If i knew then, what i know know
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Wed Sep 28, 2011 4:03 pm

I love this forum and all the advice i get from the posts... I was wondering... from all your skincare ups and downs... lessons, what would you do differently or advice younger people from the lessons you learned? what worked or didn't, etc... I'm 25 and i would love to hear from those that would tell their younger self what they know now...

free skin care · Wed Sep 28, 2011 4:16 pm

The number one & most important thing i would have told myself is to make sure my face, hands & neck were slathered in sunscreen every moment i'm driving or outside. I've spent a great deal of my life outside in the hot Australian sun, horse riding, giving riding lessons, gardening etc & i've paid the price. Crying or Very sad

free skin care · Wed Sep 28, 2011 5:20 pm

Use proven ingredients, be consistent and give the products enough time to work, wear sunscreen daily, exercise, eat right, and do not get suckered in by all the fad skin care products out there. Most importantly, be happy and don't worry so much about aging. It will happen to all of us, whether we want it to or not. Very Happy

free skin care · Wed Sep 28, 2011 5:52 pm

If I could go back in time and tell 18yo me what to do and not do, it would be:

- never ever pop a zit!
- dont start wearing foundation (I'm sure it caused me more problems than I'll ever realise!)
- always, always, always wear SPF - I've been pretty good with this but I could have been better
- DONT HAVE LASER!

free skin care · Wed Sep 28, 2011 6:00 pm

I would suggest don't use chemical skincare. It makes your skin allergy.

free skin care · Thu Sep 29, 2011 12:53 pm

Oh wouldn't it be great...hindsight!!

I have 2 sons, and I am forever trying to make sure they look after their skin. Most times they really cant be bothered Sad

one is 22 and the other is 13. The youngest will let me advise him but the 22 year old thinks he knows everything. Oh well, I try!

My advice would be sunscreen every single day, cleanse, tone, antioxidants, retin A and Vit C. I would advise definitely no smoking, good diet and exercise.

I wish someone had advised me 30 years ago. I have always looked after my skin reasonably well but there was so much stuff I didn't know. I am still learning now!

free skin care · Thu Sep 29, 2011 1:14 pm

Glamcat wrote:

- DONT HAVE LASER!

Did you have a bad experience with laser, Glamcat? I have had 5 IPL sessions and I love the results.

free skin care · Thu Sep 29, 2011 2:53 pm

I agree with almost everything's that been said. But, for me, first and foremost would have to be SUNSCREEN!!

free skin care · Thu Sep 29, 2011 6:20 pm

rileygirl wrote:

Use proven ingredients, be consistent and give the products enough time to work, wear sunscreen daily, exercise, eat right, and do not get suckered in by all the fad skin care products out there. Most importantly, be happy and don't worry so much about aging. It will happen to all of us, whether we want it to or not. Very Happy

Definitely this

Thu Sep 29, 2011 7:43 pm

Yay!! thanks guys for the reply... so far i'm seeing SUNSCREEN as a MUST! isn't it wonderful that it's never too late... i mean places like this exist so that we can all learn from eachother! bring em on... lol.

free skin care · Fri Sep 30, 2011 12:12 am

Bermie2 wrote:

Oh wouldn't it be great...hindsight!!

I have 2 sons, and I am forever trying to make sure they look after their skin. Most times they really cant be bothered Sad

one is 22 and the other is 13. The youngest will let me advise him but the 22 year old thinks he knows everything. Oh well, I try!

My advice would be sunscreen every single day, cleanse, tone, antioxidants, retin A and Vit C. I would advise definitely no smoking, good diet and exercise.

I wish someone had advised me 30 years ago. I have always looked after my skin reasonably well but there was so much stuff I didn't know. I am still learning now!

Not trying to be too pessimistic, but worrying about smoking cigarettes?
You should maybe be worried about them smoking other things.

That just popped into my head as it seems every time I walk by quite a few places around here, or a few stores/restaurant near the dance school I go to I smell people smoking other things (weed).
And apparently that is quite popular with many "younger people" (and maybe older people too?
-something like 15% of people apparently do some form or drugs...

*My advice I wish I knew sooner was to use mineral sunscreen and not chemical sunscreen.
And maybe that expensive makeup is not always better than cheaper items.

Now,I do not use that many popular brand items compared to before.
Also the in thing here seems to be shopping at Sephora.
that is a store I avoid!

free skin care · Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:13 am

Yes I had a horrible life-altering experience with laser and my face is forever changed and not in a good way Sad

I think it has a lot to do with who does the laser - even though mine was done by a registered nurse at a plastic surgeons office she failed to take into consideration how sensitive my skin and body are in general - I told her and told her and she kept saying "all people think they have sensitive skin but they dont really!" but I told her I really did! Long story short, she should have listened to me! Confused

HippoMe wrote:

Did you have a bad experience with laser, Glamcat? I have had 5 IPL sessions and I love the results.

free skin care · Fri Sep 30, 2011 4:56 am

Ottawa Shopper wrote:

Not trying to be too pessimistic, but worrying about smoking cigarettes? You should maybe be worried about them smoking other things.

That just popped into my head as it seems every time I walk by quite a few places around here, or a few stores/restaurant near the dance school I go to I smell people smoking other things (weed).

And apparently that is quite popular with many "younger people" (and maybe older people too?
-something like 15% of people apparently do some form or drugs...

I have worked in fields allied to medicine for twenty years and, in my younger days, ingested large quantities of illicit substances (not at work, obviously!). IMO cigarette smoking and teenage pregnancy is what parents should focus on avoiding, as the physical and social consequences of each can be devastating. Youngsters who don't smoke tobacco are unlikely to progress to cannabis - I am a prime example.

Experts agree that tobacco is one of the most physically harmful drugs there is, streets ahead of cannabis. "According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cigarette smoking results in ... about one in every five U.S. deaths ... for every one person who dies from smoking, twenty more suffer from at least one serious tobacco-related illness." [from US government drug abuse site]. Sad

How much mortality, morbidity and * spam alert * is associated with cannabis?

free skin care · Fri Sep 30, 2011 6:13 am

marishka04 wrote:

I love this forum and all the advice i get from the posts... I was wondering... from all your skincare ups and downs... lessons, what would you do differently or advice younger people from the lessons you learned? what worked or didn't, etc... I'm 25 and i would love to hear from those that would tell their younger self what they know now...

1. Treat your skin as if it is sensitive, not on the presenting symptoms.
So many people use harsh ingredients such as benzoyl peroxide, sulphate surfactants, retinols, vitamin C, salicylic acid, astringents, physical exfoliants ... Looking back I am sure a good proportion of 'allergic' reactions, 'atopic' eczema and 'acne' breakouts were down to breaching the acid mantle of my skin.

2. If you apply multiple products with numerous ingredients, there is no way you can work out what is causing or curing your beauty issues.
Don't forget to factor in laundry powder (bedding/ washcloths/ towels), fabric conditioner, hand soap, shampoo (runs down your face/ arms) ... not just toiletries and cosmetics. Read the bottles; I learned every single hair product I used contained silicones and none contained natural oils! No wonder my hair was damaged yet never felt clean.

3. Don't expect topical products or vitamin supplements to make up for a rubbish diet.
I didn't eat fast food but not enough fruit or veggies, few healthy fats, too much alcohol. When I started to eat ridiculously healthily my keratosis pilaris, mild atopic eczema and ridges in my nails all vanished! There is plenty of research on the power of nutrition but the medical professional don't prescribe this enough IMO. It's important to take in a balance of vitamins, minerals AND essential fatty acids; supplementing one or two without professional guidance can be harmful.

Hope someone can learn from my stupidity! Bad Grin

free skin care · Fri Sep 30, 2011 8:36 am

Sadly I have known plenty of people addicted to cannabis - like they couldn't go a day without it - oh scratch that, half a day without it! And when they were without it they are psychotic, paranoid, delusional, experience psychosis, become abusive. These people usually also suffered from antisocial disorders, had difficulty performing at work, that's if they could keep a job and they usually amassed signficant debt... pot is not the 'harmless' substance people think it is... Wink

Firefox7275 wrote:

How much mortality, morbidity and * spam alert * is associated with cannabis?

free skin care · Fri Sep 30, 2011 5:15 pm

Glamcat wrote:

Sadly I have known plenty of people addicted to cannabis - like they couldn't go a day without it - oh scratch that, half a day without it! And when they were without it they are psychotic, paranoid, delusional, experience psychosis, become abusive. These people usually also suffered from antisocial disorders, had difficulty performing at work, that's if they could keep a job and they usually amassed signficant debt... pot is not the 'harmless' substance people think it is... Wink

Thanks for your input! Smile

Sorry to appear nit-picky but dependence and * spam alert * are not one and the same. I completely accept there are mental health risks to cannabis use, and would never suggest it is harmless. I am familiar with the daily use you describe but this is not the norm - whereas it is commonplace to take a 'hit' of nicotine twenty times a day. It's worth noting the strong association between tobacco use and major mental health conditions, including schizophrenia and bipolar. With both cannabis and tobacco the links are chicken-and-egg: people with mental health conditions and personality disorders have a high incidence of self-medicating. Crying or Very sad

Fri Sep 30, 2011 5:35 pm

Firefox7275 wrote:

marishka04 wrote:

I love this forum and all the advice i get from the posts... I was wondering... from all your skincare ups and downs... lessons, what would you do differently or advice younger people from the lessons you learned? what worked or didn't, etc... I'm 25 and i would love to hear from those that would tell their younger self what they know now...

1. Treat your skin as if it is sensitive, not on the presenting symptoms.
So many people use harsh ingredients such as benzoyl peroxide, sulphate surfactants, retinols, vitamin C, salicylic acid, astringents, physical exfoliants ... Looking back I am sure a good proportion of 'allergic' reactions, 'atopic' eczema and 'acne' breakouts were down to breaching the acid mantle of my skin.

2. If you apply multiple products with numerous ingredients, there is no way you can work out what is causing or curing your beauty issues.
Don't forget to factor in laundry powder (bedding/ washcloths/ towels), fabric conditioner, hand soap, shampoo (runs down your face/ arms) ... not just toiletries and cosmetics. Read the bottles; I learned every single hair product I used contained silicones and none contained natural oils! No wonder my hair was damaged yet never felt clean.

3. Don't expect topical products or vitamin supplements to make up for a rubbish diet.
I didn't eat fast food but not enough fruit or veggies, few healthy fats, too much alcohol. When I started to eat ridiculously healthily my keratosis pilaris, mild atopic eczema and ridges in my nails all vanished! There is plenty of research on the power of nutrition but the medical professional don't prescribe this enough IMO. It's important to take in a balance of vitamins, minerals AND essential fatty acids; supplementing one or two without professional guidance can be harmful.

Hope someone can learn from my stupidity! Bad Grin

THIS! I don't have sensitive skin (as in, I've never had a bad reaction to a product, no broken caps, hardly any redness, etc.) but I still limit harsh products and use mineral makeup. I've only recently started using a BHA but only once a day, and just on the problem areas, not allover. I actually think my mild acne in high school started b/c I began using skin care products that I didn't need to! If it ain't broke, don't fix it! CUSTOMIZE for your personal skin care needs and carefully evaluate WHY you want to add/remove/switch product. If it's just an itch to use something new just for the sake of using something new...don't!

AVA

free skin care · Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:11 pm

I agree with everything you said! Wink

especially about people self-medicating! I really wish people wouldnt self-medicate! Not that I'm a proponent of prescription medication but there is also a lot of research and data that many mental illnesses are caused or exacerbated by poor diet and nutritional deficiencies.

I'm not a qualified naturopath but I do really know my stuff -- every naturopath I've ever seen professionally or met in passing has commented that I really do know my stuff - some told me I wasting my money seeing them professionally as I knew just as much if not more than they did.

Anyhoo Laughing

if I had a friend or family member with some sort of mental illness the first thing I would do is clean up their diet, try wheat elimination, cut/reduce sugar, get them onto loads of vegies and fruit, green smoothies, only organic animal products -- then I would add: EFA's/fish oils, lecithin, B vitamins (there's a lot of evidence to suggest that deficiencies in B vitamins particularly B3, B6, B12 can contribute to depression/ schizophrenia, etc), Iodine, maybe some taurine, chromium... and I would absolutely make sure they avoid drugs/alcohol which can cause insulin spikes which contribute to mood swings... Wink

Firefox7275 wrote:

Thanks for your input! Smile

Sorry to appear nit-picky but dependence and * spam alert * are not one and the same. I completely accept there are mental health risks to cannabis use, and would never suggest it is harmless. I am familiar with the daily use you describe but this is not the norm - whereas it is commonplace to take a 'hit' of nicotine twenty times a day. It's worth noting the strong association between tobacco use and major mental health conditions, including schizophrenia and bipolar. With both cannabis and tobacco the links are chicken-and-egg: people with mental health conditions and personality disorders have a high incidence of self-medicating. Crying or Very sad

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