Camellia Japonica Oil

Another horrible hair accident, so now I'm stuck with...

frizzy (!!!) dried hay hair.

So again, looking for a miracle... and Oshima Tsubaki Camellia Hair Care Oil came as a surprise and total saviour. Bought it on a whim in Watson's. What a great product. I used it all over my hair and it softens my hair so much that I'd managed to tame the frizz. The smell is faint and pleasing.

Of course, I am also using extra virgin olive oil before shampooing daily. So I guess everything helps.

This oil (not in Oshima' packaging) is suitable for hair, nail and skin.


I really like the 100% Camellia Oil (seen below) because the bottle is really very orientally quaint. Of course it's useless as a hair oil for me as I tend to over do everything and ended up with very oily hair. However, I've decided to add mineral water and produce a homemade(ish) version of the one above.

Different shades

Sorry for people who rss or been waiting for the next beauty thingamie that I am going to post. Haiz... I am, after all, living the life of a superhero now. Studying and working.

Alright, recently, I've been noticing that my skin is of different shades. Well, I am sure it's been like this for a while now except that I never bothered to look at my own skin much. Anyways, that irks me. I love my tannish skin. I cannot imagine being too fair because I know I will look jaundiced, but I can't bear having so many different shades of colours!!! I want to be one shade.

So I've been searching around and here's what I found out:

BODY

Whitening soap
Silka / Likas Papaya soap - A lot of pinoy ladies swear by this. Popular on soompi & flowerpod. I've even rushed out to Lucky Plaza and bought myself 2 bars. Let me test it out and we shall see. From the forums, this soap sounds very drying. Please moisturise afterwards. Or oil yourself half an hour before showering (who so free? Siao). Some says Biolink is good too but have to be used along with their other products. Could be an effective product for cleaning off sunblock.
Let the lather stay on your skin for 5 minutes before washing off. That's the best method.
Price: $3.50
There are another brands "Miss White Princess" and "KSA Magic Whitening Soap" but I was not keen to dig at Lucky Plaza. Some says #04-88 has the most products. Ok. Will confirm this next time.

Whitening scrub
Mandi lulur - Any kind of mandi lulur (body scrub in bahasa) from any indonesian jamu shop. I buy mine from Kampung Melayu near Paya Lebar. Joo Chiat, or Tanjong Katong. Please avoid those labelled "Pradasari". That one has the coarsest beads. Scratch my skin like wanna bleed! But for those with tough skin. Be my guest. Some says pradasari works the best for them as the others are too mild....
Price: $2.50

Side note: Papaya enzyme anything has whitening effects. For mandi lulur; licorice, bengkoang, susu, mutiara are all ok.

Whitening lotion / cream
I have no idea about the whitening lotions because I just use whatever that's selling cheaper in watson's. However, having said that, I know some that seems to have whitening effects according to the forums.
Watson's Whitening Lotion - one huge bottle for about $6. I am not sure about the whitening effect but surely the price you pay for that is really ermm... ok lah?
Vaseline Intensive Care - Err... about $5 for a small jar? I am not sure about the whitening properties but smells like yogurt. Nice!


Whitening serum
Bio-oil - got mine in Watsons Malaysia. Costs about... RM33? Helps in improving uneven skin tone. Or so I heard. (I will never argue about beauty things with pinoy ladies!) Using it for stretch marks. Haiz... Let's see how it goes.
HABA White Lady - Ok this is for the face mostly but I LOVE this! I love HABA. Totally natural and suitable for all sensitive skin. And this really evens out my patchy skintone. However now that I am on doctor's perscriptions, I've stopped using it. About $80~ a bottle. HABA White Knight is for oil control.


Highly Rated Drug Store Brands
Olay White Radiance Night Cream
ZA Whitening range

Splurge
Haku Whitening Essence

[Yes, unfortunately, I am so vain I will use face products on my body]

Some people sing praises of Kate Jones' products. I am just too lazy to order online. I am not so needy... yet.
But the raves for:
1. kojic soap
2. luz cream
3. coco puro

Other says Yanko products (can get from Taiwan) works for them. Not sure....

Benefits of Tea Tree

Someone asked me recently: How to treat acne on extremely sensitive skin? Honestly, I wouldn't know unless I see your friend's condition, Somu, but in general I will like to talk about this almost miraculous thing called tea tree, which is suitable for acned, sensitive skin... in moderation.


NOTE: TEA TREE CAN TEND TO BE DRYING. Do monitor your condition for a week at least and tune the usage accordingly.



The best and most useful is to get the pure tea tree oil or Melaleuca alternifolia. Actually tea tree is native to Australia and used for medicinal purposes by the Aborigines.
I used to get Thursday Plantation but a lot of pharmacies' not carrying this anymore.


So how and when can we use tea tree? Believe it or not, tea tree is extremely versatile.

Here are some of the benefits of tea tree:

Antiseptic/ Bacterial Properties:	A general disinfectant that fights bacteria in all kinds of wounds and infections.
Anti-Fungal Properties:	Treats fungal diseases affecting humans and animals.
Anti-Viral Properties:	Fights may common infectious diseases.
Anti-Inflammatory Properties:	Good skin penetration capabilities.
Antimicrobial Properties:	Extremely low potential for skin irritation or sensitisation.
Immuno-Stimulant:	Helps the body to fight off all kinds of infections. This is especially important if the body is weakened already.
Cleans Wounds:	Tea tree oil dissolves pus and cleans the surface of wounds without damage to the tissue.
Repairs Skin:	Tea tree oil helps skin to heal by by encouraging the formation of new scar tissue.

Excerpt from http://www.teatreeoiluses.com/


Basically tea tree oil can be used on skin, vaporised, inhaled, drip into nose or mouth... Well if you know you can take something orally, it certainly can do no greater harm applied in any other ways at all.

I will concentrate on it's benefits for the skin.
For bites, inflamation, cuts, acne or (the reason I got this tea tree oil) paintball wounds; dab tea tree on the spots.
Dilute it with a little water.

In my case, I spritz a layer of facial mist, then lightly massage the tea tree oil on the problem areas. I said, LIGHTLY massage. I feel tea tree oil works best when mixed with a little moisture. Too pure and it just doesn't seems to work much, in my opinion anyway.


So what about products with tea tree ingredients? Simply brilliant, I'll say!





T3 Pimple Gel by HOE Pharmaceuticals

For people who are too sensitive for prolonged use of benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, this is the perfect topical treatment for your stubborn acne.

It is mild enough for a big splat to be applied on the problem area. But pointless, really. It is kinda watery and will slip. Just use a good amount and it shall do the trick. Also this does not cause scarring. Very nice. But do not get the red T3 Pimple Gel+. Contrary to the name, it does not contain tea tree oil at all. Can get at any local pharmacies for less than $6, I think.




Derma E Tea Tree & E Antiseptic Creme

What an interesting product. It is cream base but not oily because of the 5% tea tree oil property. I will say this is one of the best tea tree cream I've ever used. Does not clog and yet not too drying. Good as a moisturiser. I use it as a night moisturiser. Can be purchased from Nature's Farm pharmacy for about $20+.









Enfuselle Acne Clarifying Complex by Shaklee

If you have sporadic smallish bumps and pimples on the whole face, this is quite a good product for that. It contains my favourite, favourite tea tree oil and a very small amount (0.5%) salicylic acid. So it won't aggravate sensitive skin. Mild enough to be used on the whole face. But gives off a white-ish matte mask. Best used at night. Can be purchased at any Guardian pharmacies that carry Shaklee products. I think this cost about $20... Can't remember, but definitely less than $30.











Caron DepilSpa After Wax Soothing Lotion

Hehehe... Eerrr... I like this :P Bought it after my first brazillian wax. Yes it is an experience worthy of a post in itself. Anyway, I think aftercare lotion is extremely important to prevent ingrown hair and rashes. This really does it well. And it has tea tree oil. I am a sucker for things tea tree. No rash, no sore, no ingrown. Bought this from the spa for about $28. Easily available in Australia or from Australian websites for AUD25 and below.







Body Shop Tea Tree Oil Blackhead Minimising Mask

One of my absolute favourite tea tree peel off mask. It is meant for nose really, and should never, never be used on the whole face.
But some creativity on the use is definitely allowed. On days when I have big breakout, I will put a dot of this on the inflamed area, let it dry out, peel off and viola! The oil's been sucked dry, the inflamation's gone down. It really hasten the healing of big breakouts. Costs about $20.

On a side note, tried the tea tree facial wash. Too drying for my skin. I felt like my skin's going to crack after that. Baaad!



T3 Acne Body Wash

If you have acne or tiny bumps on the back, this is one product that my mum swears by. I have the occasional bumps or two and this has helped in so far. I will say for the price, $6, it is definitely a keeper.
I will like to stress one thing though, DO NOT SCRUB your back. It will make the problem worse. So it's best to just wash it well and let it heal nicely.

If the problem is chronic, I will think Body Shop's tea tree wash is more suitable. But beware, that is only recommended for people with oily skin.

This on the other hand, is gentle for daily use and doesn't dry the skin out unnecessarily.





These are some of the products I've personally tried that contains tea tree.

There are a lot of products with tea tree oil like Kiehl, Aesop.

Always try to get a sample product, find out if it contains other ingredients like sulfur, benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, AHA, esorcinol etc.

Personally, benzoyl peroxide (main ingredient of Oxy) is not my favourite way of treating pimples and salicylic acid burnt my skin 3 months ago. I will go with tea tree all the time unless it is totally unavailable.

On a side note:

Tea tree's smell is really an acquired smell. Hahaha. It smells quite awful really and to put it on your face and bear with it... A real feat. Once you get familiar with the smell and come to love the benefits of it though, you will like the smell, I assure you.

BEAUTY DIY/ Knowledge -Hair: Permanent treatment

Very long story about how suddenly I become the hair expert now.

Let me start by saying, I am very cheapskate and lazy. My method's not the best but most suitable for lazy, cheapskates like myself. So there!

~Sunday (1st Sept) went to this salon (HairPlus in Serangoon), highly recommended by my friendsssssssssssss....

Anyway the stylist gave me orangey-blonde highlights on black hair. When she toweled my hair, I was so distressed, I told her, "I don't like this at all. I don't want tiger hair".

But she didn't do much besides saying,"Oh you so conservative, har? Not adventurous?" What??? My fringe alone has 4 parts of black and orangey-blonde!

That was about it. So that marked the day I became tigerlily for 3 days before I get it fixed at Chapter 2, Marina Square.

Also, the fact that I look like mee hoon kway auntie/ 7th month getai singer. On a side note: very old ah peks from the hawker stall seems to like that hair. Thomas stand witness to that. ~




Ok what I want to say here is:

1. In the event of a botched dye job, get it fixed in 48-72 hours. Can be fixed one, not to worry. A lot of experts believe that this is the window period before the hair dye lock into your cuticle.

In my case, I think so lah, hor?

2. Do not try to do it yourself because you might end up damaging your hair more. Get an expert to do it. Because now your hair will need a treatments too. Cannot save on that. Serious! You want hair like hay??

Gross, nobody will sayang and pet your hair. Except for your own mother, but that is out of pity I am sure.

3. There are colour removal for permanent dye or just dye a darker shade. I think for us, black hair ppl, the best bet is to darken the shade. Which is what I did.

BUT remember, not to use heating whatever to get the dye in. Hair was already damaged in the first dye so let time do the work instead. Make sure your hair stylist is not using those heat stuff on your head the 2nd time.

4. Treatments! Very important. For me, I have sensitive skin. So I told the 2nd stylist that. He mixed a very mild dark dye for me.

Opt for Loreal or anything else instead of Wella. Wella's products are very strong with very high chemical composition and not suitable for sensitive skin.

And there's no pain or itchiness. Aiya... how women suffer, right? Anyway there are 2 very important treatments during hair augmenting process.

a - scalp treatment. Very important, hor! Our scalp very kesian.

Kena tortured like nobody's business but we give so much attention to the dead (hair is basically dead once it leaves your scalp) but none to the living skin. Wah Lau!

So this scalp treatment is a must!It helps to soothe and care for your scalp while ridding all the chemicals that might've fell onto your scalp.

b - hair treatment. Hair dead already why still wanna take care?

Well problem is, we mess with the hair so much, that it looks "dry". Dry texture is caused by raised cuticles on the hair shaft.

See any marketing for shampoo will understand what I am saying. So this treatment is to flatten the cuticles, soften the hair for a nice shiny sheen.

AND lastly keep the moisture in (not sure about this la, so I read on google).

Ok lah, want to sleep already. If anybody needs anything, just comment lah, hor? For those difficult steps, I will include pictorial guide but the model is most probably me. So tahan only lah hor.

Love,
Chio Bu Wannabe