Battling post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH)

Wow, second post in a week, and pasal skincare again :P

Aku nak jugak update pasal travels, but I am just so lazy trying to choose pictures to upload! Like seriously, kalau travel posts aku tu usually berangkai maybe about 5 posts minimum, aku akan ambil masa lebih kurang 1-2 jam nak rangka each post - from selecting pictures, uploading them, typing, and proofreading. It takes a lot of timeee.

So, bagi chance laa aku nak story pasal skincare yeee.

Okay, PIH. Dalam bahasa lebih mudah, PIH ni selalunya terjadi bila kulit terluka (inflamed) dan bila kulit ni nak baik semula, warna kat kawasan luka tu akan jadi lebih gelap daripada sekelilingnya. Kalau kena gigit nyamuk pastu gatal pastu garu pun boleh perasan laa kawasan luka tu jadi gelap sikit kannn.

Untuk orang yang concerned tentang kulit muka, PIH ni yang selalunya dimaksudkan sebagai 'parut jerawat' atau 'bekas jerawat'. Actually term parut jerawat tu tak tepat, bekas jerawat tu mungkin lagi tepat. Tapi senang cerita, PIH tak sama dengan acne scar okayy.

Hasil Google.

Trying out acids

Sebenarnya aku nak update entri 'Kompilasi Skincare Products dari Korea' tu, tapi I find that the posts are overwhelmingly long lol! So maybe aku akan buat multiple entries for every step. Tengok laa macam mana nanti, kerajinan menaip blog pun memainkan peranan.

Anyway, skincare routine aku dah berubah jugak, makin product-heavy. Sebenarnya aku nak kurangkan bilangan produk yang aku pakai each time tapi malangnya makin bertambah. I don't know why, aku rasa nak apply segala benda kat muka zzz.

Anyway, my latest routine on most days are like this:

AM
TFS Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam
Missha FTE
Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence
Klairs Vitamin C Drop
Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum
Mizon Snail Recovery Gel
Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence

PM
TFS Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam
Missha FTE
Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence
Klairs Vitamin C Drop
Missha Time Revolution Ampoule
TFS Chia Seed Moisture Recharge Cream

Once or twice a week
Skinfood Black Sugar Scrub
Innisfree Super Volcanic Clay Mask
Laneige Water Sleeping Mask
Sheet masks

Tbh, my skin is not at its best as of late. Asyik naik whiteheads kat area yang sama - the cheek area near my nose and on my chin. Aku tak tau laa selama ni dia memang selalu ada atau aku je yang baru perasan sebab aku pay so much attention to my skin lately. Anyway, I'm annoyed with them.

Aku tengah in the middle of reshuffling my routine. Nak tukar cleanser & moisturiser, dan nak tambah acids. What are acids, you ask? They are chemical exfoliants commonly known as AHA and BHA, and people also refer to them as 'actives', because they are the main workhorse of your routine.

Sebenarnya dari awal aku dah baca kebaikan acids ni, tapi aku takut gile nak try. Firstly, it is known that chemical exfoliants boleh cause overexfoliation. Kalau kau overexfoliate, senang cerita muka kau akan breakout dan jadi dehydrated, oily, dan teruk gile. Kalau tak berani, memang jangan laa try.

But since aku dah agak geram dengan whiteheads ni, I'm giving these acids a chance. It took me 8 months into my asian skincare journey to finally brace myself to accept acids. In fact I've already bought my first one.