11 uses for Lanolips Lovely Lanolin Golden Ointment

I love versatile products which is why when I tried Lanolip's  Lovely Lanolin Golden Ointment and kept finding different uses for it, I made sure it's always in my handbag wherever I go.

Packed with 60% medical grade lanolin, Manuka honey, apricot oil and vitamin E - ingredients that soothe, smooth, heal and rebuild the skin's natural protective barrier.

This light golden coloured ointment is thick and highly moisturising so a little goes a long way. It can take a bit of rubbing for the product to absorb into the skin but it is worth the extra effort for the multitude of miracles it performs on problem skin. So far, I've found 11 uses for my little tube of golden magic ointment:

1. For itchy skin. Allergy and ezcma, psoriasis sufferers can rejoice and stay off steroid creams with the use of this ointment for minor and temporary relief of itches. Even nappy rash can be soothe with this little beauty. 
2. On mozzie bites - A life saver when bitten, it soothes the bite and settles swelling.  Now I just have to work out how to get those mozzies to stay away from me. 
3. As an ultra hydrating lip balm - when you'r lips are dry or chapped, nothings seals it and moisturise it like this ointment. It also has the slightly sweet taste of honey that makes it lip-smacking delicious. 
4. As a lip exfoliator - layer it on a thicker than you would use as a lip balm and leave for a few minutes before rubbing it off gently with your fingers to remove the flakies bits off your lips. Trust me, you will love the resultant kissable soft lips.
5. for dry elbows and knees  - it's the bee's knees for it (sorry, for the lame pun - I just couldn't help myself). 
6. As a heel softener -  keep those feet happy and cracked heels at bay by rubbing a bit on and popping on a pair of cotton socks when you head to bed at night. In 2 weeks weeks, you'll have no cracks or rough heels in sight. 
7. As a cuticle cream - soften cuticles and treat rough/ragged bits from your fingers by rubbing this in any time your digits feel dry.
8. For Minor burn treatments - it seals the burn and blister area and helps prevent bacteria getting in. It also helps skin to heal faster. 
9. As an intensive hand cream - too greasy for normal use but if your hand is super dry or like me, you do chores and wash dishes and hand wash clothing leaves your hands under stripped of moisture, then this will be your S.O.S ointment. 
10. As an extreme weather barrier - this is great for air travel or when visiting the snow where air is dry and thin. When applying on my face, I spritz a bit of water to wet it first to make the ointment spread more easily. 
11. As an after-shave balm - its soothes and calms irritated skin after shaving as well as provide hydration and less than a pin head size of the ointment is needed for rubbing in to the chin and each side of the face. 

So if you are after a multi-purpose product or just lacking space when traveling and want to pack light, pack a tube of this and you will be set for almost all sorts of skin situations. 

Lanolips Golden Ointment RRP A$28.95 for 50g at David Jones, Priceline, Adore Beauty online and Terry White Chemists.

Blemish Busters: How to Regain Clear Complexion

Don’t you hate it when for no particular reason (that you can pin point anyway), your skin starts to act up and you start breaking out.  And it just always seems to happen at the worst of time - whenever you want to look your best without any angry red spots calling unwanted attention, giving rise to anxiety and frustration.

Unfortunately, I recently had (and am still having) this very problem with a break out on my chin and around the jaw line. I normally don’t get pimples in this area and couldn't pinpoint it to a particular reason be it related to stress, bad diet, or hormonal (as those generally triggers a break out on my cheeks). Needless to say, it's annoying and frustrating to suffer a break out.

Break out scars :(

So out came all the acne blemish treatments and skincare regime in my attempt to regain my clear chin again. Following the guideline of Treat, Heal and Prevent,  here’s a breakdown on how to say good bye to break outs, keep them in check and hello to clear complexion!

Blemish Busters

Treat

If it’s an angry outbreak, then treatment products can either stop the offending pimple from developing if caught early or if it's beyond that point, speed up its cycle so it can go away and heal quicker.

Try Neutrogena Rapid Clear 2-1 Fight and Fade spot gel (15ml $16.99) to reduce the duration of the break out and also help to fade any scars and marks.  I only use this gel at night because when used during the day with foundation over the treatment, you pretty much will have the product balling up and causing a mess to your makeup up

Another treatment I like is Clearasil Ultra Vanishing Acne Treatment Cream Extra Strength (20g A$14.49) containing 5% benzoyl peroxide to kill bacteria as well as dry out the pimples, quickly banishing spots. Those with sensitive skin types might find it too strong as it can irritate skin or cause stinging sensation so bear that in mind and try the normal strength product or use every other day only.

Dermalogica Spot correcting treatment (10ml  $35) is my preferred day time spot treatment as it doesn't ball up and has got a natural beige tint to help conceal any redness and dark marks. It also contains 5% sulphur and zinc oxide as active ingredients to help fight  and clear those pesky break outs.

Heal

When treating active pimples and acne, you need moisturising and soothing skincare as acne treatment products can by drying on skin. You want to look out for products that moisturise, help fade scars and speed up the recovery of healing skin.

Since treatment gel and creams often leave skin dry and tight, it’s important to use a hydrating moisturiser like the newly reformulated Clinique Dramatically different moisturiser Plus (50ml A$29 or 125ml A$49) containing sunflower seed, cucumber and barley extract to improve the skin barrier function and urea, hyaluronic acid, glycerine to increase moisturisation levels during the day. I like that it's non irritating so even sensitised skin will feel immediately comfortable with this great moisturiser that also gives soft silky skin.

To fight and fade off marks and scars, I've found Estee Lauder CyberWhite HD Advanced Spot Correcting Essence (20ml A$140) to be invaluable in reducing the appearance of scar marks on my chin. In fact, anything to do with pigmentation, whether from break outs or sun exposure, it has to capacity to correct and repair fresh dark marks over the course of 6 weeks. My marks from break outs are lighter and fading away by the day. I also notice that it gives my skin a translucent glow as it gently accelerates skin cell turn-over to improve skin clarity. Win-win!

Prevent

Good skin starts with daily washing and facial washes can go a long way to helping keep skin clear. Here are some of my cabinet staples during periods of break outs.

Products that contain salicylic acid like Neutrogena Oil Eliminating Foaming Cleanser (150ml A$13.99) are not very effective in removing dirt, oil and dead skin , they reduce the chance of blocked pores. I love how this cleanser leaves skin with a velvety texture after washing, is non-drying and not too harsh. Afterwards, I noticed that it also helps to provide a couple of hours of shine control so I don't oil up as much.

For scrubs, the recently released fruity smelling Clearasil Daily Clear Vitamins & Extracts Scrub (150ml A$10.99) has avocado and pomergranate extracts to sooth and nousish skin whilst the salicylic acid and micro-bead scrub is effective with manually removing dead skin cell and grease build up whilst leaving skin feeling smooth and gently cleaned.

For a little something extra, the Neutrogena 2 in 1 Cleanser Mask (150ml $13.99) is handy as you can use it  two ways- as a normal daily cleanser or as a face mask. Every other day, or when I have a new break out, I would apply a thin layer over it as a mask , wait 5 minutes and then wash off to absorb excess oil and help soften skin and sooth the pimple. The clay-based mask cleanser is also great for reducing pesky blackheads as well as it also contains salicylic acid to dissolve and dislodge dead skin cells.

After 6 weeks, I'm still not out of the woods with my break outs. I do however, find that the pimples take only a few days to heal rather than the full week. Now if only I can stop new ones from forming, I'll be on my way to clear skin again. I've also increase my intake of fresh seasonal fruit (strawberries are in season right now) and drinking plenty of water helps flush out the toxin and clear the break outs quicker. I think I'll need to add an exercise regime as the final process to help to rid toxins out of the body quicker as well.

If you are suffering a break out, give these products a try and I hope they work as well for you as they have for me.

This review features products provided for consideration but I've previously purchased and will continue to buy the above acne treatment products to help me get rid of my break outs. 

Clear Skin Series: Busting Back and Body Acne

I was recently asked by someone what I would recommend them to treat back-acne.

Well, I have a confession to make. I suffer from the condition too – not severe, but enough to make me think twice whenever I need to consider wearing strapless or backless clothing.

Suffering from acne anywhere on your body can be debilitating, whether it be on your face, back or chest that can be hidden by clothing, it ultimately can have the same effect and lower your self esteem and affect confidence levels. Acne on the body is generally caused by hormonal imbalance, where to body is producing too much sebum and the best thing is to try and keep the oil and grease off the skin so it does not clog the pores and hair follicles on the body.

Here are my tried and true products that I use to keep my body blemishes at bay.

Back-Acne Busters

1. Wash skin with an anti-bacterial cleanser on a daily basis. I recommend anything with benzoyl peroxide as an active ingredient as it will help to kill off the bacteria on skin and remove excess oil. Benzac AC 5% Face and Body Wash is a good place to start and it's not too drying on skin.

2. Incorporate into your cleansing  routine a body wash with AHA to help with removing dead skin cell build-up and unclogging pores. The ASAP Revitalising Body Scrub is great for this as it contains glycolic acid (a type of AHA)and micro polishing beads to manually exfoliate skin leaving it baby smooth without all those layers of dead skin that blocks pores. I recommend using the product 2-3 times a week in place of the anti-bacterial body was.

3. As a further step of exfoliating the skin, try a dry body brush to brush off oil and grease from the body and is especially handy for those hard-to reach areas like the back. The Manicare Cellulite Bristle Brush will do the job perfectly and help with removing skin cells and help with blood circulation. I haven't really used it as a cellulite reduction brush and cannot say how effective it is for that but for exfoliating, it is amazing.

4. Sometimes, all the over-counters products will not be enough to treat your problem if it is persistent and severe. Don't be afraid to call in the help of the GP (you don't have to be dying of the flu to see them!). I recently did just that and was prescribed something topical to help with treating the pimples. If you suffer severe cases, your doctor may be prescribe you oral medication. I use Epiduo Gel which contains 2.5% benzoyl peroxide to kill off the bacteria and 0.1% adapalene, a retinoid to help unclog pores as well as reduce inflammation and swelling of bumps and cysts.

5. The other thing to keep in mind is to wear natural fibre clothing so that excess moisture and oil can be absorbed by the fabric and still let the body breath comfortably. To that end, I recommend wearing cotton, bamboo or woollen materials over the synthetic and polyester clothing.

I hope that these tips will help you keep you skin clear and blemish free (or at least reduce the number of nasty bumps on you skin). Let me know if you have other methods that works for achieving clear skin on your body.

Stocklist Information:
Benzac AC 5% Face and Body Wash 200ml - RRP A$16.99 is available at pharmacies.
ASAP Revitalising Body Scrub 200ml - RRP A$39 is available at selected salons and online at the SkinCareStore.
Manicare Cellulite Bristle Brush - RRP A$14.95 is available at Priceline, Kmart, Target, Big W and selected pharmacies
Epiduo gel is a prescription-only drug and available from your GP upon request.

In the next skincare series, I'll review some great scar treatment products.

Products that relieve allergic itchy skin

Earlier this year, I broke out in hives. I have no idea what triggered it as I never had an allergic reaction before but for 6 weeks everyday, I would develop itchy rashes across my legs, arm and body (thankfully my face was spared).

These weren't your regular rashes either; they were scary itchy and painful mosquito like lumps that bandied together and formed a large raised patch on my body and sometimes my finger tips would be so itchy they swell up and become painful.

My GP prescribed me 1% cortisone cream and put me on antihistamine tablets to control the symptoms. The cortisoid cream only gave temporary relief (15 mins) and antihistamine tablets were the only thing that effectively stopped my rashes from forming until the drug wore off and I need to take the next dose.

However, I didn't want to be dependent on drugs and steroids (which is what the cortisone cream is) all the time and so started looking for alternatives to relieve the itch and pain. I found some in these amazing products to help deal with my on-going skin irritations.

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse OR Multi-Purpose Dry Oil for Face, Body, Hair 50ml* – RRP $24.95 /A$29.95 (non-shimmer/ shimmer version) 

Dry oil did I hear you say? Yes, dry oil – which means it doesn't leave a sheen that normal oil products do on skin and there is not the slightest greasy feeling at all. In fact, my skin has a smooth velvety feel after the luxurious French oil is absorbed.

This luxurious French oil softens skin and relieves my itching bumps better than the cortisoid cream ever did - I kid you not. Although it also only gives temporary relief (about the same time of 15 minutes), it’s also adding moisturise back to by dry scaly skin and with its pretty gold shimmer particles, imparts a subtle golden flickering as well.

Made from over 95% natural ingredients including a blend of wonderful oils (macadamia, sweet almond, hazelnut, camellia seed, borage, olive, sunflower), rosemary extract and vitamin E, this dry oil is suitable for all skin types on the face, skin and hair (I haven’t tried this on my face yet, only on the neck and I’d only work this into the ends when using it on hair) but who would have thought a natural product fared so much better than a prescription drug – I have Yishan of BeautySwatch to thank for alerting me to try this for my hives.

Available at selected pharmacies and Adore Beauty online.

Ingredients listing for Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse OR

*

Cetaphil Restoraderm Skin Restoring Body Wash 295ml* – RRP $19.99 

I’ve been avoiding all possible skin-irritants so I've been keen to stay away from soap and body washes containing SLS (sodium laureth sulphate) as it is a known skin irritant. I found this soap-free and fragrance-free body wash a soothing addition. With sunflower oil and vitamin E to soften and niacinamide to provide anti-inflamatory properties, it is designed to restore skin's natural barrier and protects it.
I found this body wash very gentle, easy to rinse and moisturised the body, keeping it soft and supple whilst not aggravating problem skin such as eczema and rashes has helped reduced my itching.

Available at pharmacies and Priceline nationally.

Ingredients listing for Cetaphil Restoraderm skin restoring body wash

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Suvana Paw Paw and Honey Balm 25g – RRP $8.95 

This organic balm is very rich and leaves a greasy feeling on skin so I only use it on the problem skin areas (the actual rash bumps) and don’t work it into my entire body. It provides itch relief as well as soothes the bumps so they settle down faster.

This multi-tasker also works wonders on cracked lips, elbows and heels and also makes a kick-ass lip balm/conditioner that I apply at night for soft chap-free puckers in the morning. It is small enough to carry around everywhere making it handy to keep into the handbag.

Available at Chemists nationally and online

Ingredients listing for Suvana paw paw & honey balm

*

After 2 months, I no longer take any antihistamines to control my symptoms and rarely apply the cortisone cream – I still break out in rashes every few days but thankfully, they subside after an hour or so now and by using these alternative products daily and watching what I eat (alcohol and shellfish seem to bring out the rashes), I’ve managed to keep my conditions under check.


Do you suffer from any allergies – how do you keep it in check? What other products do you recommend?

Products marked * were provided for consideration. Other products were purchased by yours truly. 

How To: Bust Pesky Ingrown Hairs

 If you shave or wax then you would most likely experienced to some degree the frustrating condition of ingrown hairs. Guys are not spared either, in fact, they are more prone as most of them are likely to be shaving their face on a daily basis.

To add insult to injury, these unsightly red bumps not only make a mockery of your attempts for beautiful fuzz free skin, but can be quite painful when they become inflamed and infected, and worse scar your skin afterwards – ouch!

Ingrowns are caused by growing hair curling back as it grows so it gets trapped under the skin. This happens because the end of the hair shaft are cut at an angle during shaving or breaks off at with a sharp tip and courages the hair to grow back into the skin rather than out, and inflaming the hair follicle in the process.

There’s no magic trick to stop it from occurring but here’s a few things to do and products to try to minimise its occurrence.

Manicare Cellulite Bristle Brush, ASAP revitalising body scrub, Skin doctors Ingrow Go, Caron Bump Eraiser

• Shave in the direction of the hair growth so that hair grows back straight rather than against, which encourage it to outward from your skin and minimises the curling.If you are a waxer, then the best is to prep your skin before and treat it after to prevent ingrown hairs (see below points).
• Exfoliate daily. This is a key factor to ensure that there are no skin build up that might trap the hairs under your skin. Try using an exfoliating brush (my favourite is Manicare’s Cellulite Bristle Brush RRP A$14.95. Available at Priceline, Myer and selected pharmacies) or a exfoliating body scrub (I’m loving ASAP Revitalising body scrub RRP A$39 which also has AHA to help remove those dead skin cells and give smooth glowing skin. Available at the Facial Company and selected salons)  
• Use products that specifically treats ingrown hair. Skin Doctors Ingrow Go RRP A$24.95* which is a salycilic based liquid that is particularly good at softening and exfoliating the skin so ingrowns don’t get a chance to develop at all. Ingrow Go has an alcoholic smell and can sting if you have open cuts so is best used in the days before and after shaving rather than immediately afterwards. Available at Myer and selected pharmacies.
• Another star product is Caron Bump Eraiser medi paste RRP A$16.75, a thick cream with tea tree, triclosan and vitamin A to treat the redness and swelling of inflamed ingrown while it prevents further ingrown. With medip paste, you can use the product immediately after without too much discomfort and the days after to prevent bumps occuring after waxing or shaving. I’ve also managed to reduce the appearance of the few bumps at the back of my arms after 2 weeks of use and can’t wait until they completely disappear.Available at selected pharmacies.

If you are suffering from embarrassing and painful ingrowns, don’t just hide away and suffer in silence. Fight back with the right products and a regular exfoliating regime, you’ll soon lose the bumps and and marks and have the smooth skin you’ve always coveted.

Do you suffer from ingrowns? which areas are you most prone to them? I get them on my inner thighs (and I don't even shave there, so go figure), lower legs, less often on the upper arms and underarm areas.

Products marked * were provided for consideration. All other products were either purchased or won in competitions.