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Specialized Ingredients and Skin Care {Skin Care}

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So, I had decided early this year that I would resort to anti-aging skin care but unfortunately I am not really doing anything except trying to use sunscreen without fail! That itself is of such a big help that you do not really need anything else. 
But, of course, you must have come across the information suggesting Retinoids, AHA’s and all kinds of things to get rid of wrinkles and other aging signs! Well, I totally agree that they work really well but I am of the league that better not try them unless you really need them or use them sparingly!
Retinoids and sisters/brothers are very strong!
I have heard retinoids being used for the eye area to prevent crow’s feet and fine lines around the eyes, majorly. They might also be useful for frown and laugh lines. But, the issue with them is that they make your skin extremely photo-sensitive and if you do not use adequate amount of sunscreen to protect your skin, you might be doing more damage to your skin!
Moisturizer Havoc
I have an example to quote in this. I had reviewed my mum’s long-time moisturizer, moisturex, long time back. But, soon after I had read the ingredients, it struck me that the product might not have been as good for her as I am supposing. The product has 10% of lactic acid and daily application of it has probably made my mum’s skin sensitive. Many of the reader’s comments also suggested this perception!
My mum has very sensitive skin and now I have realized that she can not even use something else because nothing else suits her! I once tried giving her a pampering treatment using Pond’s flawless white face mask sheets. After keeping it for like 10-15 minutes, she removed it and let the gooey stuff on the mask seep into her skin. But, soon after she started complaining that her skin was burning! I have tried those same sheets and never have I felt it doing anything to my skin, good or bad, lest burn my skin or tingle it!

May be I am presuming too much when I think the product has made my mum’s skin sensitive! Her skin often flushes when she comes back from being in sun but I do not remember if she had the very problem before using the above-mentioned product. So, I can not really conclude that the product made her skin sensitive or photo-sensitive!
Usage of Fresh Fruits on Skin
Ohk, not only the products but also the home remedies which we try out on a daily basis might not be a great idea! Few months back I had done a post on pH levels of citrus fruits to determine how safe lemon is for daily usage. And, turns out, it can make you age faster even if you see great results because it is very acidic!
Same goes for fruits rich in AHA’s like papaya or pineapple. They should NOT be used on skin for more than 5 minutes and should be used at most twice a week! AHA’s are very strong acids which no doubt are really beneficial to skin but they can be dangerous if misused a lot! In fact, in higher concentrations, they can cause skin peeling.
Vitamin C serums
There are a lot of DIY’s I have been seeing over-time using ascorbic acid or like. I have thought of doing them myself as well. But, may be they should also be used occasionally like once or twice a week for a skin prep instead of making it a daily routine.
Salicylic Acid Face Washes
No doubt, they are amazing on acne-prone skin but they do dry out the skin a lot, the effects of which might not be felt immediately. I have never really prescribed to the usage of such products but lately I had used Garnier Pure Active which has the acid as one of its ingredients. No doubt, I loved it but it fails miserably on dry skin and I am not using it in the longer run! 
Long back I had talked about the aspirin face mask, DIY’s for which can be found immediately on googling but should not be used in more than a concentration of 1-2% because they can result in drying of skin and hyperpigmentation, not to say photo-sensitivity!
Thus, these are my personal observations and opinions that any product having specialized ingredients should be used with care and caution and exactly as prescribed. Any deviance from the instructions can actually be really harmful for skin. 
Please note that this post is entirely my opinion and observations put in words. I would love to know what you think about the issue. So, comment on!

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Re-application of Sunscreen {Sunscreen}

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Treat this as the second part to yesterday’s sermon on sunscreen. Sometimes I do feel my posts sound like sermons? It’s ok. You need not be polite 😛 Anyways, lets proceed.

So, where was I? Yeah, I was talking about how much sunscreen to apply. I finished with that and left you to think about re-application! This is probably one of the most frustrating routines of skin care. And, there are quite many roadblocks to reapply sunscreen.
I have makeup on!
Sunscreen is supposed to go under makeup and not over, right? So, how can I reapply it? Well, fair enough!
Its so yucky!
The two finger rule itself not being enough, you have to apply the same amount of sunscreen every two hours. How many layers of stickiness should I have on?
Fortunately, quite a lot of high-end sunscreens are coming matte. So, you can probably go with reapplications. But, seriously, I am the wrong person to answer this.
I use Marie Veronique Organics Moisturizing Face Screen and one pump of it itself makes my face oily after a few minutes and using more of it is way too difficult. I have tried re-application but honestly my work place also doesn’t facilitate the process.

Taking a sunscreen bottle to the washroom kinda looks weird to me. I don’t do touch-ups there so I have only one application and the days I try re-applying, the tint gets too much for the skin and either it shows up as patches or white cast!
One of the ways to reapply the sunscreen is by removing the previously applied layer. Well, there is a huge hitch in that. If you have makeup on, you can obviously not remove the entire thing and reapply so that goes a little impractical as well.
So, the answer again comes back to the same thing – apply according to your schedule and amount of time you would be spending outside. If you stay inside, there is no need for re-application. But, you might go for just one thin layer so as to protect yourself from the light and computer radiations. 
But, you have a team outing or a shopping spree planned, you can go for a thick application. In such cases, always make sure you have applied a thicker-than-usual amount of sunscreen and follow with lighter makeup. Also, make sure that the loose powder you do touch-ups with has adequate protection. 
Though, I would like to make another point here. Just as a bit of sunscreen doesn’t really provide any protection, a bit of loose powder dusted on the face doesn’t give spf 25 amount of protection. For that much of protection, you need almost 1/4th of the product quantity.
What do you do? Do you re-apply your sunscreen? How do you protect yourself when outside all day long?
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Application of Sunscreen {Sunscreen}

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How can any summer pass-by without me talking about sunscreen :-O That would be a travesty 😀 Anyways, the reason I did not write about sunscreen till now is first because I wasn’t serious on the blog and second I have written so much on the topic last year. So, if you missed it, you can check out the entire list of posts here.

Anyways, coming back to today’s topic, one thing I have always remained indecisive about is how much sunscreen should be applied. Last time I wrote about this topic, I mentioned the two fingers rule. But, that is actually impractical and I had realized it long back. But, I still tried my best to keep up with it!
But, I was always skeptical and I read a lot on that topic. So, here are my pennies on it.
Two finger rule holds
Yes, you actually have to apply that much sunscreen to give yourself optimum protection. But, re-application is necessary.

Apply according to the Day’s Schedule
If you know you are going to spend the entire day in hot sun, you SHOULD follow the above rule. And, if you already know you will sit inside the house or office and roam only till the in-house canteen or washroom, you can apply enough to cover yourself for the time you are outside.
So, decide according to your needs and schedule. Do not follow any rule blindly but don’t take things in a stride and ignore them either! Its a very delicate balance.
What if my day is unplanned?
Yes, this is worst of the situations! And, always remember that applying sunscreen doesn’t prevent tanning. And, just like you are always ready when it comes to waxing your legs or getting your facials done on time, same rule applies here as well.
Apply sunscreen everyday whether you go out or not and if the outing is sudden, just make do with as much application as possible in the bare minimum of the time. This is where physical sunscreens come more effective as well.
They start working as soon as you apply them whereas the chemical ones need 20-30 minutes of incubation to start working. And, then, when you are outside for the entire day, make sure you reapply the sunscreen every two hours and follow the two finger rule on all parts of the body, specially which are naked.
So, how much amount of sunscreen do you apply everyday?
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My Skin Care Routine {Skin Care}

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Being a beauty blogger, many of you would be thinking that I have a very elaborate routine and am very diligent about it. Nothing could be farther than truth. I am the most lazy person you will ever come across and I can ignore my skin or hair for a long time. 

The maximum I have ignored my hair is a week, after that I have to at least wash it. I do many times skip conditioning or oiling as well. And, skin, I can ignore for months together except for basic cleansing and moisturizing. Right now, I am passing through that kind of lazy phase. 
Cleansing
Obviously, can’t ignore it. Ok, there have been days I have done that. But, these days, I do follow that coz I am having my bath twice a day. Having a geyser at my disposal is actually harming my skin more. Why? I used to stay in a hostel earlier which had just one common geyser for the entire floor. 
I used to use a heating rod to heat the water [was too lazy to carry buckets of water from the bathroom to my room!] But, now, the geyser is right there in my bathroom. I like hot baths and, now, I am trying to control the temperature of the water I use so that it doesn’t dry my skin too much.

Moisturizing
I am using the Lotus White Glow Emulsion for day time and for night, I generally use Rustic Art Aloevera Gel and follow with a drop or two of any facial oil. Sometimes, I prepare my own. Yup, I know I haven’t done any DIY in a long while but I lack inspiration and patience both!!!

Sunscreen
If I actually see the pattern of last month, there have been many many days when I have blatantly skipped the sun protection. Ok, let me confess, I don’t really like applying it and it takes too much of time and effort and it increases my getting-ready time exponentially. 

But, let me also add that when I skipped the sunscreen, my skin has perceptibly darkened and since I have started it again, I have seen my skin come back to its original color gradually. So, yup, its an unavoidable nuisance. I use Neutrogena Ultra Sheer.
 
Lips
I have been using Nivea Pomegranate for lips in the morning and at night, I have been using Aloe Veda lip balm. But, my lips are really getting dry coz I miss out using lip balms generally and in the office, its really difficult for me to remember. AC is also taking a toll.

Body Care
I do tend to skip the morning miniaturization coz of the scarcity of time. Currently, I am using the Nivea Express Hydration lotion. And, at night also, many times, I skip but do not do that!!! Otherwise, I am using The Body Shop Polynesian Monoi Oil. And, if need be, follow with the nivea lotion again.

That’s it!! Yup, there are a lot of things missing. Exfoliation or Dry Brush which I totally love. I haven’t exfoliated my face since like ages and dry brush, trust me, I am missing it desperately but I misplaced it while shifting and I am afraid I lost it!!!

Anyways, so you have seen my routine, you would want to ask how is my skin feeling? Its become dry since August and I can’t really do without moisturizing. I have to be a regular at it. Otherwise, my skin is soft and good enough. So, what’s your skin care routine?

Nivea Whitening, Cell Repair & UV Protect Body Lotion {Product Review}

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Price: Rs 225 for 950ml

Pros
gets absorbed really quickly into the skin
keeps skin hydrated and moisturized for a long time 
very thin in consistency and you don’t require much
has UVA protection

Cons
doesn’t have UVB protection
I am not sure about the whitening claims
can’t be applied at night coz of UV filters in the product

My Experience
To start with, the consistency of the product is really thin so it gets absorbed very easily but do not underestimate its moisturizing or rather the hydrating properties of the product. It keeps the skin in a great supple condition for almost 6-8 hours and that’s the max I have used this product because I remove it in the evening.

I had read somewhere (in someone’s review, don’t remember which!!) that it helps curb tanning but I don’t think I really saw anything like that. The product boasts of 40X Vitamin C but I really didn’t see it do anything extraordinary. I think the reason may also lie in the fact that I used it only while going out and not at night or otherwise.
I think it would have been better if the product did not have UV filters so that it can be used at anytime and probably might show some effect on tanning.I totally don’t like the whitening claims and regarding UV claims, I always prefer to use sunscreen. I tend to stay away from products which say they moisturize as well as protect. So, I used to layer this upon the sunscreen.
Overall, I am not really sure about the product so I guess they should launch the same in a variation which doesn’t have sunscreen. Have you used the product? How did you like it?
PS: Product sent by brand.
Other products I love or hate from Nivea: