F&F

Another theory blog post? Oh yeah, I'm on fire! :)

I've found some fun beauty facts recently and thought I might them with you.

I bet there are at least 5 facts in this list down below that you didn't know. Scroll down if you're eager to know them!

Did you know:

• Studies have shown that the lipstick sale goes up on a rainy or cloudy day.
• Women use upto 2kg of lipstick.
• 40% of women own 20 lipsticks, but only 1% actually throws their lipstick away.
• You leave about 5% of the lipstick you're wearing behind on glasses, mugs, clothing and men.
• They say 'Blondes have more fun', but did you know they have more hair on their head than any other girls. Blondes have about 140,000 hairs, brunettes have 110,000 and red heads have "only" 80,000.
• The first polish ever made was produced in China. It was a mixture of egg whites, bees wax, gum and colored powder.
• 40% of women are satsified with their feet depending on the look of their toe nails.
• Women stopped dieting after 5 weeks, 2 days and 43 minutes.
• 75% of women who have nonsurgical procedures done such as botox, hide it from their family and friends. More than half the women don't even tell their partner.
• 96% of women have skin problems. Dry skin (43% ), acne (30%) and wrinkles (22%) are being considered as annoying.
• Glass may block out the UVB rays, but 50% of the UVA rays go right through it and it's UVA which causes ageing... (To read more about UVB and UVA, click here to read more info I've written)
• 95% of women have cellulite Yes, even thin women!
• 97% would change a party on their body if they could. 82% would replace their belly, 62% would change their thighes, 50% opt for their bum and 37% pick their upper arms. 
• The longest hair someone owned was almost 3 metres long.
• The skin on your body has about 19,000,000 skin cells. 
• Going to be wearing make up ages your sking by 7 times.

Hope you enjoyed this post! For more requests, comment below :)

Me against UV rays

Hi there everyone!

If you've read my last blog post, you know I'm whined over and over on UV rays and how it's important that you should protect your skin from any damage.

Today I'll be talking about a couple of items I've been using this year to protect myself from those evil rays!

First off, the face!
If you've read this blog for a while, you may know by now that I have a combination to oily skin type. In other words: the kind where you can fry your fish and chips in!
During the summer the oils decide to have a party in my face and stay there for a about the entire season.

Eucerin sun fluid mattifying face - SPF50

When applying a sunscreen on the face, the oils are dying to come out. That's why I've been on the look out for a mattifying sunscreen. Believe me, I never knew about its existence until I accidentally bumped into one when I was in the doctor's waiting room. It's the Eucerin sun fluid mattifying for the face.

Turns out this sample is a pretty darn good sunscreen for me :)

It leaves a semi-matte finish on my skin and it has a high SPF of 50. What more can my skin ask for?

And yes, I'm planning on getting a full size bottle!





Before discovering this baby, I actually did some research on a good sunscreen and I heard/read several good reviews on the following:

 

Shiseido Expert Sun Aging Protection Lotion - SPF30

The Shiseido sunscreen is known for its blue bottle and the orange cap. This sunscreen is meant to be applied for the face as well as the body. When going to the beach, I thought it would come in handy to get a 2 in 1 and one which is very water resistant and sand-proof.

It's a light, non-sticky sun protection lotion that will fight against the UVA and UVB rays. Don't give those wrinkles and sunburns any chance by protecting you against both rays!

I did try to apply this on my face, but my face became rather greasy after a few hours. I prefer this sunscreen for my body and will be using the Eucerin one for my face :)




And something you often forget to protect from UV rays as well: your hair!
I have black hair, but after getting a perm the sun damage has caused my hair to turn slightly dark brown. I must admit that I like the brownish hints of colour, but honestly... I know that the discoloration is merely a sign of sun damage.

Wella Professionals Lifetex vitamin shake

When going on a sunny holiday I make sure to bring along my hair protecting vitamin shake!
This is a vitamin shake that will nourish and protect your hair from sun damage. As you can see on the picture, it has a milk base and an oily base which you should shake up (hence the name vitamin shake) before spritzing it into your hair.

The milk base has sun protection ingredients, while the macadamia seed oil protects your from damage from the sun, sea and chlorine.

It gives a lot of moisture to the hair so the hair doesn't dry out. Do keep in mind that this shake contains a UV filter, to make sure it combats those UV rays!
 




These were my 3 essentials that I'll be rocking this summer.
Tell me, what are your must haves for the scorching hot season?

I can see the sun coming up!

Dear blog readers,

Recently I had a skin scan to determine my skin age, and I must say... the shock did me well. It made me realize I should take care of skin much better. It made me think about all those years I didn't put any SPF (sun protection factor) on my face. *looks disappointed to myself*

The UV scan is called 'Smarter in the sun' and it was an initiative of the Cancer foundation in Belgium. Basically you answer some questions such as 'Do you go to tanning beds?', 'Do you smoke?', ... Afterwards you get in to have the scan taken. The portrait, which is taken with UV light, will determine what your skin age is.
I'm 26 years old, and my skin age is 33.
My wrinkles show up on my face: 3/10 (which is very thin, yay!) The lady told me Asian people don't get bothered with premature aging, so I'm glad I'm scoring good on something.
My pigmentation on my skin got a score of 4/10, which is pretty bad.

As I can't go back anymore, I can only prevent my skin from getting worse.
About a month ago I was "already" determined to take better care of my skin from now on. I bought a couple of sunscreens to protect my skin, but here's a little explanation on the ABC's of UV, abbreviations I'm sure you've heard of before:
UVA = Ultraviolet A, this is also known as a long wave. This will cause the aging of the skin (cause less elastin of the skin, darker melanin, more pigmentation
UVB = Ultraviolet B, or known as the medium wave. This will harm the superficial layers of the skin and mostly causing burning of the skin. (cause the typical sunburn symptoms such as redness and itching)
UVC = Ultraviolet C, or short wave, for which sunscreens doesn't provide any protection. (apparently these rays are so strong they can even kill small organisms)

If you have any trouble remembering what UV stands for, here's a good mnemonic:

UVA = aging, UVB = burning and UVC = carcinoma (common type of cancer) 

Next to UV's, nowadays most sunscreens have an indication of a PA (Protection Grade of UVA). PA rankings are listed as PA+, PA++ or PA+++ with the more plus symbols the more protection from UVA rays. This doesn't protect you from any of the UVB rays. 

SPF rating, on the other hand, offers protection against UVB rays, the rays that causes those nasty sunburns.

Now for the factor.

Do you wonder what the number stands for after SPF?
Well, just apply the '*10-rule' and bye bye to standing clueless at the drugstore! Don't know what the '*10-rule is'? Let me set a few examples for you:
SPF 15: 15*10 = 150 -> This equals 2,5 hours (150/60 minutes) of protection
SPF 30: 30*10 = 300 -> This equals 5 hours of protection
SPF 50: 50*10 = 500 -> This equals about 8 hours of protection

It's recommended that you daily use a minimum SPF of 15, so let's slather on some sunscreen like you've never done before :)

Toxic ingredient, oxybenzone:

I've heard a lot of contradictions when it comes to oxybenzone. Is it good? Is it bad? Frankly, I still don't know...

Some sunscreens contain the chemical oxybenzone. This should absorb UV light, but some research show the chemical can be absorbed through the skin. Apparently it is linked to hormone disruption and can cause cell damage leading to skin cancer.
Others say it is safe because it provides an effective briad spectrum protection from UV rays.

I'm afraid we just have to wait until scientific experiments to show whether oxybenzone  is harmful or not. Until then, I wouldn't use it...

I'm not going to be a hypocrite and tell you one shouldn't go outside and enjoy the sun, but just be careful. Keep on enjoying the sun, just be smart about it. Make sure you put on sunscreen before leaving the house (preferably 30 minutes before getting exposed to the sun) and stay away from those tanning beds! Have fun and make those wonderful summer memories, just be nice to your skin. Your skin will be grateful to you on a long term :)