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Showing posts from 2019

What's The Use of Retinol For Your Skin?

Retinol belongs to a class of compounds known as retinoids. These agents are derived from vitamin A, an ingredient that increases cell turnover and enhances collagen production.  Not only does it impressively decrease wrinkles but it’s lauded for its ability to clear up acne and blur pigmentation caused by sun damage As a person ages, collagen and cell production slow down, but retinol helps to encourage cell regeneration and ensure that new collagen continues to form.  As collagen is replenished and old skin cells are shed, fine lines recede and skin appears brighter and smoother. Beginner Granactive retinoids  0.2% 0.5% Advanced  1% Prescription retinol  Sources: https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/style/3am-fashion-celebrity-beauty/retinol-revolution-everything-you-need-14187353.amp

How I Use Biovene Vitamin C serum

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I've had Biovene Vitamin C serum 27% for some days now and it feels absolutely different from The Ordinary vitamin C suspension. Three major differences are that this can be used twice a day whereas The Ordinary says preferably at night.  In addition, there is no gritty texture to deal with as compared to The Ordinary Vitamin C 23 suspension.  Lastly, there is no oil in the Biovene Vitamin C serum whilst The Ordinary has squalene in it. The oil isn't the problem, the challenge is that once you apply it, you can't use a moisturizer.  With these differences, Biovene will certainly be a stable solution for the interim as I will also test Dear Klairs Vitamin Drop soon. After this, Timeless Vitamin c and hopefully, other brands too.  I'm not in love with the smell of the Biovene as it reminds me of paracetamol 😂😂Aside that, it calms my skin and my skin needs a lot of love now as I'd neglected it for 4 weeks. Stay tuned for a full review when I'm through with it. 

What You Didn't know about Tampons

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Tampons are such a taboo topic among ladies in Ghana but here's what I've discovered about them. Watch and do share!  Click   Here 

Sunscreen Types and Uses

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SPF: Sun Protection Factor. SPF measures the UVB protection of a sunscreen. (You can assume that UVA protection holds strong, while UVB defense wavers.) Unprotected skin takes 20 minutes to redden and burn in the sun, so an SPF 15 sunscreen or moisturizer will extend that 15 times longer, or roughly 5 hours. (You should play it safe and reapply after 2-3 hours, though.) They also explain it in terms of percentages, which explains why you might experience more of a skin tan using SPF 15 than SPF 30: SPF 15 blocks about 93 percent of UVB rays during this time. SPF 30 doesn’t block double the rays; it simply ups the ante to 97 percent, whereas SPF 50 takes it to 98 percent. UVB is the chief culprit behind sunburn, while UVA rays, which penetrate the skin more deeply, are associated with wrinkling, leathering, sagging, and other light-induced effects of aging (photoaging).UVA: Ultraviolet “A” rays can penetrate deep into the skin. This leads to premature aging, or “photoaging” — fine line

How I Use Dickinson's Witch Hazel Toner

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The second toner I've introduced in my stash is the Dickinson witch hazel toner.  I opted for it as a back up to clearing acne when I don't want to use any chemical exfoliating product.  It's quite drying and added to the Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Toner, you get double impact. 

The Difference in Chemical Exfoliation (Pictorial)

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Getting a grasp of chemical exfoliating entails understanding which one is suitable for your skin condition and of course, how each will impact your skin.  Which one is your favorite?  I love Cosrx BHA power liquid toner and The Ordinary Glycolic Toning Solution. I've used The Ordinary Lactic Acid which is also amazing. I'll be getting the 5% to use very soon. 

How I Use Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Toner

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Neutrogena is a popular brand and I've jumped on the bandwagon too by trying the Acne Stress control. I love the Cosrx BHA power liquid toner and it will always be my favorite but I want to give other products a chance.  I've been breaking out for almost a week now and because I haven't used any chemical exfoliating products, I decided to use this chance to test the toner. After washing the face, I poured out the toner on cotton pad and swept my face with it. I allowed about 45 minutes before using Life Flo Rosehip oil. I loved the dryness I had on the face when I was applying the oil as that meant the skin had absorbed the toner.  The Acne Stress Control toner has fragrance and that's the one thing I don't fancy in toners.  I've had a lot of pregnant women asking for products to treat their skin therfore I'll be paying attention to these questions. In the meantime,  I'm still looking out for friendly pregnancy products to create a post for my pregnant r

Cosrx BHA Power Liquid Blackhead Toner Review

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Cosrx is a top brand in the beauty industry and I'm glad I got hold of their salicylic acid based toner, the BHA 

Mizon Night Seruming Ampoule

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For the most part of this year, I've been getting my Korean Beauty stash together. The first one was getting an essence toner and I got the Pkung Kang one in a mini bottle. Next was the Son & Park Beauty water and then the Mizon. 1. Cleansed with dudu osun soap  2. Applied the Son & Park beauty water and allowed to dry for some minutes. 3. Applied Pkung Kang essence toner  4. The mizon 5. Granactive retinoid  I noticed a drastic change in the  feel of my skin! It felt extremely hydrated 

The Ordinary Glycolic Toning Solution

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I've basically tried lactic acid and Cosrx BHA power liquid as exfoliating products and I did love the results so I've moved on to glycolic toning solution. This is a 7% solution which is considered a high concentration of glycolic acid. Glycolic acid is an alpha hydroxy acid like the lactic acid but this penetrates deeper. Here's a video of how I Use it. Click  Here  to watch 

5 Exfoliating Techniques

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Exfoliating dead skin cells can be the best experience or worst ever depending on how you do it.  1. Scrubs: there are some which target  daily use  but I don't think it's necessary. Too much exfoliating will damage your skin barrier.  2. Exfoliating toners /serums/pad: we've talked about alpha hydroxy acid and beta hydroxy acid for exfoliating. Some come in pad forms for easier applications as well as carrying them. 3. Spin brush: I use the Vanity Planet brush but  I hardly do that now. I may use it occasionally to  exfoliate and this is best for pregnant women. No chemicals!  4. Wash cloth /Towel 5. Facial sponge 

The 60 Seconds Skin Care Rule

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The 60 seconds rule regarding washing your face is a great technique that has been used by a lot of skin care addicts.  When washing your face, the one trick that can make a lot of difference in your skin is washing for 60 seconds! Once you apply your facial wash/cleanser/soap, you massage or sweep it around your face for 60 seconds. This allows the cleanser to penetrate the pores and clear the dirt off your skin. All the make up  can also be easily absorbed by your cleansing oil too. I began doing this technique a few weeks ago and it's definitely helped improve the feel of my skin after cleansing.  (check shop.ghanaianemprezz.com for all skin care products) 

The Ordinary Niacinamide Review

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I've been using The Ordinary Niacinamide for months now and I still think Niacinamide is one of the best ingredients for our skin. Check my review  Here 

How To Use Sun Screens or Sunblocks

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Every skin care addict will tell you a sunblock or Sun Protection Factor is a must have even if you wear makeup.  Whether in a cleaner,  toner or serum form,  you'll have to be diligent in using any of the chemical exfoliating products in your routine. However, these can make your skin very sensitive to the sun hence the need to protect your skin.  There are different types of sunblocks. The Sun Protection Factor offer different levels of protection.  My favourite blogger, Stephen King has an awesome article about sunscreens and why Physical and Chemical doesn't really show the difference between these two.  Source: https://kindofstephen.com/physical-vs-chemical-sunscreens-myths/

5 Tips For Chebe Powder Application

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Chebe powder has earned itself a place in the hair care world as herb that aids in length retention as well as moisture retention. With everyone wanting such results, one has to consider the correct way of usage in order to benefit from it. 1. Clean your hair: Applying products to unwashed hair prevents it from being absorbed hence there is the need to cleanse the hair before using the Chebe. 2. Ask for the directions Every brand has its unique approach to using Chebe powder or oil therefore, before to ask for the directions when you purchase it. Be sure to follow the directions for results! 3. Don't use extensions if you apply Chebe powder. This prevents your hair from getting the benefits. You can twist or cornrow your hair without the extensions. You may wear your wigs though. 4. Don't mix and match products with it.  Every brand has its style of producing and mixing ingredients. It's not advisable to mix different brands of Chebe for the simple reason that

My Night Time Skin Care Routine with Cosrx

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The Cosrx BHA power liquid toner is my favorite toner after glycolic toning solution.

The Ordinary Marine Hyaluronics Review

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Here's my review of The Ordinary marine hyaluronic acid..  This type of hyaluronic acid is lighter and more watery. Click to know more. Here 

4 Tips For Growing Natural Hair in Ghana

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1. Focus on moisture  products The weather here is very dry and your hair needs all the moisture it can get. Your shampoo should infuse moisture into the hair. Pre shampoo treatment aka pre poo with light oils prevent your shampoo from stripping your hair. The deep conditioning process should also boost moisture in your hair. Kindly put that eye treatment somewhere and pay attention to moisture products. The simple test is to read the ingredients and see where the protein is. Anywhere at the top 5 ingredients is a likely hard protein and further down, you get medium and light protein. The light ones are better since your hair needs list bit of boosting once in a while. Your moisturizer should be moisture based and I've found alternating between creamy and liquid moisturizers is  very helpful.  2. Hair type helps: Simple Google to know your hair to guide you select suitable products for your hair.  3. Read about your hair: After you identify your hair type, read about. Find bloggers

Acne Triggers: Hormones & Genetics

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There are so many skin conditions out there but pimples get the best of us because it's so visible on our face! For the most part of my life, I've not had issues with pimples. I'm not genetically predisposed to pimples. I've been fortunate to have an amazing skin but I have come to know my acne triggers. Today, I want to draw your attention to hormonal acne.  Genetically, you may be predisposed to pimples/acne because you have an overly activate sebum production which  can't be changed. Our DNA make up is what we came into this world with hence, if pimples run in the family, don't let it be the end of your world.  By identifying this trigger, you will be able to create a suitable routine for your skin. In addition, seeking medical intervention in this case might be the best first aid in treating your acne. Why? The doctor can prescribe medication to help ie the dermatologist. The unfortunate news is that we don't do dermatologist in this part of the world. W

The Ordinary Hemi Squalene Oil Review

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Here's my review of the Hemi Squalene oil from The Ordinary  Click  Here  to watch. 

Skin Toning and Facial Toners

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Toners are meant to function as second step after washing the face. They take off left over oils and dirt. Some have ingredients that exfoliate your skin too. Toners can hydrate your skin and some also prepare your skin or optimize your skin's pH to absorb other nutrients in products.  I use four different toners; Dear Klairs Supple Preparation Facial Toner for hydrtaion, Teiva rose Water hydrating toner, Cosrx Blackhead powder liquid toner and The Ordinary Glycolic Toning Solution. Each helps to maintain my skin.  Therefore, in skin care, toners perform skin toning functions.  However, in our part of the world, skin toning has been associated with bleaching. The believe is that there are creams to bring out your colour (I wonder what that means). The truth is that most of these creams contain bleaching agents so be careful in your quest for an even skin tone.  Skin toning shouldn't affect your skin colour in a negative way. Focus on lotions and creams that will hydrate and add

Country Life Maxi Collagen Review

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Collagen is a part and parcel of a lot of women these days and for a good reason. I've tried a couple of brands and this review is the Country Life Maxi Collagen with biotin, vitamin C and A.  Check out the full review  Here 

How To Prepare Rice Water Rinse

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Rice water is all about  using what you have in your kitchen to grow your hair. Here's how to prepare rice water rinse to help with  Breakage  Thickness  Shedding  Hair growth  Remember that rice water is a protein treatment hence you shouldn't abuse it. Start off with using it as a rinse to see how your hair responds to it.  Secondly, if you wish to use ot as a leave in conditioner, be sure to start off with once a week to gauge how your hair feels after use. Sometimes, just once a week is enough to strengthen your hair.  In addition, if you are using rice water, take care not to use protein deep conditioners often in order not to have protein overload. Let your moisture based products be your go to products.  The type of rice you use depends on you. Some use black rice, long grain etc. You may experiment with the type of rice to find what suits you or works better.  Using rice water isn't the only thing that will make your hair grow faster! Your regimen should be a good o

Basic Skin Care Tips

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Beginning a skin care routine can be a daunting task, especially, when we've grown up to know only using bath soaps. So, how do you start takogk better care of your skin?  (one of my customized facial set for a client) Visit shop.ghanaianemprezz.com or call 0541458372 for one. 1. Cleanser / Make up Removers : With either facial wipes, baby wipes, micellar water or cleansing Oils. This removes all make up and also sunscreen. Therefore, be sure to have at least one or two of these down.  2. Exfoliating: you can begin with a facial scrub like the st. Ives facial scrub or with alpha hydroxy acids like lactic acid, glycolic acid or mandelic acid. These remove the dead skin cells, and with salicylic acid, you go beyond that to unclog your pores too.  These exfoliating products can also come in the form of serums or toners as seen with The Ordinary products.  3.  Toners  To provide hydration or exfoliate the skin. The hydrating toners like the Teiva rose Water toner, revamps the moisture

DIY Tea Hair Mist

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The caffeine in teas have been acclaimed to be effective in controlling excessive shedding hence I decided to make it a part of our hair growth boot camp challenges. You prepare the tea mist the same way as a rinse except I add oils to the mist. If you can't do the mist, the tea rinse is equally effective. Tea  You can use green tea, black tea or any tea of your choice. I, usually, advice using 1 tea bag first to make sure your hair loves it before increasing the quantity.  I recommend brewing enough mist for 7 days use.  Benefits  Shedding Increasing hair growth  Increasing thickness  Reducing hair breakage  Moringa, amla, Brahmi, Aritha, lemongrass and a lot more teas or herbs can be used the same way. Start off with one tea at a time to determine which one works for you.  With black tea, you should use a moisturizing conditioner or deep conditioner if you use it. It tends to leave the hair hard sometimes. 

6 Tips For Chemical Exfoliating

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Using Alpha Hydroxy Acids or Beta Hydroxy Acids is all about moderation and not expecting magical results in days. To effectively use any of these acids, here are some tips for you.  The first tips is to use these exfoliating ingredients once or 2x a week.  2. Personally, I think n ight time is better as it allows your skin to fully utilize whatever you use without the sun to worry about nor make up.  3.Check the concentration you use. From mandelic to salicylic acid, find what your skin can tolerate. Don't jump on salicylic acid until you've tried at least lactic acid like I did.  4.Always moisturize after exfoliating. The existing literature points to the fact that your skin might be too dry after using them. In addition, some do more harm than good when they are left on the skin like that.  5. Don't use chemical and physical exfoliating products at the same time. Excessive exfoliating will damage your skin.  6. Use a sunscreen during the day as these ingredients can leav

How I Use The Ordinary vitamin c suspension 23%

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The Ordinary vitamin C 23%suspension +HA Spheres is one of the popular products from The Ordinary. It is also notoriously unpopular for the reason that it's gritty texture makes application cumbersome and irritating to the skin too, especially, sensitive skin. I've found different ways to work with thos serum so catch all the full gist in this video  Here

My Night Routine With Granactive Retinoid

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The Ordinary has retinols and retinoids.  Here's what they say about the Granactive Retinoid 5 %: This water-free solution contains a 5% concentration of an advanced retinoid active complex called Granactive Retinoid that has been shown to offer better results against multiple signs of aging than retinol without any of the irritation and drawbacks common with retinol. Granactive Retinoid, an active technology from Grant Industries, is a solubilized system of Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate, a highly-advanced form of retinoid which is, in fact, a non-prescription ester of all-trans direct retinoic acid that offers a multi-fold better effect against signs of aging than retinol, retinyl palmitate and nearly all other forms of non-prescription retinoid. This product uses next-generation retinoid active technologies which have been shown to achieve better reduction in signs of aging than retinol without irritation. These technologies cannot be compared directly with retinol itself in terms

How I Prevent Smelly Braids

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For once I'm not using a moisturizer on my braids and dry scalp could be a serious problem for me. I needed something to clean my scalp and keep it hydrated. To still keep the hair moisturized, I used different techniques. Watch the full video  Here  

3 Ways I Exfoliate My Skin

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Just as bathing with a sponge  is to clean skin,  exfoliating the face is key in getting rid of dead skin cells, dirt and unclogging pores. *The first product I use is a spin brush from vanity planet.  This set has 3 brushes: the daily brush,  the exfoliating brush and the large on is the body brush. The exfoliating brush is too uncomfortable for my skin so I skip using it.  I go for the daily brush.  I use the brush once a week with an exfoliating facial wash or cleanser. *The thing I use is exfoliating scrub: I use the blackhead scrub from Beauty Formulas  I use this once in a while to give my skin a break from chemical exfoliating. The maximum use is once a week for me. Anything else will cause irritation on my skin. Lastly, Third is The Ordinary glycolic toning acid and Cosrx BHA power liquid toner. I use these maximum of two times a week. How do you exfoliate?

My Skin Care Routine Using The Ordinary Products

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The Ordinary brand is such a simple yet effective solution to skin care problems and I've been experimenting with different products from the brand.  I've tried: Lactic acid  Marine hyaluronics  Granactive retinoid  Niacinamide  Vitamin C 23% suspension Hemi squalene oil  Borage seed oil  Glycolic toning solution  The spf 15  Looking at the list, it's amazing what a year can do! I've had most of the serums for more than 6 months and it's certainly worth every penny. I don't use the lactic acid anymore but the others feature in my routine all the time, except Borage seed oil which is for my hair.  Marine hyaluronics  I use this after my toner to hydrate the skin.. I follow with either Niacinamide or vitamin C serum.  I use the glycolic toning solution about 2x a week after cleansing.  Check here   for the reviews of these serums.  The Granactive retinoid is a night serum which has anti aging benefits The last exfoliating product I want to try is the BHA peeling s

How To Wash Your Face

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This post was inspired by one of my friends who's new to skin care.  1. Wash your hands to get rid of dirt or germs or bacteria.  2. Wet your face to allow easy application of your wash/soap/cleanser.  3. Apply your facial soap or wash or cleanser as directed. Usually, sweeping your face with your wash should last a minute to remove all oils and dirt.  4A.Rinse off your cleanser/wash with water 4B. If you have a facial scrub, follow up with it.  5. Apply your toner whilst your face is still damp. If you are using a medicated toner, still use it at this step.  An example is the clear and smooth acne pimple medication.  6. Apply your tre atment or moisturizers and SPF. 

3 Must Have Skin Care Products

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For the most part, a lot of us do have face washes or soaps or cleansers. However, I've come to realize that a lot of us don't use Facial moisturizers for several reasons.  *We have oily skin so moisturizers will cause more breakouts  *Some think it's not necessary  *Others just don't know what to use  *Some feel it's too much work  Whatever your reason, your skin needs protection and hydration just as your do for your body to prevent early wrinkles. Lack of moisture causes dry skin, dehydrated skin can cause an increase in the oily feeling you have.  1. Moisturizer 2. Sunscreen  3. Exfoliating product As for sunscreens, we tend not to be aware of the damage because of our dark skin. However, sun damage can affect us so we need to protect our skin as much as we can. Lastly, getting rid of dead skin cells and clearing clogged pores is crucial in combating pimples/acne, blemishes and also dark spots can be achieved with exfoliating. Your skin cells are active on a dai