Homemade Lotions and Butters

About 1 month ago I made my own skin cream. It works great. It has improved the softness of my skin by 50%. Usually after I shower and I just apply lotion or shea butter, by the end of the night my skin would actually be dry, where it flakes. I think I may have a mild case of eczema. My brother has it bad, and my mom used to think she had it on her scalp until I showed her a better way to wear her hair so she can wash it more often. Well the point is that I can go call day, only lotion once and not peel.

Derma Roller/Dermatologist

So I have been seeing a dermatologist for the past month now to help me with my small skin woes. My skin isn't actually that bad, but I want it to be fantastic. She said we will tackle one issue at a time. The first issue are the stretch marks on my right breast. She said because the marks are old and because of the colour of my skin she would not use the laser. Instead we are trying the derma roller, along with a medication, Vitamin A, and Scar esthetique creme. She took pictures before we started. I took pictures after my first and second treatment. I will post them soon. My issue is that the Vitamin A cream peeled my skin, turned it red and now I have a patch of darker skin. I get my treatment about every 10 days, and after my 3rd one there is now a two week interval.

Well I created this blog to track my progress. My progress in what? Improving things about myself that I'm not quite satisfied with.

Quick list:
hands - remove wrinkles, better nails, even knuckles
hair
legs- especially knees, even skin tone
breasts
stretch marks


Some of these things I'm hoping to have solved by the end of the year so I can enjoy next year spring ans summer

Bio Oil

I finally fell for this Bio Oil stuff. I wish I had bought it back when it first came out and it was on sale at Shopper's Drug Mart because it's kind of expensive for the little bottle. I am desperate to remove my stretch marks though (or at least fade them so they are barely visible). The main ingredient is paraffin liquidium (sp), which is just mineral oil. I hope it works though. It says to use it for 3 months for strech marks. So I will see.

Stretch Marks

I have stretch marks. I believe I've had them for at least 5 years now and I'm in my early 20s. I believe I got them in my teens with my changing weight and playing sports. I only realized that they were stretch marks last year and I didn't like the way they make my skin look. There are striations on my skin that are lighter in colour on my breasts (more on one than the other) and my butt cheeks. I am determined to get rid of them. Which may be difficult because they say you can't.

I have seen other Black women post on youtube and other places on the net that they have gotten rid of their marks. I will be experimenting with different products to see if I can.

First product:

Nivea body firming lotion with Q10plus. I heard on the women's chanel, women said that this lotion was rated best out of the ones they had women try. The result for me was the stretch marks were still there, but it did improve the way my breasts looked imo.

Second product: Shea butter

This is the product that I have heard black women say has improved the appearance of their skin and removed their stretch marks. I used it for a couple months, and I wasn't seeing much improvement at all. I am also going to take into account the fact that I was using that shea butter with the yellow sticker on top claiming 100% shea butter when it is clear that their is palm oil in it. It doesn't, look, feel or smell like real shea butter. I am now using unrefined shea butter. Additionally I recently spoke to a women at a laser skin care clinic. She told me that shea butter was my best bet. The lasers for stetch mark removal is for lighter skinned people. She said for using shea butter for some people it takes a couple of months and for others it takes 3 years. You also have to take into account how new/old they are. They change colour, since mine are a lighter colour than my skin they older (redder ones would be new). Another tip the woman gave me was to start taking more oils internally that contain vitamins A, E and C. Vitamin C is necessary for collagen production, which along with elastin gives the elasticity to your skin. When your body grows and your skin doesn't grow at the same rate, you get stretch marks. If your skin can produce collagen and elastin at the proper rate it will stretch and contract at the right rate.


Third Product: Ambi Soft & Even stretch mark diminishing body oil.

I am actually seeing results with this product. It is a bit expensive. The ingredients are great. I was hoping I would use it up and I could use it on my hair as well. It promises that I would see results in 4 weeks. I have been using it for 3 months now. And I have seen results!!!!! I am going to start taking pictures of areas. My stretch marks are still there. Four weeks isn't enough to see results for my stretch marks, but then again it said I should apply it twice per day everywhere. I'm glad I stuck it through. I'm not sure if I will repurchase, I have to see how great my results look after the bottle is done. Soybean oil is the number one ingredient and I think that is what is making the difference.

Edited: I think the results with this product were in my head: according to my boyfriend. I finished the bottle and I did not repurchase. This product is still recommended by other websites though.


Next product: Soy butter

review coming soon

edited: I still haven't use this product plain out of the container as yet.

Introduction

I am creating this blog to post information and tips on how to beautify and treat brown skin and afro textured, curly, relaxed, and coarse hair. I am doing alot of research for myself and I want to post the information I am learning somewhere. When I was younger my I didn't have to do much to get my skin looking nice and sometimes even my hair looked good. I am not old as yet, but I do think I should start working on them and stop being lazy about it.


Enjoy