An apology, update with pictures and news about oils

Hi everyone!

So it's been over 2 years since I started this journey and this blog and it's been a while since I posted pictures so I figured it was time. I also wanted to apologize to those that emailed me and I didn't get back to you until recently. I feel HORRIBLE about that but for some reason my email was not forwarding like it was suppose to so I just received a bunch today that I replied to, I'm really sorry. I'm actually going to post my business email below for people to email me that way I am sure to get your questions and messages and I can reply in a timely manner. Again, I'm SO sorry about that. I don't check this page as often as I used to, I'm sorry about that too, but I try to check it every other month or so to answer questions and such.

 I am going to do a updated FAQ post soon and I hope to answer some questions more detailed. If you have a question or think of anything that I should cover in a FAQ post please leave it in the comments or email me. I've also had a lot of people ask if I would be willing to pre-mix oils and sell them or make starter kits with the products I use and it is something I am considering. I have a Etsy page where I sell my handmade jewelry and my oil diffuser jewelry so if I do decide to sell premixed oils or starter kits it will be on there. If you are just curious and want to check out my jewelry (or buy some!) my store is called Formed From Fire and you can find it  HERE! I hand make everything on there and I'm always making and posting new pieces. Spread the word, or buy something, it's really pretty! You can also follow my jewelry business Instagram here ;)
(Sorry for the shameless self promoting, but it's my blog so I'm allowed)

Okay on to the update, far as my face routine, not much has changed, I still use the argan and tea tree oil mixture almost daily. I don't really "wash" my face, I use those makeup remover clothes sometimes or tea tree oil face soap if needed but most of the time just some water and my oils. I don't wear a lot of makeup so I can get away with not using a lot of chemicals to clean my face as I try to put as few chemicals on my skin as possible. I haven't had a pustule or a pimple in a long time now and if I do get a pimple it's usually hormonal related. I now put my oils in a little bottle with a roller on top and I'm able to roll it on my face but other than that it's the same.

I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this (pretty sure I have) but about a year before starting this journey and this blog one of the many things I had tried was laser treatments. While they did nothing to help the p&p and dry skin it did get rid of some of the redness that was due to burst capillaries. When I had it done the dermatologist told me that I would have to have it done every few years and I'm getting close to that time again as I can see the broken capillaries. Unfortunately laser treatments are expensive so that won't be happening for a long time unless I find a fairy godmother wishing to bestow laser treatments to me lol.

 As you can see in the pictures my face is pink and it always will be but I can live with that, light makeup covers it easily. If I get warm face flushes pretty easily and can become pretty red if I'm really hot which is awesome since I live in the hot and humid city of New Orleans. I think a lot of it just has to do with the fact that I have very fair skin and my capillaries are close to the surface. It is what it is. My face is million times better than it once was. It's almost crazy to look back at how bad it was now that I'm here. I battled with my face for about 10 years and if you would have told me I would ever be at a place with a clear, but slightly pink complexion without spending hundreds of dollars a month I would have laughed but here I am.

Sorry, I look kinda rough in these and my septum ring is crooked but I just woke up and hadn't consumed any caffeine yet, or brushed my hair, but all of you have seen me look worse! Someone asked me why I don't really look at the camera, it's because I have an aversion to having my picture taken.I absolutely hate it and I'm much more comfortable behind the lens than in front of it so I just try not to look at it and pretend it's not there while sucking it up and taking a picture for thousands of strangers to see. I know, how I ended up making a blog full of pictures of my naked face I have no idea. One day I'm going to have to post a picture of me with makeup and stuff, I swear, I can look cute. And for some reason just now I realized I didn't take any of the other side of my face. Sorry, it looks the same, I promise, I'm not going back in there and taking more pictures of myself today.

These are the busted capillaries, from a distance they just make my skin look pink but up close you can see the individual burst capillaries. My niece actually asked me why my face was cracked  -_-   kids, ya gotta love em! 

Update, new oils and a few more questions answered!

   So, it's been a while but things have changed so I thought I would give update! I am still using the tea tree oil or as I now call it Melaleuca (Sounds way more impressive doesn't it) once, sometimes twice a day. If I stop using it, like if I forget it home for a week when I go out of town my face will start to regress and I will start to get break outs again and I can feel the creepy crawlies again. So basically this is a life long treatment but it's so easy and so cheap I'm okay with that.

   So now to the changes, when I first started using the tto (Melaleuca) I had just gotten some random cheap brand because I wasn't sure it if would work or not and I didn't know much about oils. Yes, it worked, if you have been following this blog or go look through it you will see that but not as well as it could have it turns out. It turns out where you get your oils, and the quality of the oils does matter.

   After I ran out of the first bottle of tto I ordered another one and I don't know what happened but it wasn't the same and didn't have the same results and my face started to break out again. I don't know if it was a different supplier, or old oil or what but it wasn't good. When that happened I started looking into how oils are made, where they come from, how they are harvested everything and I started to look for the best oils I could find and I found Young Living Essential Oils. Let me tell you they have changed my life.

   My face was good before, I was still having some breakouts but it was nothing compared to before so I was happy, my face now is flawless. I can't even believe I can say that so I am going to write it again. My face is FLAWLESS. I get comments daily now on my face but it's how beautiful my complexion in. IT'S CRAZY! I can't help but laugh a little and think in my head "If you only knew what it looked like before!"

   As I have looked more and more into Young Living oils I have started using more and more of their oils and I have started really cleaning out my medicine cabinet and replacing everything with oils. I use them for migraines, I use them to help me sleep, if I feel a cold coming on I use them and it knocks them out, I even use the lemon oil in my water after I read a article on all of the gross crap that comes with that slice of lemon in your water. If you want you can read it here, gross. I have become and oil junkie and I choose Young Living because I know that it is quality oils from seed to seal, I know where the plants are grown, how they are cared for, how they are harvested, tested, and packaged. I trust Young Living. You can purchase directly from their website but please let them know that you found them from me by entering my member number when it asks for your Sponsor ID and Enroller ID by putting in my member number which is 1365808. I'm not going to lie, if you use my number I get points that I can then use to get free oils and who doesn't like free oils. Also if you sign up as a wholesale distributor YOU a discount and instead of paying $34.00 you will pay $26.00 and get 24% discount on all products. If you sign up as a wholesale distributor you have no obligation to sell anything at all, it just provides you with the discount and the option to sell if you would like to. There are two Melaleucas on their site, I use the Melaleuca Alterifolia Essential oil.

  Okay onto a few questions that I have gotten. Yes I still use the oils, just a better brand with better results. I do not use any lotions or creams or anything else on my face. Nothing. I don't wear much makeup so at night I can just splash some water on my face and it gets rid of most of it and the oils remove the rest.

I mix my oils with another oil and not a lotion because I want to use as few things on my face as possible and I especially don't want to use chemicals I can not pronounce. So I keep it simple, Melaleuca oil (tea tree) and Argan, that's it.

I have had some people ask if I have seen a dermatologist or tell me I should see one so let me clear that up. I did, I have been to 6 different ones in 3 different states. They each put me on different expensive medications. I have taken oral medications, daily antibiotics (that can't be good), gels, creams, one doctor had his own concoction that he hand made and mixed of all of this crazy stuff I don't remember what was in it besides sulfur (It smelled) several rounds of laser treatments that cost a fortune and none if it worked, and it was all outrageously expensive. Well it worked to and extent, my face was better on it than off but never completely clear of blemishes and never not flaming red and they left me with lizard skin which was just as unattractive. So I didn't just jump into this because I didn't feel like seeing a doctor, I started doing this because what they were doing wasn't working and I could no longer afford it.

With that all being said, I will post some new pictures! Oh and I dyed my hair red, which I had done before but it never really looked that great when it matched my face ;) Also I made a flyer, feel free to share it but please don't remove my information from it.

Nu-stock (Please read warning at the bottom of the post)

   So my Nu-stock* came in today and I think I am going to try it out. I am making a batch of 1 tbsp of coconut oil, 1 tbsp of nu-stock and about 7 drops tto. First the bottle is a LOT bigger than I thought it would be, it smells medical, and like pine scented cleaner. Not good but not horribly bad like I was expecting, tolerable. Also it is a lot thinner than I expected, more watery. I thought it would be more pasty like toothpaste or like neosporin, not liquid, I guess because of the tube it comes in I thought it would be thick like lotion or something. Being thin did make it a lot easier to mix it with the coconut oil once I melted the oil. I also made sure I shook the tube really well first to make sure everything mixed well. It's a weird yellow color, another thing I didn't expect, and I wondered if it would leave my skin yellow but it didn't. I used a q-tip and applied it to my entire face, it has a little bit of a gritty feeling to it but not much. The color dissipated right away and it's been about 5 minutes and it is starting to absorb. Coconut oil always takes a bit to absorb, I will give it about 30 minutes then blot my face with a tissue and go to bed. It didn't burn or sting or anything so that is a good sign. I will update the rest tomorrow I guess. Night!

**Update to original post. Please do a test patch to see how you react to Nu-Stock before using it, I do end up having an unpleasant response to it and I'm not sure if it was an allergic reaction or if my skin is just really sensitive. I would recommend putting a tiny bit either on your forearm or under your jawline first and waiting at least 2 days to see how you react before putting it on your entire face.**