 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Natural Isn't A Trend, It's A Lifestyle®
Words from Nana: Volume I Issue I
This Month: Blemishes
Unlike my mother and my brothers and sisters...
...I was not blessed with normal or even dry skin. Having shiny oily skin has been the bane of my existence ever since I was twelve. I don’t just have oily skin I have skin that is acne prone and breaks out whenever it feels like it. I think the song "War" by Edwin Starr could easily have been entitled "Acne"- Acne, Good God, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Most of us have had too many encounters with pimples, and what is astounding is that by now, you would think that we would know how to handle them so they don't get the best of us.
There is very little mystery about how a pimple is created
A pimple starts with some amount of oil, usually too much oil, being produced in the pore. That oil is controlled and regulated primarily by your hormones. The oil, for many reasons, cannot get out of the pore in an even flow. This restricted oil flow is more than likely caused by a pore that has a thickened lining that prevents the oil from easily moving. The backed up oil and the buildup of dead skin cells creates a clogged pore. For a clogged pore to become a pimple, bacteria gets in the pore, lives on the oil, multiplies, and becomes inflamed. The inflammation and bacteria creation results in a pimple. Of course I didn’t know all this when I was twelve and hating my face. Over the years I have bought so many things for my face that to add up all the receipts would total a year’s worth of college tuition. Insane, I know.
My Personal War On Acne
Although I love my mother to death I unfortunately was not blessed her beautiful skin that only gets the occasional pimple. I have oily skin and I have become best friends with my African Black Soap, and blemish balm. In an effort to come up with a natural way to minimize my acne's life span, I wanted an ointment that accomplished 3 things: killed the bacteria, sped the healing process, and kept redness and swelling to a minimum. Based on extensive research, I decided on lemon to kill the bacteria, tea tree and lavender to speed the healing (and also help kill bacteria). The result is something better than even I expected!
Whenever I feel acne coming on I wash my face with the African Black Soap, which minimizes the shininess of my face and apply the Blemish Balm. The blemish balm is amazing because it either kills the acne fast and it disappears on its own within 2 days, or it comes to a small head which I gently extract using my fingertips (never fingernails), and then heals up in another 2 days. All the while, it remains small and almost unnoticeable thanks to the essential oils. Also, scaring is minimized since it is kept moisturized by a base of soothing and non-pore-clogging oils.
To Infinity and Beyond
Once this worked so well, people began trying it on a myriad of minor skin problems:
- Razor burn: soothes the pain immediately and gets rid of the redness in about 5 minutes;
- Post-shaving or waxing: helps minimize bumps and redness. Also prevents stinging caused by sweat;
- Chapped lips: helps soothe and heal.
Return to home
Enjoy!