Enlarged Pores and Aging

I think Japanese women are obsessed with enlarged pores. When you read women’s beauty magazines, you are amazed by the number of pore-erasing products that are featured every month. Together with whitening, pore care is definitely a national obsession here.
I must admit I have been tackling with enlarged pores for years myself. I even went to a dermatologist in desperate need of a solution, but all he gave me was a soap with AHA (Alpha Hydroxy Acid). I have been using that soap for several months but my pores still look larger than life!
So what has caused my pores to enlarge? Is it because I'm aging? One cause seems to be hereditary, so the doctor told me. Fortunately, my skin never goes dry but because of the excess oil, the pores seem to be more noticeable. Sun damage and aging seem to be another big cause. Aging and sun exposure make the epidermis thicken and cells tend to collect around pores, making “rings” that cause pores to stand out. That is why a lot of pore-care products exfoliate (like that AHA soap) so that the naturally shed dead skin cells won't gather around the rim and make pores become visible. These pores start to look even bigger when plugged with dirt, and becoming black heads.
So, recently, I experimented with a new pore-care product out in the market called CUTINA. It is a medicated gel product that you massage your face with and later rinse off or wipe off with cotton. It is supposed to remove dead skin cells and minimize your pores. And here is my review after using it for a week:
• Unplugging debris and dead skin cells: Very Good, no skin irritation like many exfoliating products.
• Eliminating bacteria: Cannot tell??
• Reducing excessive oiliness: Extremely Effective
• Removing blackheads: Seems to be less noticeable
• Closing Pores: Very Good
• Hydrating: Very Good, with no sticky after-feel.
So far, quite impressed with the visible results I have seen with Cutina. Will continue for a few more weeks but I plan to also try a similar product from Kathy’s Choice "Acid Lotion" to compare. Will report later…In the meantime, Cutina is worth trying.

Nabe Party

You will be shocked to hear how old these girls are...(Marina and Noriko, sorry you weren't in the pic!)Anyway, so why aren't they aging since I last saw them in highschool? Perhaps it's because they all enjoy their lives? So a certain conclusion was reached, especially between me, K and S, which was "who cares what people think...we only live once so we might as well enjoy it!" It sounds pretty trite but it's actually quite a profound piece of wisdom, I think...Anyway, they reminded me of how I was even more frighteningly carefree in college. (I am relieved to know that since then, I have assimilated a bit into civilized society.) Even these girls could not believe that I happily wore my milk-bottle-bottom glasses with a crack in the right lens and cellophane-tape mended in the center to school everyday. (But K, I still find your pool story to be far, far, far more unbelievable!!)We'll have our next get together at my house warming soon, I promise!

Need Some Lifting? Highly Recommended Ultrasonic Face Massager!

My time has been completely tied up with moving into my new home, getting new furnitures, starting a new company and going to the driving school to re-register my lost California driver’s license. Hence, I have not been able to update my blog. However, tonight I promised my friends I will write about my recent discovery—the ultimate ultrasonic face massager which I would recommend to anyone annoyed with their sagging face line. This is effective, I promise.
This is “the thing” that has helped my face from aging over the years. And tonight, when I met my friend K at a party, she was my living proof. I have not seen her for several years and she definitely does not look like she’s over forty and with a son at St. Mary’s. I asked her what she was doing to her face and she told me she was using the same ultrasonic face massager I have been totally dependent on for the past few years. So, everyone, it works!! Tonight looking at K, I was absolutely convinced.
This ultrasonic treatment strengthens your skin’s elasticity and lifts your face up instantly. The difference is scary. La Mente Aurora-ceutical is the name of this massaging product both K and I have been using. It is the best selling face massaging product in Japan right now. So this is how it works. The massager sends cyclic sonic waves of 5 MHz/second from its surface that travel deep into your skin through this gel that you apply onto your face. The machine emits micro-vibrations and frictional heat which penetrates into your skin to smooth out wrinkles and dissolve fat deposits. However, you don’t feel anything but the cold steel surface against your skin so don't worry, it is not painful. This results in visible slimming effect and your face looks clearly lifted up. It also stimulates your skin metabolism and revives the elasticity so the skin looks really tight after you use it for ten minutes. It’s not that expensive so do try if you’re too busy to go to facials! (or lazy like me)

An Enlightening Birthday with my two Osana-najimis

Who did I spend my birthday with? My two osana-najimis I've known for the longest time, G and A. G is a succesful lawyer striving to someday become the kind of carefree man who doesn't give a damn about what people think, and have the guts to do the most outrageous thing at a Chinese restaurant(The photos of G got censored so they're removed...). A is "the caring mother" and the only person in this world who will bawl me out for hours and I shall actually listen to.

Finding me depressed because of a particular painful incident, they left me with one memorable gift of "an intense session" to remind me of my self-centeredness. The "heated discussion" continued till this morning. G pointed out to me with the tone of the wise Yoda, that I am lucky to have friends who care deeply about my happiness. So guys, I may have sounded really stubborn and ungrateful, but I deeply appreciate what you had to say. So thanks, I am really lucky to have you both as my osana-najimis. I really mean it. And thank you for understanding and accepting me for who I am...the eldest child and the uncontrollable one.

FotoFacial RF Skin Treatment

So my best friend from kindergarten, A, is visiting from California. Before eating shabu-shabu, I took her to a dermatologist in Shinjuku. What is bothering us these days is our face line sagging and brown spots appearing. California sun is especially brutal to her aging skin. After much research, my recommendation to her was FotoFacial RF, a medical light system (Not Laser) that has incredibly positive effect to rejuvenate your skin. The system is often referred to at clinics as “Aurora.” FotoFacial RF combines two types of optical energy into your skin, IPL of Intense Pulsed Visible Light and energy with radio frequency (RF) which work synergistically to deliver satisfying and lasting results. This is how it works. The visible light energy or RF energy gets absorbed by the pigment in the skin’s surface and stimulates the production of collagen and elastin from within the dermis. This helps the skin to noticeably firm up. Also, the IPL light energy can also work on dark sun spots by stimulating the melanin to surface and eventually disappear after 3-4 days. 4-5 treatments would be sufficient to rid your brown spots and the treatment is usually administered every 4 weeks. So I took a photo of my friend’s skin after the treatment. Notice the melanin pigments appearing on the surface? These will disappear and your skin will look spotless and smooth after a few days. Will post her photo after a week so please look forward to it!
(A, don't forget to send me the picture!)

Reuniting with Highschool Friends!

Although we chose to take different courses in our lives, there was one thing we all shared...none of us could believe that twenty years have actually passed. So what did we talk about after this long absence? About children, work, fatal bear attacks, real estate, tax filing and unnecessary advice that I am a terrible driver and shouldn't even think of buying another car...
By the way, it is my unwelcomed birthday today and my friends are taking me out to eat shabu shabu(my favorite food.Yeay!)

New Year's Hot Diet: The Reverse Diet Solution

My ageless friend, A from California is visiting Tokyo this week. She told me that people gain on the average 3 kilo-grams between Thanksgiving and New Year's. I am not surprised since I have experienced it firsthand. I spent the New Year's at my parents' and ate day and night...

Apparently, a weight loss method of eating meals in reverse has created quite a stir in the US. So these are the tips:

Don't Eat:
Salt, sugar, alcohol, caffeine and carbonated beverages.

Do Eat:
All vegetables, fresh and frozen, including potatoes
Extra virgin olive oil (the darker, the better)
All seafood, chicken and turkey
All berries, peaches, pineapple, apples, grapes and plums
Eggs
Lemons
White cheese
Fat-free sour cream, salad dressing and skim milk
Low-sodium margarine
GARLIC
All spices, excluding salt, read your labels!
Post Shredded Wheat and Bran
Uncooked Old Fashion Oatmeal
Orange juice
Red meat and pasta, in moderation and small portions

Tips:
Eat a BIG breakfast.
If you don't normally eat breakfast, take tonight's dinner and put it in the refrigerator and have your breakfast for dinner. This will jump-start your metabolism so fast, you'll be running to the scale!
Never skip breakfast.
Don't overeat. Save leftovers for snacks.
Eat a medium lunch and small dinner. You do not need to fill up at the end of the day.
Use water, margarine, olive oil or orange juice when preparing meat.
Drink two glasses of hot lemon water per day.
Drink when you're thirsty. Don't force eight to 10 glasses of water per day.
Eat when you're hungry