Confessions

Layering skin care products is very popular in Asia. There was a poll taken women in Asia use about an average of 9 products are used on the skin daily! So skin care is taken very, very seriously. I use about 5-6 different products every night (including my chap stick).

Here, is what I use and in what order. Remember, this is just what I use; you create your own régime that suits you and your skin type.

In the morning, I use a light sunblock for my face or a foundation with a built in SPF when I plan on wearing make-up. The key is prevention and I enjoy prevention on a budget. These products, I chose because they work for my skin as well as my wallet. All the products are below 20$USD at any Wal-mart or Pharmacy. The only one that was a bit pricey was the Kinerase lift & resculpt serum by Dr. Lewinn and it was almost 30$USD.

Asian women are known for being some of the most beautiful women in the world. Their beauty is not just genetics; it is their strict regime of skin care and maintenance of their beauty.

Western culture focusing on anti-aging products for the already aging person—decreasing signs of fine lines, wrinkles, age spots, etc. Western medicine focuses on the afflicted area (epidermis for anti-aging, AZO or similar products for UTIs). Chinese medicine pays attention to the entire body in reaction to the affliction—the internal organs, body toxins, our energy. Another thing that Chinese medicine advocates is prevention. Prevention is key to everything. Do not put off later when you can prevent now. Many people badger me for using anti-aging cream at 23 but my reply is, “You don’t put on sunscreen AFTER you get sunburned so why not take that approach with everything else?” This entry will give a few tips for healthy skin.

Naturally, we don’t want to believe that we are the ones causing our skin problems. It’s easy to blame it on our “naturally oily face.” Our diet is usually the main cause of our skin problems. It’s nothing to be ashamed of because I think I can safely say that all of us have some bad eating habit and it would be hard for us to cut it out of our lives.

For example, Foods that are cooked in vegetable oil is a major culprit. Surprisingly, vegetable oil is one of the leading causes of hormonal inflammation than any other consumable product on earth. If you could find a way to avoid this oil, almost half of your chronic skin conditions would disappear in about a month. It’s hard to imagine cutting out vegetable oil completely; however, if you’re serious about getting healthier looking skin, at least be conscious of what you consume. It won’t magically clear up on its own. I know, personally, that using alternative cooking oils (like Olive Oil) can clear up skin without any extra effort.

In the west, women typically drink cold sodas, ice tea, lemonade, or ice water with their meals—especially in the American South; while this is refreshing, the only problem with drinking chilled or iced liquids with meals is that the cold drinks travel through your body while solidifying the fats from food. Going further, cold drinks make it harder for your body to digest and dissolve unwanted fats that are found in your food. (Your body has to warm up cold drinks closer to your body temperature so it uses more energy) Asian women, on the other hand, will drink warm liquids like warm water, tea or coffee with meals. Warm drinks help keep the fats in your foods fluid, which aids your body in digesting and dissolving fat as it passes through your system. Drinking warm liquids like white, black, green tea and oolong tea has also been said to reduce the risk of clogged arteries, and drinking a warm glass of water when you wake up will give your metabolism a boost. I prefer hot water with lemon if I am dining out. It is especially nice when the weather is cold and/or wet.

Below the neck

Your face isn't the only part of your body that can show aging signs; your hands and feet and especially your neck also need to be pampered on a regular basis. There is a well-known saying among Chinese women that a woman's hands are her second face, which makes it valid to use your anti-wrinkle skin serums on hands, elbows, knees and feet. Use a moisturizing body lotion on your entire body as well to ensure healthy-looking skin.

Massaging moisturizer into your hands and feet daily can have positive effects on your entire body since they have the most important acupoints on the body. Moisturizers made with chamomile and peppermint is most commonly used to soothe hands and feet. (Peppermint is great in the morning because the smell of mint perks you up.) Getting your feet rubbed not only feels amazing, but according to Chinese medicine, it can increase blood flow to help in lymphatic drainage, speedy healing to all areas of the body, and detoxifying.

I, personally, try to take three or four nights a week to take time out of my busy schedule to do this to my entire body. I did this for my grandmother when she broke her leg and she felt improvement. It felt good and it helped with blood flow since she couldn’t move around as much.

(photo) My mother and me 1989

In 1985, my mother emigrated with my 公公 (Gong-Gong) from Taiwan to the United States. Three years later, going to a base party in Austin, she met my father and, there, my story begins.

One of the first in my mother’s family to be born in the U.S., I burst onto the scene in 1989. I spent my early years in the suburbs of Houston, where I indulged in drooling, Cheetos and visiting our beach house in Galveston; I later moved to Hot Springs, with my grandparents, where I attended and graduated from Bismarck High. I have a passion for music and an addiction to reading.

My passion for music spawned from my dependency as a young child; I couldn’t sleep alone and eventually my grandmother convinced me that the radio was like someone being there. So trading one dependency for another, I would sleep soundly listening to classic rock, 90s pop, country western and—my favorite—Ranchera. The music must have touched my soul because I have always enjoyed listening and dissecting music. Junior high spawned my appreciation for heavy metal and old school punk; Senior high, I developed my taste for indie rock, blue-eyed soul and alternative. During my enrollment at UALR, if I wasn’t in class, I was listening to hip-hop and techno. I no longer sleep to music (I have this fear of losing my hearing too early), but I do enjoy the low hum of light traffic or the light snoring of my boyfriend when a alcohol pulls him into that comfortable deep sleep.

My addiction to reading is probably due to the fact that I’d much rather fantasize about someone else’s story than my own. I am a huge fan of young adult fantasy. My most recent reads have been Seth Grahame-Smith’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and a collaborative piece by Robert Kirkman (Creator of Graphic Novel and AMC series The Walking Dead) and Jay Bonansinga, The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor. 

(Drastic topic change/transition) I am studying Business/Technology Education at Henderson State. My transition from UALR to HSU was surprisingly smooth since many of my remaining high school friends are attending.

As you can see, they are of the masculine type. I had always found it difficult to remain friends with other girls my entire life. I was always treated different; I wasn’t like the girls at Bismarck so I didn’t bother trying to be friends with them to avoid any divergences. I found that girls, in general, will be kind to you face-to-face and will act like they would be your best friend by agreeing with everything but are actually just using the casual conversation as Intel to use at a later time. I think every girl has experienced this at one point in their lives and girls fight a very different way than boys. Boys will get mad and roll around in the dirt and use their fists to dispute their issues. Girls will get mad and smile and act as if nothing has happened to later plot your emotional/social demise. Boys fight and it’s over while girls dig their claws in and scar your psyche for life (Why do you think they call it a cat fight?). I am not alone and I am not prejudice of my own kind but I know how the general young female populous works and, at the time, I didn’t want any part of it. I may have bore the scarlet letter or been labeled the “L-word” but I enjoyed high school in the company of my boys much more than I cared about those nasty rumors (because that’s all they were). Riddle me this Batman, why live your life within the walls of what other people say?

Enough about me and my thoughts, we are here to know about my topic and theme. I will be posting about Health and Beauty. I think that beauty is strongly linked to health for both males and females. Bookmark my blog if you find what I have to say interesting in the least.