LED light facial treatment: Emily Stone One

I really wanted a red light facial, or a red and blue light facial since I've been dealing with acne lately (STRESS!), but I have no time and they are so expensive. So I bought the Emily Stone One LED light treatment on amazon (flash deal for 7000 yen!). It has red, blue, and green LED options, plus a massage button.

I did some research on the LED light facials. For blue light, which kills the bacteria that cause acne, the frequency has to be 405 nm to 420 nm. In some clinical trials with the Tanda, participants saw a marked improvement in skin tone and acne by day 7, and an amazing improvement by day 28.

For anti-aging benefits, the red light should be between 620 nm and 700 nm. All the stars are doing it, so why not me too? Red light led therapy is supposed to reduce inflammation, even out skin tone, and boost collagen production.

So, on day 1 I did 10 minutes on the blue light setting. I noticed that my acne seemed to get WORSE. Maybe from the massage of the treatment? I then did 10 minutes of red light, which definitely brightened my face, but didn't take down the inflammation of my acne. No miracles on day one. Let's see how the rest of the week goes?

Day 3: I've worked my way up to the second setting on both the blue and the red leds. I really think the first day of the blue light made my acne worse, as the newly emerged zits have stuck around. I did some research on this, and, while it's not common to break out, it is reported in some cases. The red light is definitely brightening my skin and reducing redness. So far, I can tell that the general redness I get after washing my face, etc. is drastically reduced. I'm pretty sure this means that those "under the skin" zits are gone. I'm also noticing the very beginning of some diminishing acne scars (it doesn't matter if I pick or not, I ALWAYS get a red spot after any acne). The improvement is on the smaller and lighter scarring, no improvement yet on the big ones.

Juice Beauty: concealer and lip moisturizers

Continuing on my all-natural makeup replacement, I picked up the juice beauty correcting concealer in ivory. I got it on amazon for about 3600 yen. All I can say is, eh. It has a very watery consistency and low coverage. The color is nice and gives me some brightness under my eyes. This is no match for my NARS. Different beast altogether.

I also got the three pack of lip moisturizers. They have spf and I love a tinted lip balm. The texture is great. Very bees-waxy. Stays put! I tried "playful" first. It's kind of a beige-y purple. I like it. Very grown up. This has a much better wearability than the rms lip tint. Actually, I might apply the rms over the clear juice balm, since I love the rms color, but hate the oily spread...

RMS organic foundation, mascara, and lip/cheek tint

I decided to go all natural and paraben free this time around as I replace my makeup. I really wanted the Juice beauty CC cream, but it had to be shipped from the states via Amazon, and I needed make up now. So instead I went with the RMS un-cover-up in 22. It cost 4800 yen, and I purchased it online, but you can buy it at most Cosme Kitchen stores. (It costs more at Cosme Kitchen though!)

The color was a near perfect match. It felt a bit oily going on, and the recommended finger application was a bit odd. I usually apply with my fingers, but the foundation is hard and only a little comes off at a time. I found it hard to blend. I might finally buy a beauty blender and see if that helps.

Coverage was good.

UPDATE: the beauty blender helped a lot! it still feels kinda oily, but not as bad as before.

Next up was the lip to cheek in "beloved." This was also 4800 yen. It is more highly pigmented than the canmake, so you need less on your cheeks. However, as a lipstick it is more like a highly pigmented gloss. If you don't care about the organic/paraben free issue, the canmake is a MUCH better deal.

UPDATE: When I used this as a lipstick it really made my face feel oily. I only use it as a blush now.

Finally, I also bought the volumizing mascara for 3800 yen. It was easy to apply and a good color. It is no match for the heroine make mascara, but again, it's a different beast. If you're looking for something organic, this is nice.

Water purifier: Panasonic TK-CJ11-W

You can get this water filter on Amazon for less than 4000 yen. We chose this one because the cartridge lasts an entire year (a replacement cartridge costs about 4000 yen). And we were spending between 2000-3000 yen a month on bottled water, so this made sense.

The water tastes amazing and I love it. You can get all the specs here  (Japanese).

My new moisturizer: coconut oil from Kaldi's Coffee

I popped into Kaldi's for some coffee and picked up a jar of coconut oil. Apparently, it's the best thing out there for your skin and it has no additives so it's super safe. And, Kylie uses it, so why not.

I picked up a big jar for about 800 yen.

I applied after my shower. It was a bit oily, but absorbed into my skin well. The coconut smell was overwhelming at first, but became pleasant after a few minutes.

My skin really is super soft now.

Hair removal at Azabu Clinic

I tried out Azabu clinic in Tokyo because they have a wide range of cosmetic dermatology services and an English speaking staff. I started out with the laser hair removal for two reasons: 1) I was due for a treatment and couldn't use my American spa (which is still my favorite), and 2) I wanted to try a service I was familiar with before jumping into new territory (Thermage!)

So, staff speaks English well and there are a lot of foreign clients. Staff prefer to speak Japanese, so we did. There is a doctor who checks your skin and hair before treatment to recommend intensity of the laser. She spoke perfect English and was having none of my still-learning Japanese.

I selected two areas (face and hygiene) and did the trial price (came to a total of 4 man) for one treatment (due to my travel schedule). I found out later a groupon would have been MUCH cheaper, so you should do that.

I bared the areas to be worked on. The staff drew lines and confirmed hair patterns. Then she applied a cool gel and started with the laser. The laser was MUCH stronger than the one used at Datsumo Labo but I don't think it was as strong as the one I get in the US. There was some stinging, but I bore out the high intensity laser the entire time with discomfort only in the sensitive nether regions.

All in all, I would go back, especially if I just needed a dermatologist (she can write prescriptions for acne medication and anything else you need). The prices are a bit high, so the groupon is perfect. However, for the price you are also getting doctor supervision, so it's not so bad.

Hair removal: GenteLASE Pro

I loved my hair removal process at Datsumo, and it has greatly decreased the time between shaving, but I hate that I still have hair despite 8 visits.

Here in the states I took advantage of a groupon for area specific laser hair removal with a different machine, the GenteLASE Pro. I booked a large area at 6 visits for about $250.

Wow. The experience is totally different. No cool gel. No two hours. To do a Brazilian and upper lip treatment takes less than 7 minutes (I timed it). The sensation is like a quick snappy burn.

And my goodness does it work.

On the first visit I had shaved the area. The regrowth wasn't thick, but it was there and noticeable. About two weeks after my treatment the hair seemed to grow back, but apparently, it was just shedding. Seriously. If you brushed it, it fell out. For 6 more weeks I was hair free (in most areas).

I just did my second treatment. I'll let you know how it goes!

This machine is apparently also in use in Japan: http://www.syneron-candela.jp/ but i haven't found a specific clinic yet...