BlogHer - skin - Comments

vitamin D and rosacea

kthmcgv — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:50:19 -0500

Hi,

After realizing that my rosacea got a bit better in the summer (when vitamin D is generated more in the skin) and knowing that vitamin D is beneficial for skin healing, I began taking 1000 IU of vitamin D per day. After just a few days my inflammation was almost 100 percent reduced and the pustules were gone. This is after a year of taking metrogel with only slight improvement.

I suggest everyone should look into taking vitamin d supplements and discuss this possiblity with you dermatologist.

Here are a few I can't live without and where to buy:

rtcoffeegirl — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:24:30 -0600

I found a lip plumper that I really really like. It's by APOTEK and I like that it's a total lip conditioner as well as plumper. You can use it by itself, as a primer before lipstick or gloss, or even over your lipstick or gloss. It's not too sting-y, it smells yummy but not too sweet, and it's not gunky at all. Plus it comes in a tube with a wand, so you don't get your finger all gummy. Go to Apotek Total Lip Treatment to purchase. If you do decide to purchase, you can click and paste this coupon code right here: 15PNWS01--save $15 on a $50 order. They have lots of cool stuff at this site (askderm.com).

Vivite' Skin Care by Allergan: in a word, AMAZING. I actually got this at my neurologist's office of all places! Since I started using this regimen (not complicated, really) my skin is clear and it glows. It's really kind of freaking me out actually. I'm actually going out without wearing concealer or foundation, which I haven't done since, gosh, I was like my 9 yr old daughter Anya's age. Not you know, out OUT, but like to Starbuck's and stuff.

Anyway, it's loaded with glycolic acid, salicylic acid, anti-oxidants, and a bunch of natural ingredients like green tea, aloe, chamomile, olive leaf extract, chamomile, pomegranate, caffeine, etc. Check out their website at http://www.viviteskincare.com/. I use the exfoliating cleanser, exfoliating scrub, serum, and I'm just now trying their Vibrance therapy for fading spots. I received a free trial regimen from my doc: it included an eye cream and night cream which I still use; however, I purchased the full sized products from http://www.livelyskin.com/ at a discounted price with two-day shipping. However, if you want to learn more before buying, go to and click on AskDerm.com and type in Vivite and the experts (aka live people, imagine that!) there will talk with you first about all the details about how it works.

Revale' Night Cream with CoffeeBerry Extract: This anti-aging treatment contains the most potent concentration of the super-antioxidant CoffeeBerry at 1.5 percent. This formulation contains other natural antioxidants as well to enhance skin restoration and protect the skin from free radicals and was named one of Allure's top products the past 2 years running. All I know is it helps my fine lines. Go to Night Cream from Revaleskin and order it. Fast. It's soft and creamy and totally non-irritating. You need this cream.

Ziana (Topical Vitamin A): (Rx only) or Renova or Retina-A, etc.: if you aren't using these products, you are either crazy or a woman of childbearing age (or one and the same? Couldn't resist that joke, sorry). These are one of the greatest discoveries in skincare in the past 20 years, simply because they work. I've found Ziana to be the least peely, for me. And I exfoliate, a lot. A lot a lot. Ask your derm to write it for acne and it will be totally covered by insurance.

B. Kamins Chemist Sunbar Sunscreen SPF 30: This is the one sunscreen for your face and body that has it all. Check this out: It's oil free, fragrance free, paba free, non-greasy, water resistant, has an antioxidant formula, may be reapplied over makeup, broad spectrum protection UVA/UVB, for face and body. Has a nice nude color that dissolves quickly and easily. Safe for babies over 6 months of age. Their products are all "maple" based. Whatever that means. I just like it. Go to B.Kamins for that.

Hope you enjoy these products as much as I do...they are all fab and I freak if I run out of any of them!

Rachel Thompson

www.giltfree.blogspot.com

I know what you mean

Miakoda — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:30:46 -0500

I'm an Indian woman and I've seen so many matrimonial ads that refer to color that I've become immune to them- I don't even bat an eyelid- same goes for the ads on TV. It's sad, really. There's too much hypocrisy in this country and this love for the 'fair' color is just another example. I've written a sarcastically funny post on the same topic- do check it out!

http://www.blogher.com/matrimonial-ad

Mia :)

"Some day, after we have mastered the winds, waves, the tides, and
gravity,we shall harness the energies of love. Then, for the second
time in the history of the world, humankind will have discovered fire."

Yes the poem!

Holligurl — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:16:04 -0500

Thanks Alanna - Pablo Neruda is a great poet. He takes such simple things and makes them beautiful!

There are also quite a number of great poets from Africa that I will be featuring on my blog.

I also love to read and blog about food and eating well - so will definitely check out your contributions as well!!

Thanks again.

LOVE the poem!

Alanna Kellogg — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 07:49:09 -0500

Thanks so much for the little window into your TV life there in Africa!

Alanna Kellogg
Kitchen Parade &
A Veggie Venture

Waiting...

snigdhasen — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:08:33 -0500

Maria, Prisoner's Wife,

Do enlighten us :)

Post it!

snigdhasen — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:07:13 -0500

Nita, convert that draft into a post! Would LOVE to read your ideas, analysis and experiences. It can only help further the discussion.

I think it's high time we wrote and discussed this issue more seriously. I saw this new Ponds White Beauty ad (for a pinkish-white glow). I understand it may be too early to judge how the ad will finally end, but who are they selling the "pinkish white glow" to? How can a brown person ever look pinkish-white?

Seriously...

Snigdha, as you said its a

Nitajk — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:37:44 -0500

Snigdha, as you said its a complicated subject and I have a draft post on this!

Overall though people tend to think of colour as an attribute of beauty.

And also, honor killings are carried out in some feudal families but more because marriages are out of caste and creed, not because of colour. In fact marrying outside caste and religion gets people's hackles up, and some criminal minded people kill. but there is trouble even without this.

There was a well publicised case of a famous industrialist whose son committed suicide because his parents could not accept his marriage to a white girl. Happened in London.

Thanks for the link

Nita

Not Sure

theprisonerswife — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:15:33 -0500

I will have to ask. You're probably right in terms of marriage, but i'll ask to make sure. He's from Jamaica, where the Indian population isn't as large as on other islands such as Trinidad or Grenada.

~~
Gimme Love: http://theprisonerswife.blogspot.com

I'll have to ask

Maria Niles — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 01:46:05 -0500

Interesting question, Snigdha! I'll have to ask him - it's not something we've ever talked much about.

I do know though that his understanding of race and on that side of my family is different from my mother's descended-from-slaves, African American side.

ConsumerPop Marketing
PopConsumer (Politics, Current Events & Links)
Beyond Help (Music, TV & Pop Culture)

Things are changing!

An alien earthling — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:58:54 -0500

Snigdha, unlike some other states, where surnames may or may not reveal the caste, Tamil surnames were just the names of the castes/sub-castes, though a very few may have also reflected the place where the person hailed from. When Tamils dropped their surnames completely, it became impossible to identify the person's caste from his/her name as the full name consists of just the first name of the person and the first name of his/her father or the first name of the husband in the case of many married women. (Now ofcourse, the law has been modified to allow the mother's first name or initial(s) to be used instead of those of the father.)

Actually, the Tamil naming system (as well as that of some Malayalees) is very, very similar to that of the Icelanders. The Icelanders just have a first name and add their father's first name (sometimes the mother's first name) along with a suffix son or dottir.

Icelandic names - wikipedia

This is a very unique system when the rest of the world uses surnames or family names. Some Tamils of earlier generations (especially those living in other states/countries) may continue to use surnames because it is easier to fill up forms where surnames are required. But most people of my parents' generation and almost everyone in my generation don't use surnames at all!

However, I will not claim that casteism is dead in Tamil Nadu. Unfortunately, it still exists in rural areas and in a few backward villages, despicable forms of casteist discrimination like the shameful two-tumbler system still exist, though it is banned by law and the administration and police are supposed to root out such nonsense wherever they find it. Things like letting out houses only for members of one's caste or religion are definitely on the wane, though one may still find classified ads in newspapers that state "vegetarians only".

The politics of AP and Karnataka may be caste based to a large extent, but in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, it is mainly development based politics! That is why, in both states, governments keep changing after every election without exception. Ofcourse, there may be a few small casteist parties, but I am sure the people of TN and Kerala will not allow them to move to the centre-stage.

Raj

Well said Raj

snigdhasen — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:37:14 -0500

Raj, I completely agree that a culture that cannot correct itself and evolve is best dead. But I think that has actually been India's plus point -- we have been by-and-large flexible, and have assimilated so many different cultures over the years.

The problem is with those who refuse to see the need to change.

"(I don't know about other states, but it is not possible to find out the caste of a person from his/her name in Tamil Nadu!)" ---

Are you sure about that? I know some people have started dropping their caste-revealing last names (in some northern states as well, where caste is a big factor), but I know plenty from south (including TN) who continue to use it. In my experience, southerners in general are more conservative, especially about their caste: "To Let: Brahmins Only".

TN and AP politics are also heavily caste-based, no?

Growing up in Bengal, I have barely ever experienced this in everyday life.

Your ideas, though, are indeed hard to come by and refreshing. Keep up the spirit!

Thanks Maria :)

snigdhasen — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 20:58:55 -0500

Thank you, Maria. I'm glad the post was of some use. I recall you mentioning once that your dad was West Indian, right? I wonder if he ever told you about how Indians there interacted with the local population.

That would be interesting information.

Are they?

snigdhasen — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 20:51:24 -0500

Thanks, Prisoner's Wife :)

It's a great question you raise about Indians in the Caribbeans. I don't know, do you?

What does your husband say about the relationship between the two groups? My guess is that when it comes to marriage, Indians there would like to stick to their communities, right?

But I am just guessing. Plese enlighten us :)

I am not surprised at all!

An alien earthling — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:55:11 -0500

I was not surprised to read about the murder, Snigdha. Some Indians still have a backward, mediæval, feudal mindset that any amount of education will not remove. Nor will it go away if they go to a different country. They would still carry with them the worst of India wherever they go. Some Indians defend and support the most despicable, inhuman practices like casteism, sati, dowry, discrimination against women, etc. in the name of "culture". Shame on such a "culture"! There is no hope for such a "culture" because it does not have a self-correcting tendency. Anything that does not correct itself deserves to perish completely!

I guess the daughter-in-law was murdered because the son dared to defy the wishes of his father and marry outside the caste and religion (and in this case, race and origin as well). I have heard that some Indian-Americans are even more casteist than most Indians and don't allow their children to marry someone outside their own caste or religion or region. If Mr. Rai had a daughter who married an African-American man, the son-in-law would have been killed, I am sure. The case of Rizwanur Rehman comes to mind. In some backward pockets in India, both the guy and the girl would be killed for marrying outside the caste.

The good thing is that things are changing in India, atleast among the urban, educated youth. I am both happy and proud to say that I do not know what caste my friends (in school and college) and colleagues belong to, though one can know their religion from their names (I don't know about other states, but it is not possible to find out the caste of a person from his/her name in Tamil Nadu!) I give a damn about things like caste and religion!

Those stupid "fairness creams" have a big market in India. And companies come out with "fairness creams" that target men! I have read that Kashmiri men have taken a liking to those stupid "fairness creams". And Kashmiris, in general, are the "fairest" people in India.