So, whats your secret??

Papillon87

MissHoneyBun wrote: »

I always shower with really hot water for the first 15mins to open my pores and then change the temp to freezing for the last 10 to close them. Plus the sudden change in temperature is great for boosting your metabolism

My God!!! You spend a fair old time in the shower! I probably average about 5-7mins in the shower...including when washing my hair!

Midna

MissHoneyBun wrote: »

I always shower with really hot water for the first 15mins to open my pores and then change the temp to freezing for the last 10 to close them. Plus the sudden change in temperature is great for boosting your metabolism

ya, I do something similar. I always follow a hot wash/shower with cold water. closes the pores.

I like baths, but I'll always have them as hot as I can tolerate and rinse off with a cool shower after.

rain on

I'm all about the tepid showers - hot water makes my skin and my scalp go dry and flaky, and cold water is cold! My scalp calmed down a lot when I started washing my hair in lukewarm water rather than hot.

metaoblivia

Green tea bags do wonders for the eyes. After you've used them to make tea, let them cool in the refrigerator and then place over your eyes for 10 minutes. The higher quality green tea, the better. It takes down the puffiness and circles and some say wrinkles too.

DetectivFoxtrot

Niamho! wrote: »

Has anyone ever succeeded in clearing the pores around your nose?? god i'd love someone to come along with a big Sticky strip and just pull them all out. imagine how clean it'd feel!!

see my post re the steamroom. This is the best way I know to clear pores

Mrs_Doyle

Oh, I just thought of a wonder treatment for super fast spot blasting!!! Origins spot gel during the day (as its invisible and it dries out the spot before it has the chance to really develop) and then plain old sudocream at night (as it calms the spot down and takes away any redness).

cuckoo

Mrs_Doyle wrote: »

Oh, I just thought of a wonder treatment for super fast spot blasting!!! Origins spot gel during the day (as its invisible and it dries out the spot before it has the chance to really develop) and then plain old sudocream at night (as it calms the spot down and takes away any redness).

+1 on the sudocream, it's great stuff, esp for the annoying occasional spots that i get around my cleavage.

My other lesson learnt is that it is better to use loads of a cheap body lotion twice a day than to be stingier with the expensive one.

ThatGal

ThatGal wrote: »

to get rid of spots i burst them and before they heal over spray perfume on them......it stings a bit but the alcohol burns away the spot and it's gone in like a day......a bit drastic but it works for me!!!

95% of chemicals used in fragrances are synthetic compounds derived from petroleum. They include benzene derivatives, aldehydes and many other known toxics and sensitizers - capable of causing cancer, birth defects, central nervous system disorders and allergic reactions. Neurotoxins: At Home and the Workplace, Report by the Committee on Science & Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, Sept. 16, 1986. (Report 99-827)

Central Nervous System disorders include Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

I'm horrified at the thoughts of someone spraying that stuff into an open wound.

Femelade

During my teenage years i used to always cleanse my face with johnsons baby lotion - the pink stuff in the pink bottle. And now that i'm nearly 28, i still get asked for id and some guy told me last week there was no way i was a day over 16!!!!! - maybe i should start using it again, i love the smell of it.

watna

Femmy wrote: »

During my teenage years i used to always cleanse my face with johnsons baby lotion - the pink stuff in the pink bottle. And now that i'm nearly 28, i still get asked for id and some guy told me last week there was no way i was a day over 16!!!!! - maybe i should start using it again, i love the smell of it.

+1 I might buy some on the way home. The smell is so relaxing. I've also noticed that when you cleanse with baby lotion an awful lot of dirt comes off your face. It's like magic cleaner!

Babette08

Femmy wrote: »

During my teenage years i used to always cleanse my face with johnsons baby lotion - the pink stuff in the pink bottle. And now that i'm nearly 28, i still get asked for id and some guy told me last week there was no way i was a day over 16!!!!! - maybe i should start using it again, i love the smell of it.

Yeah it seems a lot of the older more simple remedies are what work best. The newer supposedly more advanced products have so many chemicals in them.

Baby oil is fantastic - just after shower when skin still wet lather on then gently towel dry - no need for lotion's that take forever to absorb

Another good one is olive oil/almond oil for dry/damaged hair. Put into hair before washing, leave for a while or overnight and then BEFORE rinsing shampoo over it as water directly onto it will leave it stuck in your hair. Then just rinse as normal.

Have tried almost everything for spots & suda cream definitely the best.

Papillon87

Right...URGENT! Anyone know anything that works for coldsores? I'm plagued by them. And they can often last over a week. Woke up with a terribly sore one today.:mad:

Unaton

Blended cucumber and sourcream mask does wonders for my pores. But that's nothing new

allabouteve

Apply Nivea or Ponds cold cream really liberally and massage in for a few minutes, then soak a face cloth in really hot water, as hot as you can bear it, and use it to remove the cold cream. 'Scrub' at your face in circular movements and use another hot face cloth to remove the residue. Its like a mini-facial and leaves you soft and glowing.

Put the used face cloths straight in the washing machine though!

allabouteve

Papillon87 wrote: »

Right...URGENT! Anyone know anything that works for coldsores? I'm plagued by them. And they can often last over a week. Woke up with a terribly sore one today.:mad:

Assuming the usual Zovirax doesn't work for you, try bursting the tiny blisters with a sterile needle, and then applying neat tea tree oil to dry it up. Hope this helps!

Lil' Smiler

allabouteve wrote: »

Assuming the usual Zovirax doesn't work for you, try bursting the tiny blisters with a sterile needle, and then applying neat tea tree oil to dry it up. Hope this helps!

i used to be plagued by them... so much so that one of mine got infected and i had coldsores all in my mouth & down my throat and developed Acute Pharyngitis...horrible!!!

But since I've used tea tree or melissa oil on mine i don't seem to get them as much. Be careful using essential oils as they can very easily burn the skin. Melissa is the best essential oil to use on coldsores but it more expensive and Tea tree is more readily available in chemists but try to get it in it's pure form rather than a diluted sort (mixed with grapeseed oil etc). Apply 1 or 2 drops to a cotton bud and dab on!

Ruthee

Papillon87 wrote: »

Right...URGENT! Anyone know anything that works for coldsores? I'm plagued by them. And they can often last over a week. Woke up with a terribly sore one today.:mad:

I take the supplement L-lysine (found naturally in egges,red meat - you can get detailed lists online)..its an amino acid and it prevents coldsores from occuring...you can get it in a health food store.I cant say how much to take as i got a warning before but ask your health food store assistant and they should be able to help you..or do a bit of online research. Also Vitamin C has been shown to inhibit the growth of coldsores..

If you get them a lot, you may wanna check your diet..Another amino acid called Arginine can cause coldsores and it is found in nuts and chocoloate (again look online for list). Also if you are rundown and stressed out..I used to get them, not that frequently, but when i did they were MASSIVE and so painful..the last time was in May 2005 and i was doing final year exam and eating loads of nuts (i didnt realise the connection then) and was stressed out and then i started taking Lysine and havent got one since...Hope i dont jinx myself now tho...

Papillon87

Thanks everyone.

allabouteve wrote: »

Assuming the usual Zovirax doesn't work for you, try bursting the tiny blisters with a sterile needle, and then applying neat tea tree oil to dry it up. Hope this helps!

Thanks, might try the tea tree. Bit of a needle phobia though!!!I can't use Zovirax or any of those topical creams as all they've ever done for me is make the coldsore more painful and spread them. I once had four coldsores on various parts of my mouth at once. Not nice. :(:(

Lil' Smiler wrote: »

i used to be plagued by them... so much so that one of mine got infected and i had coldsores all in my mouth & down my throat and developed Acute Pharyngitis...horrible!!!

But since I've used tea tree or melissa oil on mine i don't seem to get them as much. Be careful using essential oils as they can very easily burn the skin. Melissa is the best essential oil to use on coldsores but it more expensive and Tea tree is more readily available in chemists but try to get it in it's pure form rather than a diluted sort (mixed with grapeseed oil etc). Apply 1 or 2 drops to a cotton bud and dab on!

I get mine when I'm run down or stressed...and they are really painful and unsightly. I often can predict I'm gonna get one and will actually say to someone "Uh I'm gonna get a coldsore after all this!" Thanks for the tip/ Where do you get Melissa oil?

Ruthee wrote: »

I take the supplement L-lysine (found naturally in egges,red meat - you can get detailed lists online)..its an amino acid and it prevents coldsores from occuring...you can get it in a health food store.I cant say how much to take as i got a warning before but ask your health food store assistant and they should be able to help you..or do a bit of online research. Also Vitamin C has been shown to inhibit the growth of coldsores..

If you get them a lot, you may wanna check your diet..Another amino acid called Arginine can cause coldsores and it is found in nuts and chocoloate (again look online for list). Also if you are rundown and stressed out..I used to get them, not that frequently, but when i did they were MASSIVE and so painful..the last time was in May 2005 and i was doing final year exam and eating loads of nuts (i didnt realise the connection then) and was stressed out and then i started taking Lysine and havent got one since...Hope i dont jinx myself now tho...

I actually have the Lysine tablets. I'm terrible though and only remember them when I've actually got the damn coldsore :rolleyes: Just took three as I've read before when you get one to take three a day. And yeah, I get them from stress and being run down....and I'm very much both at the moment!

Thanks everyone. Gonna try get Melissa oil or tea tree tomorrow.

SW81

Also a big thumbs up for Lysine. It's ok to take it everyday as a supplement, it won't do you any harm my pharamicist said. It's also very good for the skin around the mouth if you get spots there.

allabouteve

Just remembered, a friend of mine swears by the compeed cold sore patches, she says it stops the spread, haven't tried them myself, but you never know it might be what works for you!

Papillon87

allabouteve wrote: »

Just remembered, a friend of mine swears by the compeed cold sore patches, she says it stops the spread, haven't tried them myself, but you never know it might be what works for you!

Thanks allabouteve. I've tried these before...they are quite good and do mask them quite well. At the moment I'm pretty broke though and not sure I can justify the 10 euro plus price tag!:o

squishywishy

Femmy wrote: »

During my teenage years i used to always cleanse my face with johnsons baby lotion - the pink stuff in the pink bottle. And now that i'm nearly 28, i still get asked for id and some guy told me last week there was no way i was a day over 16!!!!! - maybe i should start using it again, i love the smell of it.

OMG Femmy I did the exact same and always get told i look about 16 or 17 when really im 21.....wonder if its the reason!?!?

SW81

Nah I used that as a teenager and it made my skin worse. I don't think it makes a huge difference what you put on your skin, if you look young then you look young and that's that.

Weidii

Fwaggle wrote: »

Yeah, same here. I don't have any real secrets because I don't own any make up or fancy moisturisers or anything like that. I've never worn make up in my life. I don't like the thought of it to be honest! Plus i'm lazy

Respect.

MissHoneyBun

Ummmmm yeah Taconnol and Papillon87.....:o Im always bout 25mins in the shower (my boyf would probably say more like 30mins+) Its not like im just hangin 'round in there either, theres things to do!
Whats the usual amount of time spent showering?

Papillon87

MissHoneyBun wrote: »

Ummmmm yeah Taconnol and Papillon87.....:o Im always bout 25mins in the shower (my boyf would probably say more like 30mins+) Its not like im just hangin 'round in there either, theres things to do!
Whats the usual amount of time spent showering?

Haha, fair play to you! In fairness when I used to shave my legs and pits (get em waxed now) and wash my hair...would be over half an hour. But everyday, not long at all! But at the moment our shower has been broken for months so it's a luxury to get one at work or in the bf's house! Beats squatting in a bathtub with a limp shower head So I'm taking a bit longer when I get the chance! But there's no normal time! My bf takes AGES...I mean well over 20 minutes everyday...doing feck all!

MissHoneyBun

Hmmmmmmmmmm wonder what he's up to in there.......
Just kidding! Ya see Papillon thats exactly what takes me so long -wash hair x2, rinse hair x2, shave legs and underarms, exfoliate, condition hair, wash bod, deep cleanse face.......... I think 30mins is doin well. lol !!

How Strange

For open pores or any skin problems such as areas of congestion I find that a glycolic acid face wash is brilliant. I use md formulations for sensitive skin. You have to use a high sunfactor too as it takes the top layer of skin away (not as scary as it sounds) and your skin always feels amazingly soft.

I've started using a serum instead of a moisturiser (L'oreal Dermo) which I find good for open pores.

I use a hydrating clear skin mask by dermologica and a weleda rose oil capsule on my face once a week .

For moisturising my body I use Euricyn with Urea (sp) twice a week. I can't use any perfumed creams so this is brilliant as I suffer from dry itchy skin. It's especially brilliant for getting rid of those little bumps from the backs of your arms.

Always cleanse and moisturise. My mother is proof that it pays off and her sister is proof that not looking after your skin when you're young will leave you looking haggered in your 50's. Obviously, there are exceptions but if you have typical Irish skin (dry, combination, sensitive) then you have to look after it.

How Strange

How Strange wrote: »

Always cleanse and moisturise. My mother is proof that it pays off and her sister is proof that not looking after your skin when you're young will leave you looking haggered in your 50's.

I think genetics play a huge part. I have seen people 20 years younger who are more haggard looking than my Mum and her sisters. And none of them have ever used anything other than soap, and a bit of Oil of Ulay from their late 40's on.

Course I wouldn't inherit that! :rolleyes:

How much do you think your open pores have improved?

LouOB

How Strange wrote: »

For moisturising my body I use Euricyn with Urea (sp) twice a week. I can't use any perfumed creams so this is brilliant as I suffer from dry itchy skin. It's especially brilliant for getting rid of those little bumps from the backs of your arms.

where can you get this miracle Euricyn cream - those bumps on my arms drive me batty