For When My Skin Is Not At Its Best

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Typing this entry up because my skin is feeling like crap

I had laksa yesterday night and it was so delicious. The gravy was perfect — just what I liked! But one of the key ingredients to make the perfect laksa is belacan. Belacan is like that one ingredient that you can put in any dishes (especially sambal base) and they will turn out good. Did I mention that on Wednesday my mom made asam pedas and she put belacan in it and it was so good I felt sad after I was done with my meal because it was that good

Belacan is actually a shrimp paste (found out about it like, 5 minutes ago) and I also have seafood allergy so serves me right for consuming food that I cannot eat, right? Who am I to think that I can have the luxury of enjoying seafood and belacan, right? Am I right

CAN'T EVEN ENJOY LAKSA ANYMORE

Anyway, back to the topic. You know how we gals have that one week out of the month when our skin feels and looks like crap especially during period? I hate that time because my makeup looks terrible and the acne scars on my face that has actually lighten looks bright red all of a sudden. For me personally, A week before and during my period are my favourite because my skin looks and feels so good but when I'm nearing the ovulation day (my fertile period is between day 13-19 and today is my day 19), my skin takes a hundred and eighty degree change and oh there you are 3485843 bumps and whiteheads. You're so unwelcome but okay

But breakouts do not only happen during the change of hormones. There are so many things that can contribute to breakouts and bumps and all sort of unpleasantness on your face so these are a few steps I take to deal with it

Sit back, relax, and think about the food I ateAs I lay down in my bed not quite relaxed because I'm itchy everywhere, thinking of the food I ate for the past two or three days and breaking down hysterically because it's taking its toll on me now and there's no other way to get through it other than to be patience and sing Westlife's Fool Again 'cause I'm really a fool

After that emotional episode, I eat clean for as long as I could until my mom cooks something that I'm allergic to. Fruits are my best friend. I eat a lot of papaya and watermelon. But not too much of papaya though unless you want to go poo poo 5 times a day (yes it happened to me)

Change my bed sheetNo matter how comfortable your bed is and how 'lovely' your pillows smell like (ehem stale saliva) after a few weeks of sleeping in it, you should always change your pillow cases once a week and bed sheet I'd say around twice a month. The oil on your hair will transfer to your pillow case and get to your face which can cause breakouts. Read here to know more about pillowcase, detergent and fabric softener, and dust mites

Your bed sheet collects dust and dirt and when you came home from a long day outside and you immediately attack your bed ('cause why not?) without changing your clothes, taking a shower, or even washing your feet and all the dirt you collected from your day outside will transfer to your bedding. It's disgusting which is why I'm only using antibacterial body wash (okay if it were me I would have totally chosen LUX Magical Spell but my mom bought my shower gel 'cause she's my mom and who am I to defy her I'm scared). It's okay if I don't smell like lavender unicorn with English rose flower garden thingamajig as long as I'm not itchy all over

Drink more plain water than usualIf you drink 1.5L of water everyday, then drink more during your crappy skin episode. I've always wondered why everyone says that you have to drink enough water everyday if you want clear skin because water is just, water. H20. No other compound in it that can help me with getting clear skin but drinking plain water is important to detoxify your body hence removing all the toxins and gory and disgusting stuff in your body thus making your skin clear without breakouts. Read here to know more about water detoxifying

But make sure that you go pee pee at least 10 times a day when you drink, like, 3L of water. If you didn't go pee pee the whole day, please call your doctor because there might be something wrong with your kidney

I do not scrub my faceDo you know that scrubbing your face during breakouts will actually make your skin worse? If you have acne-prone skin, please don't ever scrub your face especially with that St. Ives Apricot Scrub because that stuff is very harsh for your skin. Scrubbing acne-prone skin will irritate and aggravate your already inflamed skin. Read here to know more about scrubbing acne-prone skin

I know how tempting it is to scrub your face when you have bumps all over but please don't ever do that, have some sympathy on your skin. I scrub my face once or twice a month and that is if I have to go somewhere that needs me to put on makeup so I want a smooth canvas for better makeup application

I use clay maskA few days ago, I had one huge zit in between my brows so being me, I picked on it. I popped that puss-infested zit open and there was blood oozing out of it. It felt so good and disgusting at the same time. Then I washed my face using my facial cleanser, wiped my skin dry with fresh cloth and immediately put on Innisfree Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask to close that wound up. The next day, there was no acne scar visible and I'm so happy and relieved. Phew. One less acne scar to treat! Read here to know more about clay mask do's and don'ts

I have dry skin with oily T-zone so I use clay mask once or twice a week depending on the condition of my skin. I never have that mask on for more than 20 minutes because clay mask tends to dry you out and pull your excess sebum but the moisture can be replenished by toning and moisturising afterwards. Here's the skincare step that I swear by:Exfoliating (scrubbing) > Cleansing > Mask > Toning > Moisturising

There you go, the 5 steps I do and don't do when my skin is not at its best. Another thing worth mentioning is to always have enough sleep but when you're in a long distance relationship with 8 hour time difference, 10 pm - 6 am sleep is just not possible for me

What do you do when your skin is acting up?

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