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.

Answering a few popular questions.

 Look out two post in one night! So I have had a couple of people wanting to know what I am doing now face wise, what my routine is and ask if I can just put it all in a nutshell so they don't have to read all of these post. So here you go, the highlights:

I use a tea tree oil shampoo and conditioner by Natures Gate that I get a Whole Foods (it's also sulfate free)

I use Dr. Bronner's tea tree bar soap for my body and sometimes my face if it's feeling extra gross (I work with dogs now so that is pretty much every day).

I no longer use the wash that I did in the beginning of this journey.

I still use the 50/50 agran oil/tea tree oil mixture. I don't use it every day, I use it about every other day and my face is still good. It is the only moisturizer I use so if my face feels dry I use it. I'm not nearly as fanatical about it as I was in the beginning, I use to carry it with me and apply it several times a day now I am really lax about it.

I didn't start out with a 50/50 mix and I don't recommend anyone do so. I started with just a little tto to a lot of argan oil. I think it was like 5 parts argan to 1 part tto and slowly upped the tto. I took me about 2 weeks to get up to the 50/50 ratio. It was strong at first and tingled but now I don't feel it, I guess your face gets use to it. I would say if your face is really burning or dry you are using to much tea tree oil and you should dilute it more. More is not always better, especially if it is causing other issues. Just because my face could handle it that quick doesn't mean everyone's can and I would hate for you to give up just because you tried to rush it.

Yes I used my oil on my lashes and eyelids but I DO NOT recommend it to anyone. It BURNS and it could cause DAMAGE to your eyes. I didn't drench my eyes in it or anything, I would rub the oil all over my face and then just brush my fingers over my eyelids and lashes. Even just that tiny leftover oil BURNED. IT BURNS your eyes. I don't want to be responsible for anyone going blind or damaging their eyes.

I ran out of the tea tree oil for about 2 weeks and my face didn't freak out or anything. I did get 1, yes 1, pustule but that was it. I'm sure if I really quit using it all together my mites would begin to over populate and my face would return to it's former glory.

When I had really dry, flaky, lizard skin (it was bad) I used raw shea butter on it and it helped a lot. I am now a huge fan of shea butter and I slather it on my whole body. I made a bunch of shea butter body butters for friends and family for Christmas and they all loved them and apparently so did anyone they shared them with and I now sell my homemade body butters. I believe in the healing powers and moisturizing powers of shea butter. lol.

I still drink coke.

Highlights of the highlights. I still use my oil mixture just not as strict about it, I use tea tree oil shampoo, conditioner and soap. Start with a very diluted tea tree oil and work your way up, if it burns or is causing other issues it's to strong. There is no need to rush it to a certain ratio. I believe even just a little tto oil is still very effective. Shea butter is amazing for dry skin.

Thanks for all the positive feedback! It's nice to know that I'm not alone and that people actually get use out of my ramblings.

No Makeup Selfie Facebook trend.

   So I guess there is some new trend on Facebook where women are suppose to take a selfie with no makeup and post it for cancer awareness. (I personally preferred the cock in a sock trend but that's just me.) I have no idea what that has to do with cancer but I was tagged in a post and....I did it! Yep, I posted a makeup free picture of myself to my facebook! Now I know I have posted a ton of makeup free pictures here so it shouldn't be a big deal, but it was for me. No one in my personal life knows about this blog...no one. So when I type these post or put up these pictures I know people are seeing them, blogger tells me over 12,000 people have seen them (CRAZY!!), but it's all strangers. I can pretend that no one is really seeing them and I won't meet anyone who does anyways and not freak out so much about posting them. But now, now I have built up the confidence to actually show the world, or my world any ways, my face makeup free. I think a lot of it has to do with having "cured" my face (it will never be cured) and part of it is having posted other pictures of my face looking horrible out there for the world to see. I think having sucked it up and posting them on here has kinda ripped off that bandaid. So thanks!

   Another interesting thing I found with the no makeup selfie trend is how many women WILL NOT DO IT. Some of the most gorgeous women I know, will not do it. There are 2 women that refuse that I have never seen without makeup and I have known them for YEARS. And the thing is they are two of the prettiest women I know. I mean it's not like they are going to wash off the makeup and suddenly become Hoggle from the Labyrinth. I know makeup can hide a lot but it's not going to change you so drastically that people will now run and hide from you if you don't wear it. As a woman who has wanted to lock herself in her house I should be more understanding, I know, but I had a reason to want to hide, I had a medical condition that effected my appearance (I didn't get to hide anyways). These women have simply been told or taught somewhere along the line that they are not pretty enough or good enough just the way they are. They feel some kind of shame or embarrassment just for someone to see them. I wish I could say that they are the exception, but in fact they are the majority of women. Most women I know would never, ever, leave their house without makeup. Ever.

   I don't know, it really made me sad how many women are not comfortable in their own skin, and with their own beauty to go bare faced. Maybe I have always had a little more confidence than I realized, but more than likely it was more of a "I don't give a F**k" than confidence lol. I was raised by women who were all about natural beauty and didn't wear a lot of makeup. Pretty wasn't pushed on me, education was. I was also lucky to date guys who always told me I looked prettier without makeup.

 I just wish more women would realize how pretty they really are and that they don't need to hide behind a mask of makeup. I hope we can instill these thoughts in generations to come. We need to raise our daughters with the confidence we instill in our sons. I mean we told men to get naked with just a sock on their cock and they all jumped on board regardless of how big, small, hairy or whatever they are. You never have a hard time talking a guy into showing off his body and getting naked no matter what he looks like, they all have an amazing amount of self confidence that more women should have. I could walk into just about any bar and tell the guys to get naked and 99% would and have no problem doing it no matter what they look like. If I was to walk into a bar and tell all the women to wash their faces probably only about 10 % would. It's sad.

   Be proud women! You are beautiful... blemishes, red faced, flushes and all! The most attractive thing a woman can wear is self confidence.

Here is my Facebook no makeup selfie in case anyone was curious.

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Super quick update!

   So I am just going to give a super quick update. My face has been really great. I haven't had a mite pustule in forever thank god, I do occasionally get a pimple, like a real pimple but that is just life. I do still have some mild redness on my face but the only thing that will help that will be lasers, I had my face zapped a few years ago and it helped and I need to do it again but it's not super bad so I am not really worrying about it yet. If I get hot or sick my face turns REALLY red, but other than that it's just a little flushed all the time. I got a job working at a doggy daycare which I love, I am still working on being a midwife. Other than that things are the same. I do plan on starting to work on other areas of myself like my weight. I'm not miserable with my body, I don't hate it, but I would like to be healthier and live a healthier life (I say this as I plan to stop at the store and grab a coke on my way to work -_-) I just really need to be healthier and losing weight wouldn't be a bad thing. I am FAR from skinny, but I'm okay with being fat, yes I said it I'm fat. So I would like to lost around 50 lbs even though according to BMI I need to lose like 70 to be on the high end. I am thinking about starting a blog to help me be accountable but we will see. Anyways back to the face, here are some pictures I just took. Still doing argan and tea tree oil, and occasionally if I get a zit a friend had some proactive stuff she didn't use anymore and I will use it as a spot treatment and it helps clear it up faster. It's still wierd to run my hands across my face and for it to be smooth. Especially since my nervous tick use to be picking (gross, I know). Okay off to the pictures! And yes I know for some reason I am giving major duck face, I have no excuse for it, I didn't even realize I was doing it. You can see I had a pimple right below the corner of my mouth but it's gone and healing now. At this moment I don't have a single pimple or bump, just healing remains. It blows my mind still.