Pimples, on the occasional time that I get them, are painful and itchy things on my face. They annoy me to no end, so when I see an opportunity to pop the little bugger, I do without hesitation. I simply cannot let pimples disappear on the own and well… I have a few acne scars around my chin to show for it. A terribly careless bad habit of mine could be easily avoided in two ways. I could decide to stop popping them altogether (something I’m trying very hard to do these days) or learn how to pop them properly.

Last week I introduced the website acne.org, specifically the regimen which describes a great routine to get acne under control. Upon further investigation of the site, I found a proper guide for popping pimples. Popping pimples isn’t the worst thing in the world IF you’re doing it right (and I never was).

Visit the site for the proper guide on popping pimples. There’s a vast amount of information on the site dealing with more information on skin care and acne.

Please check out my previous post on the regimen for even more info.

But whether or not you have good skin doesn’t exclude you from needing to be sure that you take care of it any way you can. I may not have acne but I do suffer from other skin problems such as sun spots, discolouration, rosacea and the slow creeping of fine lines and wrinkles. All these things are important to prevent in order to keep your skin healthy. Because I lack severe damage to my skin or obvious flaws, I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t always take care of it over the years and certainly didn’t put much thought into my skin care. However when I came across this regimen as suggested by a Youtube guru that I watch, I wanted to share it with others who might not know about it.

The regimen is a skin care routine designed to help even the worse cases of acne. The website provides thorough and detailed advice on the steps needed to take in order to help improve your skin quality. Now, I haven’t actually adopted this specific regimen but only because I have my own that seems to be working out well enough for me. But I have heard good things about this one and seen some of its work on some acne sufferers. The thing I most enjoy about this regimen unlike others out there such as Proactive (not to say that’s a bad skin care line) is that the advice allows you to use whatever you have on hand. It doesn’t push a specific product, especially an expensive one as acne sufferers are typically struggling students/teenagers. We all can’t afford to shell out hundreds of dollars for creams that may or may not work out for us. Instead this routine is based more on the method and the steps rather than the products themselves.

And for those who have something tried and true, I would suggest looking at the website to check out their advice on skin care products. It lists detailed specifics on what you should be on the lookout for when it comes to cleansers and moisturizers (your two best friends)

OH! and above all, remember to put sunscreen somewhere on your all exposed skin before heading out on any day (sunny or not). We’ll talk about the benefits of it another day but for now, just do it!

Full details of the regimen can be found here: The regimen

For product info: Product Guide

This is official notice that for the month of December, blog posts will not be published on a regular schedule due to both exams and the holiday season. Posts will begin to follow every other day posting beginning in the new year. Still continue to check for updates and I will continue to still write, just not as often.

To fellow students: good luck on finals!

Exercise is one of the keys to happiness. Research shows that people who exercise are healthier, more energetic, think more clearly, sleep better, and have delayed onset of dementia. They get relief from anxiety and mild depression, comparable to medication and therapy. They perform better at work.

Also, although it’s tempting to flop down on the couch when you’re feeling exhausted, exercise is actually a great way to boost energy levels. Feeling tired is a reason to exercise, not a reason to skip exercise.

But even when you admit that you’d feel better if you exercised, it can be very hard to adopt the habit. My idea of fun has always been to lie in bed and read, preferably while also eating a snack, but I’ve managed to keep myself exercising by using all these tricks on myself:

1. Always exercise on Monday. This sets the psychological pattern for the week. Along those lines …

2. If at all possible, exercise first thing in the morning. As the day wears on, you’ll find more excuses to skip exercising. Get it checked off your list, first thing.

3. Never skip exercising two days in a row. You can skip a day, but the next day, you must exercise, no matter how inconvenient.

4. Give yourself credit for the smallest effort. My father always said that all he had to do was put on his running shoes and close the door behind him. Many times, by promising myself I could quit ten minutes after I’d started, I got myself to start—and then found that I didn’t want to quit, after all.

5. Think about context. I thought I disliked weight training, but in fact, I dislike the guys who hang out in the weight-training area. Are you distressed about the grubby showers in your gym? Do you try to run in the mornings, but recoil from going out in the cold? Examine the factors that might be discouraging you from exercising.

6. Exercise several times a week. If your idea of exercise is to join games of pick-up basketball, you should be playing practically every day. Twice a month isn’t enough.

8. Look for affordable ways to make exercising more pleasant or satisfying. Could you upgrade to a nicer or more convenient gym? Buy yourself a new iPod? Work with a trainer? Get a pedometer to keep track of your walking distances? Exercise is a high life priority, so this a worthwhile place to spend some money if that helps.

9. Think of exercise as part of your essential preparation for times you want to be in especially fine form—whether in performance (to be sharp for an important presentation) or appearance (to look good for a wedding) or mood (to deal with a stressful situation). Studies show that exercise does help.

10. Remember one of my favorite Secrets of Adulthood, courtesy of Voltaire: Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Don’t decide it’s only worth exercising if you can run five miles or if you can bike for an hour. I have a friend who scorns exercise unless she’s training for a marathon—so she never exercises. Even going for a ten-minute walk is worthwhile. Do what you can.

11. Don’t kid yourself. Belonging to a gym doesn’t mean you go to the gym. Having been in shape in high school or college doesn’t mean you’re in shape now. Saying that you don’t have time to exercise doesn’t make it true.

People often ask me, “So if I want to be happier, what should I be doing?” and I always say, “The first thing to do is to make sure you’re getting plenty of sleep and plenty of exercise.”

I know that answer doesn’t sound properly transcendent and high-minded on the subject of happiness, but research shows that you’d be wise to start there. And I’ve found that if I’m feeling energetic and well rested, it’s much easier to follow all my other happiness-inducing resolutions.

Credit

Tampon

Tampons also absorb menstrual blood, but they work from inside the vagina. A tampon is also made of absorbent material, but it’s pressed tight into a small cylinder shape. The question all girls wonder is — how do you put them in? Some tampons have applicators, which are plastic or cardboard tubes that help put the tampon in place. Other tampons can be inserted using your fingers.

Tampons come in different sizes for heavier and lighter periods as well. “Super” generally means that variety is for heavy flow. Try to use the least-absorbent tampon that you need. Using one that’s too absorbent can cause problems. Like pads, tampons also come in deodorizing scents, which can irritate the vagina. Again, regular changing usually can manage any odour concerns.

Tampons easy to use once you get the hang of putting them in. If tampons appeal to you, you can learn a little about them before you get your first period. The box normally comes with specific instructions on how to insert a tampon. When you try one for the first time, wash your hands well, follow the directions carefully and be sure to relax. Some girls find that using an applicator-style tampon (especially one with a rounded top) and a slender-sized tampon makes it easier at first. It also helps to first try a tampon on a heavier flow day, so that the tampon slips in easier. I would suggest using thinner/light day tampons during your first tries so that your body can adjust to the new sensations. Just remember to change them often and once you’ve accommodated to it, you can use the appropriate flow.

I choose to display Playtex sport as my example for tampons because for me, it is the most comfortable, light and easy to use tampon I’ve used this far. Therefore I highly recommend it to beginners who want to learn how to use a tampon.

A typical concern of girls is that tampons will get lost inside of you if inserted too far or improperly. This simply cannot happen as your body is not a giant void inside. there are no large openings inside of you for a tampon to move towards so there should be no concern of it going into your stomach or other parts of your intestines.

Tampons typically have a string attached to one end that stays outside a girl’s body and can be used to remove the tampon at any time. If you have trouble finding the string at first, don’t worry. Relax and you’ll be able to find it. If you’re having trouble, tell a parent or someone you are comfortable with. Personally I find it a little difficult sometimes when you attempt to pull out the tampon. You must keep in mind that the tampon as increased in size slightly from being soaked with blood and fluids so it may not come out as easily as it went in. This simply means that you must relax more. Once again, a tampon cannot get lost or stuck inside of you. It’s possible to forget you have a tampon in and insert another one. But they still can’t get lost in your body. If this happens, just remove them as soon as possible.

A tampon needs to be changed every 4 to 6 hours or when it’s saturated with blood. Because you can’t see it as you would with a pad, you’ll need to remember when it’s time to change, or spotting and leakage will occur on your underwear. Pull gently on the string that is attached to the end of the tampon, pull it out, wrap it in toilet paper, and throw it in the trash. Don’t flush it in the toilet — even tampons that say they’re flushable can still cause problems in some toilets. [as a general guidelines, it's best not to flush anything down the toilet]

Preventing Toxic Shock Syndrome

“It’s very important that you change your tampon every few hours, even if your period is light. Why? Because leaving one in too long — like all day or all night — puts you at risk for a rare but very dangerous illness called toxic shock syndrome (TSS). That’s why it’s a good idea to use the least-absorbent tampon you need. That may sound weird. You might think the most-absorbent one would be best because you wouldn’t have to change it as often.

But when you keep a tampon in too long, bacteria can grow. Girls who use very absorbent tampons are most at risk for this especially if the tampons are kept in for a long time, giving the bacteria plenty of time to grow. These bacteria can grow within the tampon, enter the body from inside the vagina, then invade the bloodstream, releasing toxins that can cause a very severe, and occasionally life-threatening, illness.

Symptoms of TSS include high fever, vomiting or diarrhea, severe muscle aches, a feeling of extreme weakness or dizziness, and a rash that looks like a sunburn. If you ever have these symptoms while wearing a tampon, remove it and tell an adult immediately. Have someone take you to the nearest emergency department as soon as possible.” – credited to various online sources

I have read about this through magazines and other health articles. Although rare, it is something that all women should look out for. The preventative measures are simple and easy and should not deter people from using tampons altogether. Everything in life comes with risks; it’s just about minimizing them.

Tampon Pros:
Better for Sports
Can swim
less messy
more comfortable

Cons:

Take longer to change
Can be tricky to insert
Creates just as much landfill as pads
Can in some rare cases lead to TSS

Other girls like pads because they’re easy to use, and it’s easier to remember when to change them since you can see them getting soaked with blood. Many girls switch back and forth: Sometimes they use tampons and sometimes they use pads, depending on the situation, where they’re going to be, and their menstrual flow. Some use pads at night and tampons during the day, one method that I practice because I have a tendency of sleeping in sometimes or forgetting about it in the morning.. And some girls with heavy periods use tampons together with pads or pantiliners for added protection against leakage. If you have any concerns or questions about your period, talk to your doctor.

If you keep well hydrated and drink your daily amounts of water, another good reminder to change your tampon is when you inevitably go to the bathroom. You definitely need to take out your tampon and insert a new one every time you head to the bathroom for sanity purposes.

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The last method is one that is relatively new to me. As I did my research for this topic for you guys, I came across some alternatives that I felt was important to, at the very least, suggest. I have never used this method and don’t suppose that I will be doing so anytime soon but it does have some important pros to it.

Menstrual Cup

Arguably, the best protective measure is the menstrual cup. One popular brand that can typically be found in drug stores is Instead. I came across it in my latest shopping outing so it certainly does exist out there and definitely not as advertised as pads or tampons.  The major pro to this method is that it is better for the environment for those who are more socially aware about the environmental impact human waste contributes. You aren’t wasting cotton and loading down landfills. It involves little mess like tampons as it remains inside of you. You can inevitably save a lot of money when you invest in reusable cups and apparently can continue sexual activities for the more mature women who are disappointed in having to delay their sex life due to their monthly inconvenience. There’s a lot of information on Instead’s website with regards to how to use the cup, more  pros and cons and general info. If this alternative seems like something you’d be interested in, I’d suggest you look into it further through the many resources over the web. If this is something that you currently use, please leave a message and let me know how it works for you cause I’d be interested in hearing opinions.

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I hope both articles provided a lot of informative insight on your monthly menstruation cycle. There is obviously much more information out there but I wanted to share my experiences, what I knew  and learned so that young women out there may be more informed about their bodies and their health. I certainly didn’t have someone to explain this fully to me so hopefully this acts as a useful resource and opens up your own exploration. If you have any further questions or comments, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll try to get back to you.

Resources used: Kids Health & Young Women’s Health

As I followed the instructions that came with it, I felt a slight discomfort. Afterall, it’s not exactly natural to stick something inside you and just leave it there. But after a few steps around the house, my body relaxed and I completely forgot about the entire thing. I haven’t looked back since.

I wanted to share my experience, my pros and cons for these methods because I know there are girls out there who have yet to try it for themselves and are a little hesitant. Hopefully I can provide some insight and give you the courage to try it for yourself. At the very least, I hope this provides you a little more information on your options. Not one single method is better than the rest for everyone. Use what’s comfortable and convenient for you, that’s all that matters!

The Pad

Pads are rectangles of absorbent material with a sticky backing that you place on the inside your underwear. Some have extra material on the sides (called “wings”) that fold over the edges of your underwear to better hold the pad in place and prevent leakage. Pads can also be called sanitary pads or sanitary napkins.

Pads come in different sizes for heavier and lighter periods. They also come in deodorant varieties, but these can irritate the vagina. Simply changing pads often can cut down on any odour. I don’t think I’ve used deodorant pads and if I had, I honestly couldn’t tell much of a difference.

You might wonder how often pads must be changed. It depends on how much menstrual blood you have, but it’s a good idea to change pads at least every 3 or 4 hours even if you’re not menstruating much. Naturally, if your period is heavy, you should change pads more often because they may get saturated more quickly. It’s based entirely on you and your comfort level

Once you’ve removed your pad, wrap it in toilet paper or in the wrapping of your next pad and put it in the trash can (or the special disposal box that’s found in most public stalls). Don’t try to flush a pad down the toilet — they’re too big and will back up the toilet.

Pad Pros:
Easier to change
Less of a hassle

Pad Cons:
More chance of leakage
change more often
you feel wet
not comfortable
creates a lot of waste

This is the go-to method for a lot of women and young girls out there especially as they begin their journey into puberty. It’s convenient, easy to use and requires very little effort on your part to use it properly. For a very long time, I considered this to be the only method out there. And growing up I never really complained or sought out an alternative. It got the job done for the few days of every month that I needed it. But as I grew older, I found my discomfort and aggravation with this product to rise. It was irritating my sensitive skin, uncomfortable to position myself in, bulky in both storage and through usage. This wasn’t due to brands or how I was using it. I seem to have outgrown the  product and wanted an alternative. But I knew of nothing else, at least back then.

Resources used: Kids Health & Young Women’s Health

Related Articles

• Seven Ways to “Green” Your Period (biggreenpurse.com)

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Now that I’ve been able to introduce you to Luuux via my last post. I wanted to take this opportunity to rant about it because I’ve certainly got some hesitations about the site.

Like I mentioned in that intro post, I’m not really out to gain an obscene amount of points. If that was really my goal, trust me I’d have a lot more than I do now as I’d dedicate day and night to the pursuit of points; something that I’m sure most users on that site are doing. I’m simply on that site to redirect traffic and hopefully gain the interest of a whole set of new readers for my blogs. That said, the practices of Luuux are unfavourable. There’s a considerable amount of cheating, spamming and lousy blogging going on that site. People are putting up junk just to get the points. I’d highly suggest to Luuux to revamp their points system and blogging structure to restore its credibility. I’d tell them myself but unsurprisingly the ‘contact’ or ‘help’ portion of the site is severely hard to locate (if someone knows where it is, please let me know)

I think the thing that irks me the most is that there is a lot of stuff on there that is being posted by others and not giving the original author the credit they duly deserve. For instance, recipes go up without a second thought as people are merely coping full pages from other people’s sites. They don’t make comments, add in their own stories or suggestions. Luuux has merely become a copy and paste arena. As a hardworking blogger who takes hours upon hours finding information and writing out a proper blog post (to the best of my ability) I’m horrified at the idea that someone will take anything on my blogs, post it on Luuux and gain points for themselves. I worked hard so those points belong to me; not your copy & pasting lazy butt. And even though there is a section for credit at the bottom, as an author, I simply don’t think its enough. A lot of the content on my site is content I find elsewhere but I give full credit to those sites, proper link backs and my post contains my own words or wisdom, not a complete copy of the original work.

So my rant is simply this: post your own stuff dammit! Add at least a few sentences of your own words. Restore the sanctity of blogging. If I could give you my points in exchange for your cooperation, I would.

P.S. I’m definitely searching for my content on Luuux and fair warning, if I find it and you’ve simply copied my original post, I will report it. I hate to be a biatch about it but its my work, so my say :P

Be the most attractive place for sharing trends and ideas with friends and other users, and share the income we generate from these activities with those who help create it.

Our Philosophy

Can You earn money while sharing trends and ideas with your friends? At Luuux we believe so.

Many of today’s major communities have been built using content from your activities, but the revenues generated from this is not always shared back with you.

By awarding Luuux$ for adding content and community interaction, we share our revenues from advertising and sales commissions with you, making us a  new kind of social community and the time you spend online a whole lot more valuable.” - About

Luuux is this up and coming website that is slowly taking over. If you haven’t heard of it yet, you will. It’s most popular with young women as it mainly pertains to shopping, beauty and fashion. Essentially its a blogging platform but you receive virtual money with each post you put up on your profile. With this virtual money you are able to purchase things in Luuux’s online store and get some pretty awesome stuff ( a lot of high-end brands and  products). If you’re feeling generous you can give the points away to charities that the site features and donate it there instead. You can also receive virtual points from commenting on other people’s work, ‘like’-ing it, sharing it with your own social websites (Facebook, Twitter) and many other ways. The site has been bombarded since its creation and is still in its early stages. The posts are split into ‘universes’ (otherwise known as categories) which are fashion, technology, health and beauty, design, sports & fitness and entertainment. Expansion on these universes should really be considered as there are tons of posts on there that don’t necessarily fall into these categories. But of course I’m sure they’re working it all out.

Within the first two days of joining, I became a top contributor for the Sports & Fitness section and got up to $800+ points with followers and friends to top it all off. If I want to be honest, I don’t actually care about the points. If I could give them away to people I would and will end up either just saving it all or giving it to one of the charities. I’m on there for a more genuine cause, to promote my work and my websites, to contribute good blogs and enforce proper blogging practice, something a lot of users are taking advantage of. There are a lot of people just seeking out points and pretty much spamming the site in the few ways possible. I like the idea behind this site and I hope users don’t misuse it and turn something unique and fresh into one giant headache. I encourage you to join, be a part of a growing phenomenon and write some great blogs.

But behold, my latest addition to my blogging endeavours. This blog will feature posts pertaining to both health, fashion and beauty, hopefully provide reviews to products and help me keep track of my own health adventure. This blog will primarily focus on outer and physical health and beauty. Things regarding nutrition and diet is featured on my other blog, Food Variables. This is my alternative to the Youtube Gurus who are already out there. I was never too fond of the video though I will put some up when I can. Instead I hope inform others through my writing.

As mentioned in the ‘About’ section, I do not at any time claim to be an expert on anything. This is definitely a field that I am still learning a lot about and hopefully through my writing I can share my new knowledge with others. I hope you enjoy the site. Any comments and suggestions are always welcome. :)