Beauty is not caused. It is.

Every girl's (even boys, I believe) problem has always been zits. Gone are the days when the only solution available's "Calamansi". I remember my dad proudly taught me about it when small pimples started appearing on my forehead. That was when I started using face powder in high school. He told me that my aunt's best friend was Calamansi. It's quite convincing since she really have very beautiful skin. Of course, it's not just the topical treatments that give her skin its natural glow. Diet and discipline helped a lot. She's a vegetarian, may I mention.

Anyway, that was Jurassic era. Now, we are all so lucky to have a variety of aids to choose from. There's Obagi, Murad, Mario Badescu, Proactiv, just to name a few. But, of course, these product brands are not so friendly to everyone since they are kind of costly. But, then, there are also products out there that are pocket friendly. However, their efficacy differs from one skin type to another. You just have to patiently find what could be effective for you.

Among the popular pimple fighting products you can see in our major supermarkets, groceries and drugstores are Ponds, Olay, Clerasil, Panoxyl (this is very effective in drying the zits but can also dry or burn the skin), Eskinol...astringents such as MaxiPeel, and the more affordable products like Mena and Renow-D (these are Chinese products, I think). All these products have their share of impressive testimonials.

I've tried several products, as well. But found one to be the most effective for me -- SOS (Save Our Skin - Clindamycin Phosphate). It's a topical treatment for acne.

Twas only by accident when I found out about this product just a couple of years ago. I was only buying some munchies at a Mercury Drug Store nearby when I saw this product displayed near the cashier. I read the label and decided to give it a try since, at that time, I had huge beauty spots on my cheeks and forehead. My breakouts are usually allergic reaction to certain foods so they're really stubborn and last for some weeks. Worse, they often leave scars and marks. Grr.

So, I tried SOS. I read the label again for instruction and opened the small bottle. It's akin to a mini roll-on deodorant and smells like antibiotic. But, you'd get used to it eventually. Especially, when you start experiencing its wonderful effect.

After washing and drying my face, I rolled it on the affected areas. After a few seconds, I felt the parts where I applied SOS on were a lil itchy. So, I went to the mirror and looked at how my skin's reacting. Puss was coming out and I didn't even prick them!They're just literally flowing from inside my poor inflamed facial skin. I was kinda concerned it might leave another ugly marks.

Next day, the zits were almost gone and, remarkably, unlike the other products I previously used, the areas where the pimples were the night before didn't show any marks, at all. I was happy! The next time I applied SOS, I also rolled it on areas of my face where there were scars and dark spots. They, too, eventually diminished. After only 3 days, the dark spots had become invisible. Hurray!

But, of course, although SOS truly makes wonders I am aware that discipline is necessary to keep my skin healthy. I, now, avoid foods I know are common allergens. So, buh-bye chicken (Mang Inasal, KFC, KR... *sobs*), eggs, "some" chips...blah blah blah.

Since I am hypersensitive to allergens I am already careful with what I eat. I also drink as much fluid as I can. The tea JP introduced to me, I must say, also helps big time. It's called Nutri Health Drink. It contains Green tea, L-Carnitine, Seaweeds, Vitamin-C and Glutathione. I will talk about it next time.

Enough sleep is also very helpful. From sleeping only about 2 hours, I try sleeping longer hours now and I stay away from stress. I avoid negative thoughts and struggle so hard to keep my beauty routine. (Every now and then, I fail to keep up with it, though. *sigh*)

Am highly recommending SOS as replacement to our old school acne home remedy treatments, and expensive beauty products.

Toodle-oo!