love the idea of DIY everything. In honor of that hallowed part of punk ideology, I present to you the following blurb which features advice from some desi beauty expert whom I’ve never heard of…I ganked it from the May 2006 issue of Jane, which I’m trying desperately to stay fond of, even though it is suddenly for 20-something women. WTF?
Oh, Sassy…how you are missed. You are the only reason I still subscribe to the monthly which is supposedly your phoenix.
DIY pore shrinkage
Here’s an easy way to minimize the appearance of enlarged pores courtesy of Anjali, who was formerly the Martha Stew of Indian daytime TV and now is head of product development at Shobha salon in NY.
Using a blender, puree one medium unripe tomato (the greener the better…) with one teaspoon of honey– this will mix the astringent power of the fruit w/the natural moisturizers in the honey. Apply the pulp to a freshly washed face, leave it on for 20 minutes, then rinse.
And if your problems go beyond skin issues, toss the remaining puree into a shaker, add some salt, a little vodka and a lot of ice. Shake, pour, drink. – Celia
Um, no, I haven’t tried it. But I was the guinea piglet for L’oreal’s latest mascara so I think I should get a pass on this little experiment. If YOU are brave enough to smear extra sweet salsa on your punim, do let us know if this results in less holes in your face, thanks .
Does anyone know what exactly turmeric does for the skin? I know the flour would have an exfoliating effect.
Cadbury:
Are you the moderator? If not, then it’s too bad you feel this way. Unless an SM blogger tells me to lay off making comments, then unfortunately, I will continue to post comments. Re: my “dismissive words”, am I required to write a PH.D dissertation as a response? I wrote what I think about many of the skin-care product lines out there and wanted to get on the topic of that olive oil regime that I’ve heard about.
How am I passing myself off as “some soap expert”? I really have been obsessed with soaps and thus researched it a lot. The studies and information that I’ve come across could potentially be inaccurate, no doubt. A question: why are you taking this so seriously? I haven’t been giving out “expert advice” on DYI abortions with hangers, or home remedies to cure cancer. Now that’s serious and potentially hazardous.
Re: me being a huge proponent of washcloths, there is much truth to that 😉
blueblood:
It’s supposed to have disinfectant and astringent properties.
No SM blogger is going to tell you to be quiet, unless you troll. They’re too nice for that. Guess you’re safe.
Cadbury:
No SM blogger is going to tell you to be quiet, unless you troll. They’re too nice for that. Guess you’re safe.
Let’s hope you’re not bordering on being a “troll”.
Two can play at this game: perhaps you have forgotten THIS significant portion of the commenting policy for this blog?
Lucky for you that they don’t count your impressive output of
dailyhourly comments as one very long, obscure rant.Maybe you’ve forgotten this portion as well:
“Two can play this game”, but after this last comment of mine addressed to you, you’ll be the only one playing this game.
Vouch I can and will. Our DD is gooooorgeous. I’m a neutrogena girl all the vay, but I’ve always been curious about DHC, if it’s the same as the brand I’m thinking of (Japanese?). Then again, what do I know? I thought squeaking skin was bad, since it inevitably meant dry itchiness once I was out of the shower.
A question: how do you ‘wash’ your face with extra virgin olive oil? Slather it on and then rinse/wipe off? I’m going to try…sounds good for dry skin.
Apparently some ancient Romans used to bathe by rubbing oil on their skin and then removing it with a (non sharp) knife like thing.
As for all that about “MEOW” and Either that or your incessant, potentially inaccurate proclamations bring out the feline in people. Hey, what’s with all the kitty-stereotyping, guys! 🙂
Your anti-specieisism animal lover friend
Anna:
Yes, “squeaking clean” skin out of the shower does entail dry skin, but some dermatologists have said that it’s better to be squeaking clean plus moisterizer. Non-squeaky clean feeling might be attributed to the fact that some soap residue has been left on the skin. Try this: if you are using liquid soap, after your final rinse, take your arm and rub it on the other arm while wet… The suds never go away (at least on me)!!
Ms. Fink Nottle:
The way I understand it is that you put on some olive oil, and with a warm and wet terrycloth washcloth, you’re supposed to wipe away the oil, and repeat the process until all of the dirt and/or make up comes off.
They also used sand and olive oil. Both the sand and knife methods seem like some pretty gnarly methods, though.
CAD, I have no beef with you, yaar. If my sense of humor is misunderstood, it was surely not my intention to offend nor to imply that I had taken offense at your comment. I was clearing the name of my fabulous DHC loot by saying it’s not like Dove or Clinique or Mainstay Lauder. And I was cosigning on your recommendation for 100% cold pressed virgin olive oil. If you (or anyone curious) are unfamiliar with the company, I suggested a glance at the link.
Trolls always like to instigate a cat-fight. So sad. I’m glad neither of us bought into it 🙂
I was skeptical about using oil to wash my face. I didn’t see how that could possibly work, but now I’m thinking… I wonder if it works the same way that you use oil (or lotion) to remove the wax that’s left over after waxing? It might be good on clogged pores, which are usually clogged with a waxy substance. What do you think?
DesiDancer:
I have no beef with you either! Anyway, I can’t have beef with you because you’ve allowed me to be the Sec. of Treasury 🙂 Now, seeing that Anna has seconded your assertion, maybe I will try out DHC.
blueblood.
Yeah, me and anyone else that has heard of this has been very skeptical: “How can oil be a cleanser”? But I tried it, and I suggested it to my friend who has severe acne problems and has tried every product and medication out there on the market to treat it. So when I told her, she was really hesitant, but decided to give it a shot. The first week, she broke out like crazy,but she persisted. Afterwards, though, not only did her acne clear up, but her pores were cleaned out and her acne scars started fading, just like how others had testified. So apparently, it works really well. Here is one of the many links on this.
Not any oil is good, though. Mineral oil, hydrogenated castor and vegetable oil, sunflower oil are no no’s. Olive oil and coconut oil are said to be very beneficial for skin. So is soybean oil (but I nor anyone else that I know has tried it).
Oh, and I forgot: almond oil is supposed to be really good for dry skin. Not on the face, though. Usually olive oil is considered the best for the face.
Oh all these homemade remedy lovers 🙂 I have a few myself. I love my luxury products and they do well by me. We live in an environment that requires some non natural help. SPF for example is simply not available in the natural world. Short of wearing a wide brim hat and/or never going out in the sun one needs practical solutions to take care of and shield the skin from harm. I’m a huge fan of Kiehls and Biotherm skincare and those incredible oil/sugar scrubs from Bath and Body Works to be used in the shower. And I don’t need 40 things. Body wash, lotion, face moisturizer for day and night, face wash, scrub & toner. (Makeup doesn’t count 🙂 because I’m addicted to it and make a living from it)
go on JoAT! 🙂
blueblood:
Hmmm… that’s an interesting take and analogy. I believe this is the way it works:
Olive oil has anti-oxident properties. While anti-oxident properties help combat wrinkles, not sure how this fact plays into declogging pores, but apparently it first breaks up the waxy substance in your pores. Secondly, it then stabilizes the oil content on your skin, thereby not forcing your oil glands to over-reproduce sebum to compensate for the dryness. Recall that clogged pores are often the result of an overproduction of sebum. Once the level of sebum reaches a homeostasis, there is less sebum that may eventually mix with other debris such as dead skin cells and other scum and then harden into clogged pores. Furthermore, olive oil keeps your pores open and discourages dead skin cells from congealing. I think the whole process is speeded up with the use of a washcloth. And anyway, using a washcloth everyday removes dead skin cells so that they don’t accumulate and prevent your skin from “breathing”.
Many of my female Turkish and Arab friends who have taken grandma’s advice and use only olive oil on their face in lieu of soap have lovely skin: clear, glowing, healthy, firm skin with hardly any wrinkles.
The longer a soap ages, the better its cleansing properties. This is particularly true of olive oil soaps. So if you buy a couple, leave it for a while in a dark place (cabinet, whatever).
Did you all know that back in the Desh, before the arrival of soap, people used besan flour? Though soap had been created by the Arabs and shortly thereafter by the Greeks more than 2000 years ago, Desis started using it following relatively late and used besan instead. People must’ve stunk though. I’ve noticed that after using besan flour, my skin has an unpleasant odor: I guess the skin absorbs the lactic acid and yeast properties from milk, and coupled with besan, creates one mean combo.
Dear Desidancer,
Do you know if the line that you use would be good for darker Indian skin- that is prone to scarring? I have a darker complexion and get a lot of scars whenever I have a breakout and am looking for a product that is gentle on my skin and will help lighten the dark scars.
Also, does anyone know how to use Rosewater on your face? I hear that it is a good astringent . . . Is this true?
Thanks;)
Sapna, If you have sensitive skin Witch Hazel is also a very good astringent. Do you have thin skin hence the scarring? You aren’t poking at your breakouts are you? Prescribed Retin-A type spot treatments would help you as well if the breakouts are occassional and small. It resurfaces your skin in three days.
Sapna,
I have medium-to-tan skin and I had horrific chicken pox scars (okay, fine. I had five. But they annoyed me.) plus a few other scars from…memorable events which all magically disappeared via a combination of alpha-hydroxy acid at night (in my case, clinique’s turnaround cream) and here’s what I swear keeps my skin working– Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Cream with SPF 15 for daytime. It’s whichever product that wins the Allure “Best of/Editor’s Choice” award every year, you should see a little logo bragging so on the box. I notice a difference whenever I stop using it and I like it because it doesn’t irk my sensitive skin. I’ve used it for a few years, way more regularly than the Clinique, which is why I attribute all goodness that-a-way and not to the infrequent applications of fruit acid-infused department store goo.
See if you find yourself similarly scar-free. 🙂 Oh, and exfoliating often (even with a cheap ass scrub like St. Ive’s) doesn’t hurt either. 😉
P.S. Fair-skinned brown girls get scars from acne et al, too. Not just wheatish or oatish or brannish ones like us.
That’s what’s in my Neutrogena. 🙂
See Anna I’m afraid to pimp L’Oreal brands because it sounds so unethical but between Lancome, L’Oreal, Kiehls and Biotherm there really is a fantastic range of products available for all kinds of skin and hair to make a nice brown girl almost perfect 🙂
JoAT, L’oreal owns me. For no good reason other than the prowess of your marketing dept, I buy something weekly; most recently, I was consumed with buying that limited edition bronze/gold highlighter pencil thing that Noemie rocks, b/c I saw it somewhere, made a mental note that I kinda liked it and then, when I didn’t see it the next four times I went shopping, I got sad. At a random CVS, they had one left yesterday. It’s mine. Even without it, I would have had the most egregious collection of eye and lip crap all courtesy of the biggety-biggety L. I even find myself buying nail polish once a month or so, which is ridonkulous considering:
1) I haven’t done my own nails in YEARS. 2) When I actually have both the time and $$$ to go to a salon, I use whatever OPI or essie they have there, never toting my own L’oreal.
You’ll love this. Inadvertently, I’m suddenly testing out L’oreal face care b/c I went on a binge this week in one of my blondest moments EVER.
When I was in college, my DG little worked for Clinique; she told me that the men’s moisturizer was nothing but their legendary DDML in a different, more depressing package. Over the years, I found similar examples of identical skin crap getting repackaged for guys, usually in grey bottles, so I was wise to this scam and didn’t care which gender’s goop I bought, as long as it was on sale in the Target weekly, because like our Sonia, I cannot resist the Tarzhay. Or any decent drug store, really.
So, a few days ago, I thought I was being sooo smart because after comparing active ingredients with my aforementioned “healthy skin” cream, I bought all this new men’s stuff which was on sale. I was so out of it from sleep-deprivation and stress that I actually thought I was buying something new from NEUTROGENA, which is why I didn’t hesitate to grab every product but one from the line. It was only the next day that I noticed that I had finally, accidentally embraced skincare from my fave purveyor of cosmetics. Ask me what my face feels like in a few weeks, we’ll see if I regret being so dermo-adventurous. 😉
Have you guys heard http://www.makeupalley.com? It is excellent for getting user reviews on products (before you part with your money). The Queene Helene Mint Julep Masque is very popular on that forum, but alas we don’t get it here in Oz 🙁
My GP recommended Cetaphil (which, upon inspection seems to be included in the Allure top 25) for me when I had this weird outbreak last summer and it did wonders for my combination (oily T zone, rest dry) skin.
Huge Proponents of Washcloths will be a great name for my future band.
That Queen Helene stuff is drugstore-legendary like Great Lash mascara. (I’ve never really used either.) I’m totally going to think of you the next time I see the former on the bottom shelf at CVS/Walgreens/RiteAid, btw. 😉 And then I’ll be tempted to send you some.
I’ve heard nothing but raves about Cetaphil…oh, and speaking of down under, the shower gel I’m currently hoarding is from there. Star and rose, I think? It smells like mango. Yum.
Hey Dr. CAD,
A fellow soap enthusiast here looking for opinions. What do you think of Dr.Bronner’s soap? I’ve been using that for a while, but while it hasn’t made my skin worse, I don’t see any improvements either. Any other natural brands you could recommend? Because I can’t seem to find a US based distributor for that Aleppo soap you mentioned.
soapchick:
Let me get back to you on the Dr. Bronner soap, I have to check out the ingredients!
Re: the soap of Aleppo– yes, the distribution in the US is scarce. But you can easily buy it off of Amazon and E-Bay.
(P.S. if you’re worried about soapmakers in Aleppo being exploited and taken advantage of, I suggest you do a little background check to make sure that they are being fairly paid for their labor).
–Cheap Ass Desi
Being just that side of 30, I’ve started to pay more attention to this sort of thang. So here goes, Auntie Kavita’s au natural face care regimen…
GREEN TEA – I have nothing to back this up, but it’s become a habit of mine to set aside one tablespoon of the green tea (the actual liquid, not the leaves) that I make each morning and then apply it to my visage with a cotton ball. I allow it to air dry and do a little dance to the anti-oxidant powers that be. It seems to help with undereye puffiness. And I came out of the womb with undereye puffiness.
HEAD STANDS and SHOULDER STANDS – I never, never thought I’d be able to do a head stand, but thanks to a great yoga teacher, I discovered that it’s not really about standing on the head, as the name would imply. Rather, it’s all about shoulder strength and balancing one’s weight on one’s elbows. Anyhow, I swear to you that when I do head stands and shoulder stands on a regular basis, my face looks different, definitely younger. Maybe it’s just the temporary rush of blood to the head, but it’s an uber post-workout glow, and if you believe all the yoginis and yogis out there, supposedly there are many physiological benefits to these poses. In which case, I’d like to believe that skin (being the largest organ and all) derives some of those benefits. This same yoga teacher – who has truly luminous skin – was great about explaining how various poses trigger different gland (thyroid, adrenal, etc.). If there’s an endocrinologist out there who cares to comment in this regard, I’d love to hear it.
KIEHL’S PINEAPPLE PAPAYA SCRUB – I am addicted, though I would love to be able to concoct it at home rather than shelling out $27 for a bottle of it. But I like that the packaging is minimal and that they don’t do much in terms of advertising. And for those to whom it matters, they don’t test on animals. ~ Ah Sassy! That amalgam of sagacity-audacity-wit-angst is so rare on the magazine rack. Though I think maybe Bust is the grown up version of it.
(CAD – come what may, I am going to try this olive oil thing!) ~ All for now, ladies. But this was so much more fun than the work I should be doing right now…
Soapchick:
Are you using the bar soap or liquid one?
Auntie Kavita:
Re: head standing, this is what my mother used to do when I was a mere kitten: she used to take a pillow and place it against the wall, and then she used to do a head stand whereby her body was aligned on the wall. After 3-4 minutes, she’d come back down and rip the longest fart ever. Then she’d laugh. Apparently, head stands deflate you of gas.
Should come in pretty handy before a big night out, so that you don’t spend the evening in a nice, elegant restaurant with friends and cutting the cheese all the while.
I use both, although currently the liquid one….
soapchick:
Out of all the different soaps that I’ve bought and wasted money on, amazingly, Dr. Bronner is the ONLY soap that I haven’t tried (I am truly, really obessed with soap. I buy a different kind every other day.) So I cannot give you feedback based on personal experience, but I’ve informed myself of the ingredients of both the liquid soap and bar soap.
Seeing that I view liquid soap as evil and have a general rule against it, I’m suprised and pleased to say that Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap doesn’t seem so bad. So:
Bar soap: OK Liquid soap: suprisingly, OK
I agree, Communis Rixatrix — any doctors in the house? DD, where’s your surgeon general when we need her?
(And on that note, Anna, my dermatologist told me just a couple of months ago that the “retinol” in the Neutrogena is not quite the same thing as the prescription-strength “Retin A” — he made me drop the Neutrogena and go with the stronger stuff. But I’m not a dermatologist, I’m just a Cylon who’s irrationally self-conscious about skin care. And obviously, if the Neutrogena works for you, then who cares.)
Anna and Jane of all Trades,
Thanks for the info. I am going to try what you recommended, and hopefully, it will help.
This was a nice and informative post Anna. I think it is hard to find good info for desi skin care, and it was nice to see the different methods that people use to keep their skin looking good.
this thread is totally freakin me out. i need to quit blogging and go buy me a dermatologist.
honey on my skin sounds rather. . .not fun.
btw anna, some of us lowly 20-something knew and loved Sassy. :-p I always read above my age-level.;-)
one of the few highlights of my last trip to india was stocking up on skincare products. they smell so nice! despite her travails, my mom brought me even more. i still like my standby of vicco turmeric cream. mmm. . .sandal.
the latest issue of shape magazine has a decent spread on skincare and skin cancer. it’s more of a concern to the desi community if you might think–especially if you ever get sick and get prescribed cipro. that and other drugs can lower your tolerance to sun, and you can burn without even realizing it until much later, even later than someone else who’s felt a burn before would realize it. bad stuff.
CAD, that farting thing is both hilarious and a little horrifying! I suspect it might be incentive for the gaseously inclined to take up head stands. If it’s a deterent to others, I should note that I haven’t experienced any untoward gastrointestinal repercussions as a result of head standing.
On another note, a cinematographer friend of mine who once worked on an Aishwarya Rai filim tells me that TMBWITW’s skin is absolutely incandescent in an unearthly sort of way, as though her skin itself gives off light. I’m sure most of it is just good genes, but I wonder what else she gets it from. Or maybe the unconfirmed reports are true and Aish really is an alien.
Awww it’s the thought that counts 🙂
Dr CAD, maybe you ought to prescribe sleep and water along with your olive oil concoction.
Maybe an alien, but not a Cylon — she doesn’t seem the type, and I don’t remember seeing her at any of the Cylon parties.
Kavita:
Or maybe she can afford to spend major dough to get laser treatments, personalized skin care, micro abrasion…
she is photo candescent . may be she is using some isotope of radium mixed with skin care products or maybe it was his illusion
OK be very careful about cross gender products Anna because there are a ton of ingredients that aren’t listed and the measures of the ingredients are different for male skin and female skin. However if you know two brands owned by the same company like Maybelline & L’Oreal or Covergirl & Max Factor chances are strong that similar items are exactly the same to the T. For example L’Oreal’s Jet Set Nail is the same formula as Maybelline’s Express Finish.
Queen Helene is great for extremely damaged kinky hair. You have fantastic hair that just requires maintenance not repair. That’s not a brand for you. I’ll be happy to send you over a GL 35th anniversary giftpack however it’s not one of my favorite franchise. Pays our electric bill, and is the most solid but pound per pound I have other favorites. Volum’ Express is good for vavavoom eyes and I like the new Lash Stylist a lot. Be happy to send either or all 🙂
That is correct. Pure Retin-A is powerful and can aggravate your skin if not used well and it really is for someone with severe acne. In small doses on a daily basis it does have great skin resurfacing qualities.
Whatever you do ladies do not buy any of the Salon brands at drugstores. A big no no.
I have used tomatos or cucumber as a toner before. Cucumber is good for removing blackheads and whiteheads.
*** Whatever you do ladies do not buy any of the Salon brands at drugstores. A big no no.
Why is that?
Anu,
Cucumber is also fantastic to relax and refresh your eyes. A half hour with a slice of cucumber on each lid and a little bit of shuteye can do wonders.
Only salons are licensed to sell salon brands. When they show up in Duane Reade or Walgreens or other drugstores or even Costco or Sams Club they are diverted from outside of the country, with no guarantees of authenticity and I have seen 4 – 5 year old product out there based on my batch #’s. After product has been sitting out on the shelf for a long time it loses it’s effectiveness, especially hair color related products and even skincare.
Sapna, I have never used the “brightening” products by DHC, which are probably more accelerated fading than the normal products, but I am also prone to spots and blemishing after breaking out, and aside from one monstrous pakora (which is fading) I think the basic wash-tone-moisturize-olive oil bit works out well.
Like ANNA said, unfortunately all shades of brown get spots and marks and blemishes.
If you’re in NYC, I have a fabulous desi dermatologist who specializes in non-marking treatments for ethnic skin.
JaneofAllTrades,
Thanks.
Darling JoaT,
Barmaid and I are BOTH consumed with Lash Stylist. I’m on my second tube (and I just discovered it a few weeks ago). That comb is genius– way better than the one on the Aish-scara, which would work like magic if it had similar. The micro-fine tip on the Line Stylist product is impressive, too. I think I bought every color except black (because I got Black Onyx…woooooo.)
I had never purchased Maybelline before this (with the exception of some Shine Free stuff back in the late ’80s…remember that pale pink packaging? With the pretty ribbon imprint on the eye shadow?) and I certainly was not a fan of GL or any of their other mascaras, not when there’s Longitude and Lash Architect and Volume Shocking AND my old stalwart, Lash Out. So bravo, Lash Stylist. That’s good stuff.
ANNA,
Hahahaha I just sent your comment verbatim to the entire team. I’m tired of being the only proponent of this damn brand. I have so much faith in it. It just launch for Spring 2006 so it’s fairly new out at retail.
Maybelline also has a dual ended mascara that is very popular called XXL and the Intense line launches in Spring 2007. However I’m not a big fan of dual ended mascaras. I don’t like the apply one application then another. I like building my mascara with the same formula. The comb is very forgiving on the lashes and it’s great separation.
By the way watch out for Garnier skincare to launch in Spring 2007. It’s going to blow the socks off Oil of Olay, Neutrogena and everyone else out there. It’s fantastic stuff and I’ve been using it the past few months. Really huge in Europe it’s going to launch brand new in the US.
I know you are out here this coming weekend but I’m unfortunately out of town. Next time you are up here just holla at me and I’ll hook you up. We have a company store right in the building with ALL the L’Oreal brands except Armani. If you are a cosmetics whore like me you have to try their makeup. It’s only at Saks right now I think. You’ll love it. Uber luxury.
I often use extract from cannabis…and then i don’t worry about acne or skin problems anymore.
JoaT and Anna, I love you guys like I love my Happyderm (it really does make my skin happy). So many tips! I’m terrible at finding good mascara, have no clue how to use those flat comb combs, and dual ends are too messy for my contacts. Now I know to head towards the Lash Stylist. Soooo, it’s good to have your thoughts on the matter. I’m thinking…SM Beauty tab! For reviews and such. By ‘such’ I mean JoaT your samples could find themselves in, say, my pockets and my money could find itself in, say, your purse 😉