I always like to try new things – some would call me a risk-taker. I like exploring new places, bringing my taste palate to new heights, and enjoying the different things in life. It is the same when it comes to skincare. If it has a pretty packaging, nice ingredients like lavender or honeysuckle, I would buy it.
Daring but cautious
Of course, I wouldn’t just put anything or everything on my skin. While I like to see the new brands in the market and their products, I would research deeply into the science that goes into making these products. I think it’s fair to say that not a lot of people my age would spend time in collecting information about the skincare products they use. But I do, because it is important to know what you’re feeding to your skin and yourself.
I have this predilection because my mother taught us how to read the ingredient label before we buy a product. When my sibling and I were very young, she would show us the order in which the ingredients came in the label – the first ingredient would have the highest amount, followed by the second, and the third. We would also read up on the individual ingredients and whether they would bring about any negative side effects.
More about me
I had my battles with dry skin for as long as I can remember. Besides, I used to also have random and itchy red patches, and in hot weather, my face will look flushed!
Despite the fair amount of skincare knowledge I gathered from regular read-ups, I used to only practice a basic skincare routine that involves normal face wash or toner. I also didn’t do a good job at taking care of my skin’s health and made some poor lifestyle choices. I would eat junk food twice or thrice a week and I did not keep a proper sleeping schedule.
Additionally, as a young adult, stress was fairly present at every turn in my life.
A wake-up call came as I age
A wake-up call came when I was doing a fruit acid treatment at home. I thought it was a mild exfoliation but my skin became sensitive to it. Also, my skin often feels bumpy and I was reacting more harshly to regular face washes. Itchy skin appeared frequently. When the itch became unbearable, I knew I needed to start making a change lest it gets worse from here. My skin is not as tardy or resilient as it had once been. As I grow older, my skin loses its elasticity, its strength, and along with it, its protection.
Another reason that turned into a motivation for me to start living healthier was having someone I’m close to struggling with diabetes. It is a major health condition in Singapore, with many people having to discipline their diets and taking medication for life. I didn’t want to have such lifestyle for myself.
Another factor was my mother suffering from cancer. It was a difficult time, and ever since then, my mother has been selective in products and food.
Turning to healthier choices
I started by taking control of the food I consume. I do still eat outside, but down to only once or twice a week.
Most of the days, I pack food with me. A lot of effort goes into packing food from home, and I must say I’m quite blessed to have my helper around. I started exercising regularly as well.
Hard work pays off
After the overhaul in my lifestyle in January 2019 (It was Sep 2019 when this article was written), I lost 20kg. I also began seeing the glow in my skin, and it’s the kind of glow that comes from sweating after a vigorous exercise. I felt more energetic than I used to, and younger. For many years, I have battled stress triggers and experienced bad skin reactions, and bump textures on my face and on my arms. In my going-active and healthy journey, however, my bumps have disappeared and my skin felt smoother than it did.
I realized that I need clean beauty
The refreshing feeling I felt after incorporating exercise and clean eating into my lifestyle was certainly invigorating. I finally saw results in the way my skin feels. But living and eating healthy weren’t enough to help me defeat the dryness in my skin, or completely able to deter future redness or bumps. I have to incorporate “clean” into my beauty, too.
I have always been told that the Japanese put a lot of dedication into their products. I believe it is ingrained in their culture to put a lot of thought into what they do, how they make, because the Japanese bind their reputation into their products. Japanese does not over-claim or over-promise.
Thus, I started researching for clean beauty products in Japanese skincare.
With new wisdom, a second attempt
My Google searches landed me on BLACK PAINT again.
I said “again” because I’ve tried BLACK PAINT products once before a few years ago. Then, I was younger and impatient. I wanted my results to be instantaneous, and gave up on BLACK PAINT after a short while. I haven’t come to appreciate that with only natural and organic ingredients, without synthetic chemicals as “steroids”, any organic product will need more time for results to show.
With an updated mindset this time, I was prepared to wait a long period of time to see results, since I want clean beauty.
Results appeared much faster than I expected!
I found that BLACK PAINT has upgraded their range from the one I tried few years ago. This time, BLACK PAINT improved all its products into a “microbiome” range.
The “microbiome range” has all its products infused with probiotics. These probiotics, together with the natural and organic ingredients, nourishes our skin and the microorganisms that lives on our skin. These microorganisms are living in symbiosis with us, a healthy relationship in which both sides are benefited. These microorganism rests on our skin surface, protects us from harmful bacteria (pathogens), blocks UV partially, reduces inflammation and eats up impurities and grime in our sweat.
So far, BLACK PAINT has given me the results I wanted. Soft to the touch, supple in texture, and a brighter complexion. I’m happy with the way my skin feels and looks now, and I no longer experience dryness, sudden reddening or itchy red patches anymore.
I just hope that my story helps others in their own healthy skin journey.