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.

Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay

I purchased this on Amazon to take care of some stubborn hormonal acne that nothing else would treat. I have to admit that the first two times I used this, I didn't really get any result. However, the third time, when I really lathered the stuff on and let it sit for 40 minutes, really did the trick. This is a hard-core get-the-gunk-out mask. It will leave you red and dry for at least 30 minutes afterwards. But, my acne is now gone.

My plan is to use this 3-4 times a week in the morning, and the Vicco cream at night. Wish me luck!

Vicco tumeric cream and DIY tumeric/lemon mask

I recently read a glowing review of this cream over at refinery29 and decided to give it a go since it's only around $7USD a tube (I got mine on amazon).

I've been using this every night for about 3 weeks and can easily say it will be my new go-to night cream. It lessens the red marks from acne, prevents breakouts (but not completely), and even nipped a cystic pimple in the bud before it could become a huge problem. It is not as much of a miracle cream as R29 makes it sound. I still have red marks from previous acne flare-ups, but, even if it's temporary, they are lessened. And, the anti-acne properties make it a keeper. (and it doesn't seem to be staining my sheets.)

Problem is, this is hard to find in Japan. So I tried a DIY turmeric and lemon facial mask. It seems to be giving me the same benefits, but with more drawbacks: it will stain your skin and any fabric it comes in contact with. It takes a good scrub and a few cleanses with my bioderma make up remover to get the yellow off my face.

Final verdict is: buy the cream when you can. In a pinch, do the DIY mask a few times a week, when time allows.