Eyebrow and Eyelash Tinting

I don't like wearing a lot of make-up. Unless of course it's a special occasion or a night out, which gives me a reason to be "made up".

My every day make-up regime is basically brushing a couple of strokes of mascara on my eyelashes and applying natural colour lipgloss.

Like I've mentioned in a previous post, the one thing that I would struggle to live without, is mascara.

They say the eyes are the windows to your soul. And without mascara, I'm sad to say, that my "window's" look rather dull and I tend to look pale ;-0. I find that my eyes get lost in the scenery of my face. I think you will all agree that nearly invisible eyelashes can sometimes make a woman look a bit sick. And even the best-shaped eyebrows may not set off the eyes if the hair is fine, sparse or pale.

At the same time I don't always want to/and I don't always wear mascara, especially when I'm working out, diving or swimming.

Besides using waterproof mascara, which I hate; I was reminded again of a popular procedure known as tinting. I actually had this done once or twice before, many years ago. When a friend mentioned that she has it done in Jakarta I decided to try it again.

Brow and lash tinting may be your solution. Just like having your hair colored, tinting changes the colour, adds the illusion of thickness and dimension.

Before tinting

After tinting

The procedure took approx. 15 min and the results were visible. I am glad I had it done. I remember it being more noticeable when I had it done previously, though. I might ask them to use a darker colour or perhaps leave it on for a few minutes longer next time.

NOTE: Keep in mind tweezing or waxing should be done after a tint. This maximizes the amount of brow hair available for shaping.

Where to go:

Nikki's Salon on Kemang Raya No. 47A.
Tel: (021)-7192917

Price: Rp.100,00 for eyebrow and Rp.120,000 eyelashes.

Tip: Ask them about the price when you make your appointment.

I didn't enquire about the price and I was surprised when they charged me Rp.220,000 for a
procedure that only took 15min. I find it pricey considering that my hair colour incl. cut and blow dry (approx. 2 and a half hours) would probably cost Rp.350,000-Rp.400,000. Also, considering that most 1 hour treatments e. g. cream baths, pedi's and mani's don't cost nearly as much.

PLEASE COMMENT ON THIS POST, SHOULD YOU KNOW OF ANY OTHER SALON'S IN JAKARTA THAT PROVIDE THIS SERVICE?

Melasma/Hyperpigmentation

I have been dealing with and have been blogging about my eternal struggle with my "problem skin", and the search for products that will give me that soft flawless skin that I dream about.

I know it probably sounds a lot worse than it is. My skin is not that bad and the "problem skin" that I am referring to is more a "breakout problem" and not a real "acne problem".

As mentioned in previous posts I have managed to control my break-outs with Pro-Active as well as two of my latest product finds: Seba Med and Sariayu, which I will blog about in the posts to follow.

My biggest problem is my uneven skin tone due to blemishes/marks from acne scaring. I have been using Este Lauder Advance night repair and as per the post on it, it definitely has improved my skins over all appearance over the past couple of months.

Or so I thought. Just when thought my skin is actually starting to look better I started noticing more marks on my face. It started with a brown mark on my nose when we returned form our holiday in December. And though I always where sunscreen, I still got "some colour" and I thought it must just be from the sun.

I hoped that it will lighten and it did, a bit.

We returned from a trip this week and I was concerned about the very noticeable dark marks that have appeared on my upper cheekbone areas.

I was beginning to wonder "perhaps the breakouts and the sun are not the only contributing factors"...

It almost looks as if, I've been in the sun with my sunglasses and have tanned circles around my eyes. But, this is not the case.

I now have light patches all over my cheeks and the area around my chin.

Being over 30, a couple of people told me that I should get used to it "it comes with age". And though age probably does contribute to your skins appearance I have reason to believe that there is more to it and I sure do not want to GET USE TO IT. I want to GET RID OF IT!!

I have heard of woman that have had problems with pigmentation marks, caused by the sun damage as well as pigmentation problems during pregnancy.

After research, it appears that this type of pigmentation is called Melasma/Hyperpigmentation, also referred to as the "pregnancy mask". A big culprit is of course the sun, but it can also be due to hormonal changes during pregnancy, as well as contraceptives.

I realised that, I started noticing the pigmentation problem after I went back on the pill in November. Though I haven't consulted with a dermatologist yet, I have come to the conclusion that it has to be due to hormonal changes.

So what can I do about it?

I came up with the following:

Contraceptives
Consult a dermatologist about changing to a different contraceptive with less estrogen or possibly going off the pill if that doesn't help.

Sunscreen
Though I always wear sunscreen I should:

• Increase my SPF factor to 30 or 50


• Use zinc oxide based sunscreens with at least 10% of zinc Oxide.


• Don't leave the house without sunscreen.


• Where a hat/cap when outdoors.


• Not be fooled by the the sun's harming rays, whether direct or reflecting. I need to protect my skin from the sun even when I'm in the shade or when it's a cloudy day.

Whitening products
Look for a product with the following ingredients:

• Hydroquinone


• Salicylic acid ingredients

Note: Don't expect it to change over night. Improvements in the skin tone and overall appearance is not noticeable immediately, however products should lighten the pigmentation marks over time.

Treatments
Consult a dermatologists about available treatments like IPL (Intense Pulse Light).

Click here to read more on Melasma/Hypergigmentation.

I hope to write a blog entry and post a photo in the near future, on how I have managed to reduce my Melasma.

Please comment on the post if you have any advise or tips for me or other ladies with the same problem?