To Do Nothing May be the Ultimate Skin Care?

To do nothing may be the ultimate skin care…the controversy of Hada Danjiki or “skin fasting”

Being such an ardent experimenter of cosmetic products, I have probably tried almost every major brand’s skin care products in my twenties, ranging from Dior, Shiseido, Clinique, Chanel, Estee Lauder, Lancome, N.V. Perricone, Obaggi, name it. I soon became bored and disappointed with their lack of “visible” effects and shifted slowly into the niche brands that advocated use of “natural ingredients.” I have even gone through the entire catalogues of both Avon and DHC. And what happened next? Just got tired and stopped doing anything.

For the past few years, I have been complimented by my friends for my skin condition. They often ask me what I did to it, one person even asked me if I got some botox shots! The truth is, I got so fed up with the time-consuming regimen that made no difference, and my basic attitude became “forget it.” I just stopped caring for the past few years. I hate to shock people (and please do not try it yourself!!!) but every night I washed my face with soap, out of laziness, I have stopped putting anything on my skin. I just wash my face with soap and that's it! I didn’t even own a moisturizer or cream. I continued with this habit for years and realized that my skin condition seemed to be actually improving with age, looking younger each year…it has been quite a mysterious phenomenon.

One thing I have continued for about a year is using this ultra-sonic esthetic device to massage your face. It's supposed to prevent sagging skin. And I have been impressed with the visible effect. Several people around me have noticed the difference, so every time I'm asked, I recommend to them this product called Aurora-ceutical from La Mente.
http://www.lamente.jp/shop.html

One day, I found this article in “Nikkei Health,” (November, 2003 issue) about Hada Danjiki, (translated as skin fasting) depriving your skin of any treatment over the weekend. It’s like fasting over the weekend to rest and rejuvenate your body’s system. Some dermatologists believe that women over-treat their skin with rich cream and moisturizers while over-cleansing their skin with both cleanser and soap. The skin not only becomes overly dependent on this external pampering but the weakened skin becomes exposed to rough cleansing that removes the skin’s precious natural moisturizing oil. Doesn’t it make sense? Your body has natural healing and rejuvenating power which should not be hampered with excessive external care! So, I was doing the right thing afterall, I thought to myself, but as I read on, my face ashened when I read the strict warning to the readers from the dermatologist that this, like fasting, should not continue for more than two days!! Oooops! It makes sense, I guess one must not over-do anything…

So a month ago, I decided to give skin care products another try and decided to experiment with this new anti-aging skin care line that my best friend, A, was ranting and raving about. Apparently, there is a raging trend among women in Orange county, California to use Arbonne, a skin care brand I have never heard of and apparently can only purchase through its reps or online. Anyway, listening to A get all excited about this product was enough to convince me that I should try it. And believe me, I am not exaggerating. I have been a skeptic of cosmetic products for decades but this is the first time I was impressed with the effect it had on my skin. It is called NutriMinC RE anti-aging line from Arbonne, I don’t know what is in this mysterious formula called RE9, but you will definitely see the difference. Can anybody tell me what's in there???(Mind you, I do not work for Arbonne or have any vested interest in this company.)

http://www.arbonne.com/products/skincare/

As for health supplements, recently I discarded my cupboard of more than 50 bottles of supplements from company D. I will explain the reason in my future blog. Today, the only product I continue taking is Hythiol C, which is marketed as a L-Cysteine-based-spot-preventative dietary supplement at drug stores, but according to its maker, SSP, the real benefit seems to be in activating your body's metabolism. What actually enticed me to try this product is when I happened to hear from at least two middle-aged executives mention that they swallow Hythiol C after a heavy night of drinking out and they clearly feel the difference the next morning. Now, these Japanese men are not the type of people who bother to take supplements, hence, my conclusion was “they must actually feel the difference!!”

http://www.ssp.co.jp/premiere/ls/index.html