An inexpensive alternative would be the use of anti-aging night creams. There are a lot of anti-aging night creams available in the market but not all of them works. Whether or not they are effective really depends on what they contain. I’ll be sharing to you what are the right and wrong ingredients for anti-aging creams.

Let’s start on the ingredients that you should be looking for in an anti-aging cream:

Shea Butter – It is a natural fat extracted from the seed of the African Shea tree, also referred to as the tree of life. A night time moisturizer containing the oil can help heal blemishes, relive itching, heal allergic reactions, and reverse wrinkles. It can also be used for stretch marks, scars, age spots and eczema.

One of the reasons why it is effective against the signs of aging is because of the vitamin A content.

Retinoids are actually a synthetic version of vitamin A which sometimes can cause redness, itchiness and irritation. Using an anti-aging cream containing retinoid with shea butter can provide the same benefits like Retin-A — smooth younger healthy looking skin, reducing fine lines, wrinkles and sagging — but without any of the adverse reactions.

Active Manuka Honey – As well all know honey has been long used for a variety of medicinal purpose.

Active Manuka Honey has the natural antibacterial activity, therefore, an anti-aging cream containing active manuka honey can  heal blemishes and prevent new ones from forming.  The antioxidant activity of the honey helps to reverse free radical damage, which is one of the primary causes of wrinkles and other signs of aging.

Avocado Oil – is high in unsaponifiables (sterolins) which are reputed to be beneficial in reducing age spots, healing scars and moisturizing the upper layers of the skin. Study shows that sterolins in avocado oil can diminish age spots.

Oils with the highest unsaponifiables are shea butter, avocado oil, sesame oil, soybean oil and olive oil.

Other ingredients like vitamin E, wakame extract, and coenzyme Q10 are also beneficial in fighting the signs of aging.

Now, let me share to you the ingredients you should avoid in an anti-aging cream:

Parabens – Usually used as preservatives in anti-aging products to increase shelf life. The fact is that it is a potential carcinogen and can be harmful for humans in long run. Many countries have already banned the use of Parabens in cosmetics.

Alcohol – It will dry out your skin. Natural alcohols such as stearyl and cetearyl alcohols are okay to use, but avoid the synthetic ones because they will definitely damage your skin.

Mineral Oil – Almost all anti-wrinkle creams contains Mineral Oil as a moisturizing agent — totally not! It is a gasoline byproduct that only creates a thick oil layer on the skin clogging the skin pores, therefore, leading to acne and blackheads.

Dioxanes – are used to make harsh ingredients milder. The use of dioxanes was banned by The state of California because they have found it to cause cancer.

Fragrance – It is used in a lot of cosmetics, but did you know that fragrances are made from thousands of chemical compounds and it could just irritate and harm your body’s internal system?

Now you know the right and better ingredients for anti-aging creams, and what you must avoid. Keep these ingredients in mind and remember to read and check the ingredients first before purchasing any anti-aging product.

Acne is caused by excessive production of hormones called androgens. If your system is producing extra androgens, your oil-producing glands will produce more oil which will cause more acne.

There were some reports of common side effects from women who took Diane 35:

• dizziness
• nausea
• breast pain, tenderness, or swelling
• mood swings
• vomiting
• weight gain or loss

I think the side effects depends on each person. As for my cousin and I, we didn’t experienced any negative side effects. After taking Diane 35 for the first month, I’ve noticed my skin getting more clearer, my skin became super less oily than before, no abdominal cramps and my menstrual cycle became regular.

If you’re going to use Diane 35 for the first time, I advice you to consult with an OB Gynecologist first to know whether or not Diane 35 is safe for you. Yes, we all want to be beautiful, but our health comes first.

If you’re having second thoughts on taking an oral contraceptive pill, then I’d like to recommend F2F (face to face) — Tried and tested!  It’s guaranteed to have no negative side effects!

Have you tried taking an oral contraceptive pill? What was your experience? ^^

Here’s a video comparison of the 88 matte palette and 88 shimmer palette.

When I started taking F2F, I started to see little effects for a week. I noticed that I’m a bit less oily than before. Then for 1 month, my face became less oily and I don’t see tiny zits anymore. I’m very happy with this product! What’s even more good about this product is that it contains Praventin™ which is clinicaly proven to clear acne. It has an anti-microbial, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Praventin is based on milk’s many bioactive components with specific physiological efforts to support a healthy complexion from the inside. It helps reduce the redness from inflammation and helps repair the damaged cells caused by blemishes.

The recommended intake of F2F is to take 1 capsule every morning and evening (2 daily), 30 minutes before meal. It advises the consumers to take F2F for at least two months — My dermatologist advised me to take it for at least 3 months though. Recommended daily intake should not be exceeded.

The Ingredients of F2F are:

• Lactoferrin
• Milk protein
• Capsule; Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose and silicon dioxide.
• Praventin™

Contents: 60 vegetable capsules, 30 days supply.

2 capsules contain typically

• Lactoferrin          160MG
• Milk Protein          40MG

F2F is a food supplement that helps to maintain a healthy skin from within. F2F has not been reported to cause any side effects and has no known contraindications for use during pregnancy and breast feeding. There also has been a study that the oral intake of F2F is statistically and clinically significant in reducing the blemishing associated with acne effecting both the face and body, as acne does not only affects the face. Showing a 71% decrease in complexion blemishes after one month and 95% after two months.

Acne is a treatable condition and should be therefore be dealt with as soon as possible. Even though acne can clear on it’s own, we wouldn’t want our face to get crowded with acne now do we? We all want to have a beautiful clear skin. We should take care of our body both internally and externally.

Other drugs in the market are associated with side effects such as dizziness, nausea, depressions, birth defects, etc. That’s why F2F is very safe, the natural benefits and lack of side effects associated with F2F make it the ideal solution to such a prevalent and self esteem damaging condition.

I recommend F2F to everyone =) You can buy it from your dermatologist, if they have. You can also buy from ebay and other online retailers.

Ascorbic acid has been shown to not only lighten skin pigmentation but also to stimulate collagen and lessen wrinkles.

Faceshop’s Pure Vita C is an intensive skin brightening product so I’m not sure if it does stimulate collagen and lessen wrinkles as it’s not indicated on its box. I believe Vitamin C Serum does that job. If you want to take care of that dark spots on your face, you should try out Faceshop’s Flebeaute White Crystal Pure Vitamin C.

It was thought that a minimum 10% concentration was required but newer information indicate that lower concentration (5%) may have benefit. It is best to stay with products that have this concentration or above.

I’ve been using it for months now and it’s still great. Still lovin’ the product. It lightened the dark spots within 1 week. Within 2-3 weeks it was gone. I want to try Body Shop’s Vitamin C too but I should ask a feedback from my cousin first. ^^~

For those who are using Vitamin C SERUM I’ve read an article saying that we shouldn’t buy Vitamin C serum’s that are orange or yellow tinted because we wouldn’t be able to tell if it’s spoiled or not. I saw on faceshop that they have a Vitamic C serum and it’s transparent. Serum should be kept refrigerated so it won’t spoil. If it’s oxidized then it will be useless. It may even cause damage to your skin than good. So beware!