Hair care 101 and industry secrets

I was asked the other day if I could go through some hair care products and discuss what is worth the hype and what really isn't.

As with 99% of the beauty industry, most products sell through hype and advertising rather than by repeat purchase due to effectiveness. 

I have long hair which generally behaves itself but I put it through a lot. I swim 5 times a week (did I mention that already? not like I talk about it much....) and use a lot of heat styling. My hair is fairly fine but I have a lot of it. When it dries it looks like a sad mop and while it would not be classed as curly, it certainly wouldn't be able to dry on its own and look nice. Think straight with kinks. 

So before we begin with products, I will give you a bit of background info about the industry, which applies to skincare, make up and fragrance as well as hair care. If you are a beauty buff, you will probably know this already so scroll down to the good bit, if not, read on.

Pretty much all main stream designer brands get their money from larger brands rather than private funding. There are really only 7 companies who produce our main stream beauty products:

Company	Who they own
L’oreal Procter and Gamble	Between these 2, you have covered pretty much any brand you will find in Boots (the drugstore) – including Maybelline, Covergirl, max factor, Garnier, Olay, and my beloved La Roche Posay. They also own some of the higher end skincare brands like Decleor , Skinceuticals and SkII In terms of hair, they also own Garnier, Clairol, Pantene, Head and Shoulders, Herbal Essences and even the higher end Kerastase, Pureology and Redken Interestingly they also own designer brands Saint Laurent, Armani, Diesel and Ralph Lauren
Johnson and Johnson	Neutrogena and Aveeno
Beiersdorf	Again, good old drugstore skincare brands like Nivea and Eucerin but also, LA PRIARIE
Unilever	Dove, Ponds, Vaseline, Simple For hair: Alberto Balsam, TreSemme, VO5 and Toni and Guy Interestingly they also own Pot Noodle.
Louis Vuitton-Mote Hennessy Shiseido	Unsurprisingly these 2 companies own the more high end designer brands like Dior, Guerlain and Givenchy as well as stuff for us mere mortals from Avene They also own make up brands Benefit, Make up forever , Cle de peau, NARS, BareMinerals, Laura Mercier and Jean Paul Gaultier cosmetics

Now the reason for giving you this information is that the big mother companies will spend their money finding new ingredients or cutting edge formulations. They then release them in products from the higher end brands with the big launch. Once this hype dies down, the ingredient, formulation or product trickles down into the lower end brands and finally ends up in our drugstores so that the owner company can make the most money from the research and discovery.

Haircare example:

L’oreal owns Kerastase. Kerastase bring out their Elixir Ultime Hair Oil (41). It’s wonderful, it’s very fancy.

A few months later L’oreal Professional bring out their Mythic Hair Oil (£17)

Finally, L’oreal Paris (the brand you find in Boots or the supermarket) brings out Elvive Extraordinary Oil (£8)

They are pretty much all in similar bottles, with a similar fragrance and do the same thing. Yes the Kerastase has some more expensive essential oils and probably less silicone, but you get my drift.

Make up example:

Armani brought out Maestro fluid foundation, a few months later, L’oreal bring out Nude Magique. 

Same pigment-in-liquidy-formula that you have to shake then apply. A bit like Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua.

My point is, pick a product from a big brand, spend a little and you’ll more than likely be getting the same effect as the higher end one.

So now onto my picks. Get ready for one of my infamous tables:

Product	Why I like it
Paul Mitchell Shampoo 3 https://www.lookfantastic.com/paul-mitchell-shampoo-3-300ml/10302263.html	As you can see, I have the massive size which means I must like it because I am Fickle (capital F) with products. For years I was trying to battle my dry, chlorine damaged hair which almost felt synthetic – like barbie hair- with moisturising masks. It wasn’t until a hair dresser pointed out that the masks or conditioners cannot penetrate through the layer of pollutants on the hair in order to treat it. In my case the issue was chlorine, but dry shampoo or hair finishing products will also be culprits This contains a chelating agent (fancy term for something that causes stuff to stick to it, like a magnet) which binds the chlorine or pollutant, so when you wash out the shampoo, out comes the impurity too. As soon as I started using this, within a week my hair was back to normal. Genius
Twice weekly shampoo: Pureology Strength Cure Shampoo and Conditioner https://www.lookfantastic.com/pureology-strength-cure-colour-care-shampoo-and-conditioner-duo-250ml/11714354.html	As I mentioned, my hair is needy because of what I do to it, rather that it’s natural condition being frizzy. It has a propensity to be flat and so whilst it needs mega treatment and TLC it cannot be done with anything too heavy. These products use more of a protein based healing system rather than just adding oil or weight. Due to the price of these products, I only use them once or twice a week, for the other days I use a variety of different shampoos
All the other days shampoo: Pick any moisturising one from Garnier or L’oreal I like this one – Garnier Coconut Oil & Cocoa Butter http://www.garnier.co.uk/hair-care/beauty/ultimate-blends/coconut-oil-for-frizzy-hair/shampoo	Honestly, this shampoo does not really matter. I only use it because the Paul Mitchell is quite drying and when I’m being speedy in the changing room, I just whack this second one on to ensure I have removed all the swimming mask I put on before I dive in the pool
Hair mask Macadamia and coconut milk hair mask for dry hair SMELLS AMAZING http://www.garnier.co.uk/hair-care/beauty/ultimate-blends/coconut-milk-for-dry-hair/mask L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil Very Dry Hair Mask http://www.boots.com/loreal-extraordinary-oil-mask-pot-300ml-10183201#z4t2lcWWtKq0asTj.99	On days when I don’t use the pureology – which is all the time – I use a hair mask as a conditioner. I only use it in the mid lengths and ends, and if you had limper hair, you could just run it on the ends of very wet hair. If your hair is frizzier, squeeze or towel out as much water as you can before applying so it is less diluted. Then leave it on for as long as possible. My logic is, if you only have a minute to leave your conditioner in, surely it is better to do it in the most concentrated moisture form rather than with a bog standard conditioner.
Heat protection spray TRESemmé Heat Defence Spray http://www.boots.com/tresemm%C3%A9-heat-defence-spray-300ml-10038626 VO5 Heat Protect Spray http://www.boots.com/vo5-heat-protect-spray-200ml-10081250	Again, all of these are much of a muchness so the things I look for are:               1) That I don’t hate the scent                2) That the spray distributes the product in a                     mist, not in a volcanic eruption leaving one                   part of your hair soaked and the other dry Spray in, brush through, job done.
Lee Stafford Dehumidifier Spray http://www.boots.com/lee-stafford-dehumidifier-spray-200ml-10042043	If your hair is frizzy, or like me, you have a fringe which when met with humidity does all kinds of strange things,  this is a great product. If you have fine hair and have curled it, I wouldn’t use this as it can make it drop, but for straight or naturally curly hair its amazing, or just using on the fringe or side of the hair.
Garnier Ultimate Blends Coconut Hair Oil for Frizzy Hair http://www.boots.com/garnier-ultimate-blends-sleek-perfector-oil-150ml-10167806#YS8rxljcjBpUUOjG.99 L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Hair Oil All Hair Types http://www.boots.com/loreal-elvive-extraordinary-oil-100ml-10140048#zV3J70rSVTC0uWo0.99	Having tried all the aforementioned hair oils, from Kerastase to L’oreal professional to Morroccan oil, I genuinely find this to be the best finishing product. I do not need to get extra moisture from my finishing products as I do that with good masks etc, what I need is something to de frizz or calm. I use this every time I have curled my hair to take away the poodly look, seal the ends, smooth and give shine. If you really do want a more oil based product I also like the bogstandard L’oreal oil
Pre swim hair mask Boots Sun Swim and Gym Protection Masque for Normal Hair http://www.boots.com/boots-sun-swim-and-gym-protection-masque-for-normal-hair-150ml-10140075	I have used this religiously for about 3 years. Before this I had tried everything to try and protect my hair whilst swimming. Leave in conditioners just washed out as soon as the water leaked under my swimming cap (please note, swimming caps are to streamline and keep your hair out the way not to keep your hair dry), coconut oil was a pain in the arse to apply and even more of a pain to fully wash out. This product is cheap, it is easy to apply, it stays in during swimming, it washes out easily, and whilst it provides no real conditioning effects in itself, it stops the chlorine penetrating the hair and more importantly does not cause any spots in areas of the skin it might touch like my forehead etc. Its also a great one to use whilst on holiday too
Dry shampoo Batiste 2 in 1 Invisible Dry Shampoo & Conditioner Cocoa and Cashmere http://www.boots.com/batiste-dry-shampoo-tropical-coconut-exotic-400ml Batiste Dry Shampoo Tropical - Coconut & Exotic http://www.boots.com/batiste-two-in-one-invisible-dry-shampoo-and-conditioner-cocoa-and-cashmere-200ml-10225199 Colab dry shampoo spray paradise and Colab dry shampoo spray hype galactic are my favourite scents http://www.boots.com/colab-dry-shampoo-paradise-200ml-10238523 http://www.boots.com/colab-dry-shampoo-hype-galactic-200ml-10238530	Dry shampoo is an absolute must. Whilst I wash my hair after swimming, I definitely do not wash it after the gym, in an effort to try and preserve the health of my hair. For those days, or in fact for the days when I have washed my hair in the morning but need a refresh later on (aka my fringe looks like an oil slick), I use dry shampoo, and a lot of it. In fact, I get the huge size because my fringe needs topping up about 5 times a day I have tried them all, from cheap to expensive and I stand by the fact that batiste is the best. The smells are great, and they absorb oil. Yes they leave a white patch if you spray too close so: 1)      Hold the can a good distance away from your hair before spraying 2)      Do not do a prolonged spray, literally blast and move on 3)      Ideally leave this in for as long as you can before brushing it out, after the gym, I spray in while I shower etc then quickly blast my hair with a hairdryer to distribute it through and dry the roots. This also gives LOADS of volume. I do enjoy the smell of the Colab dry shampoos but they really do not have the oil absorbing power that I need due to my shiny-like-butter forehead. They are however great if your hair is too clean to do an up do, or your curls have come out too perfect. Even in this case, I tend to use the batiste dry shampoo and conditioner, which can be used all through the hair not just the roots, and the cocoa one smells great
Wet brush https://www.lookfantastic.com/wetbrush-punchy-pink/11310845.html Tangle Teezer Limited Edition -Skinny Dip Palm Flamingo http://www.boots.com/tangle-teezer-limited-edition-skinny-dip-palm-flamingo-10228646#GKpWDfX2oriIFQDC.99	This brush was originally designed for people with tangly hair, however I cannot think of a hair type that would not benefit from this. The majority of damage and breakage to hair happens when wet because we all use a bog standard hair brush or worse, yank through it with our hands before rubbing the hell out of it with a towel. I got this brush as a promotional offer with something I bought from look fantastic so thought I would give it a go but was quite happy with my tangle teezer. I was wrong. The ease with which this goes through my long tangled hair is amazing. I also use it on dry hair, it is especially good for brushing out curls without destroying them. The amount of hair that snaps is significantly less and it feels so much nicer. It is also designed to get wet, so you can brush through conditioner and rinse the brush clean with no issues. They also do a special brush for people with hair extensions. I still use a tangle teezer in my swim bag because its light, its really easy to clean as it is pure plastic and it is cheaper and a bit smaller, however when that goes, it will be replaced with another wet brush.

Supplements - what to buy and what to REALLY not buy

Following on from my previous post about diet changes (read here) there are certain supplements I now take that have definitely improved my health, improved my skin’s ability to cope with what I make it do (Roaccutane, retinols, peels, life).

I have never really believed in supplements, I was always of the philosophy that if you are deficient in something then your diet must be unhealthy.

I still believe this to a massive degree, e.g. vitamin C, iron, magnesium etc but there is no in harm in giving the body a hand in a helpful way especially if you are going through a time that puts physical stress or you have done something/going through something which alters the body in some way e.g. roaccutane, antibiotics, chemotherapy, colonic hydrotherapy, diet changes.

After my first colonic session, Jackie recommended various things to me to improve the health of the gut. It is important to say that colonic hydrotherapy does not “strip the gut of bacteria” or wash out everything. Quite the opposite, it simply removes all the crap (literally) and allows a clean and neutral environment in which you can introduce good helpful things without the unhelpful things getting in the way. Before I started looking into all things diet, I took a combined multivitamin and probiotic.

The problem with this as it turns out is that 1) the probiotic was not in the right form, the right bacterial count  or in the right carrier to actually do anything 2) multivitamins are pretty much pointless.

The issue with multivitamins is that your body processes it like a drug. Anything taken orally is already absorbed at a very low level because of the digestive process, add into this a foreign capsule shell and a load of chemically synthesised vitamins and the amount you absorb is negligible. Effectively you just pee it out.

So…I now take a probiotic with 7 or 8 different strains of gut bacteria with 30 billion bacterial count at expiry. The expiry bit is important as many probiotics will state they have significantly more than this but then do not state how stable the carrier is etc. Yes they are expensive but yes they make a massive difference AND MOST IMPORTANTLY  do not need to take them every day until the end of time unless you are on long term antibiotics. 30 days is enough to colonise the gut with enough bacteria for them to then continue to multiply by themselves (as long as you are eating well, minimal alcohol or medications etc).

The second thing she recommended was something to replace the multivitamin aspect. I now take either chlorella or spirulina ( you can get a huge pack for about £5 on ebay – I have linked some below). These provide all the vitamins and nutrients a normal healthy (ish) person will need on a daily basis. INCLUDING the buzz word of the moment “magnesium” – which everyone seems to herald as the miracle cure for everything. Both supplements are made from green leafy plants which have simply been dried and crushed. For this reason your body processes it from food, so not only does it contain everything you need, your body actually stands a chance of absorbing it. Interestingly they have more iron than beef, more potassium than bananas and more calcium than whole milk as well as protein, zinc AND Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B8, B9, C, D, E, k AND all 8 essential amino acids that the body does not synthesize. Sold yet?

I also take hyaluronic acid capsules which helped immensely during my roaccutane treatment. I bought one bottle and could not see a massive difference, I then stopped taking them and within a week my flaky skin had upped its game and the dry-PVA-glue skin was back.

Vitamin D3 is a new one. I thought I would give it a go after Dr Sam Bunting recommended its use especially being on Roaccutane and avoiding the sun like the plague. Vitamin D is a tricky one as the levels set for appropriate levels are a cause for contention. In the UK where we see the sun for about 3 hours a year, pretty much EVERYONE will be vitamin D deficient compared to these levels yet only a small proportion will have symptoms of deficiency. This being said, I found myself in February feeling ill, sluggish, unmotivated. Whilst I have days like this sometimes, I am very much a bounce-off-the-walls-with-energy kinda girl, and this awful feeling had been going on for months.

A week into taking D3 and boom, I was back to having to jog on the spot in work to release the extra energy I had. A month later and I still feel that way (much to my nurse’s annoyance as she has to careful work around my jogging with the dirty instruments)

As I say, not everyone will need it, but I leave the house at 6:45 in my car, go to a leisure centre until its time to go to work, drive the 2 minutes from there to the hospital, work in a basement level in said hospital for 8 hours, then drive home. Whilst I am very active, little of this activity takes place outdoors, so my vitamin d levels were probably rock bottom despite my efforts to eat well.

Omega 3, 6 and 9. This was especially important during Roaccutane treatment as it hammers your liver risking change to fatty acids and triglycerides in the body. My good cholesterol levels were 3 times the level of a normal healthy person and were even slightly higher by the end of treatment. Now yes you can get these from eating fish, but my boyfriend hates fish so while I still eat it, it is not at a level that will provide enough.

I prefer getting mine from vegan sources (flaxseed etc – which I also add to my porridge), see below

Heliocare care ultra capsules are my latest addition. Sun safety is obviously hugely important but with Roaccutane treatment your skin is extremely sensitised so while I am now careful in the sun and wear my high SPF’s etc, anything that can boost the body’s ability to protect and repair from UV damage is obviously a good thing.

What NOT to take

Separate tablets for every nutrient. Unless you have severe dietary restrictions then you really do not need as many nutrients as Instagram tells you you’re missing.

Your body cannot absorb collagen through tablet form, the molecule is too large, so don’t bother taking those .

Vitamin c to prevent a cold – absolutely no evidence for this, there is some anecdotal evidence that increasing vitamin c intake during illness might help speed up recovery but you are FAR better doing this through food than you are through supplements

Please DO NOT BUY COD LIVER OIL. The liver is the filtration system of the body. The sea is full of the rubbish that we have put in there, including the much feared mercury, so the liver will also be full of this. Concentrate this down a few hundred times to give the potency of a cod liver oil capsule and you’re doing far more harm than good. Krill oil is far better, you want the oil that has come from the flesh not the liver.

Perfectil. Biotin is the only proven supplement that will increase hair and nail growth/strength. This issue with this is that it makes ALL hair grow quicker and stronger. Your upper lip wax will be getting moved to weekly rather than monthly. That’s all I’m saying. If you don’t suffer with this, just buy plain Biotin rather than spending your life’s savings on Perfectil or branded ones. Whilst this is the only supplement that alone will help hair and nail growth, having the right amount of amino acids and fatty acids will also do the same job. You're covered there by the chlorella/spirulina and the omega oils

Food substitutions – just a quickie.

As I found I was intolerant to most sweeteners, but did not want to use sugar, I found this was the best to use. It takes the same as sugar, is not gritty, does not have an after taste like pure stevia, and causes no bloating.

Natvia All Natural Sweetener

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/291614360

Protein – my first blood test for Roaccutane showed my albumin was towards the lower end of the range, and having not scored low on a test my whole life, I wanted to fix this. I REFUSE to take the disgusting stuff they have in the gym and fitness shops. It is absolutely loaded with garbage – sweeteners, enzymes to break down the protein, flavouring etc etc so eventually I found this. I use the soy one, but they also do a hemp and a brown rice protein too in case anyone has soy allergies . Please note, these do not taste good, hence why I use sweetener. The plain soy is completely inoffensive, it just does not taste of anything. The cocoa brown rice one STAY FAR AWAY.

Pulsin Soy Protein Powder

https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/pulsin-soya-protein-1kg-60006973

I also now use almond milk in my cooking etc as I needed a dairy free alternative. Its also great to use in curries etc as well as in the obvious porridge. I have tried several that taste like actual soil but this one is great

Alpro Almond Roasted Unsweetened Fresh Milk Alternative

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/275067782

Supplement links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Udos-Choice-Super-8-Probiotics/dp/B0036E5KG6

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hyaluronic-Acid-Capsules-250mg-High-Strength-and-100-Pure-Supplement/112813220964?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vitamin-D3-5000IU-x-150-Caps-MAX-Strength-Bones-SAD-Immune-System-Lindens/322481059234?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/255431548

http://www.zestbeauty.com/heliocare-ultra-capsules-30-capsules.html

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Suma-Bagged-Down-Organic-Linseed-golden-organic-1kg/182948960066?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Bloat be gone. My diet - past, present and future.

Another requested one

My diet is a topic I have tackled from both health and bloat/skinvanity perspectives.

Ever since I was a teenager, I have always had issues with my skin after eating chocolate. It would be like clockwork, 24-48 hours after said chocolate indulgence, *poof*, a mountain range of spots would appear around my mouth.

After being told by many GP’s that chocolate does not cause acne, I did my own research and found that in fact whilst dairy, and iodine found in dairy, does not cause acne, it certainly can trigger it or worsen it. At this point I cut out dairy almost entirely and ta da, I noticed a significant improvement in my skin. If I must have chocolate I try and have dark (as it’s the milk that is the problem not the cocoa) or, and this is the more likely option, enjoy all the chocolate and just accept I will have spots in a few days (I avoid this option if I have a big even in said upcoming days).

Funnily enough, years later, we are now being told by every “health coach” and nutritional “expert” out there that dairy is the devil when it comes to acne.

I have suffered from IBS since I was about 16 so bloating was nothing new to me, but this was about all the diet modifications I made until last year when a dose of norovirus left me....digestively challenged.

It was at this point I decided that action need to be taken, and being one for  not doing things by halves, I booked to see a dietician and a colonic hydrotherapist.

The colonic was an enlightening experience. There was no pain, neither physically or mentally. My therapist (Jackie Turner, who I now see every 4-6 months, link below) was welcoming and knowledgeable. The process took around an hour for the first session as it required a history and explanation of the procedure. Said “procedure” involves body-temperature water entering the colon, and leaving the colon again with the rubbish your body cannot effectively get rid of itself. There is no “pump”, the water is in a tank near the ceiling, and enters the body through a pipe via gravity alone. 

Your body then ejects the water through its normal peristaltic action, so there is nothing being forced; it works naturally with the body.

To make some sense of the anatomy, your colon empties in the bottom left corner of your abdomen. It travels upwards towards your ribs, turns 90 degrees and twists to run horizontal to your diaphragm then turns again (in a more gentle manner this time) and runs down to join onto the small intestine.

You can in fact aid your own bloating by massaging in a circle from your right hip bone, up to your ribs, from right to left of your ribs and down to your left hip bone. This is the path of digestion in the large intestine

At the first session the water was only able to get halfway along the transverse colon, so a second session was needed, which took round 30-45 mins. In this session the water was much more quickly able to reach the first portion of the ascending colon. After these 2 sessions I felt light as air. There was some slight cramping and discomfort the afternoon after my second session but immediately the bloating disappeared and the pain under my left ribs vanished (this is where the descending colon twists and becomes the transverse colon, so if this area is blocked rib pain occurs, I thought it was just my bra digging in!)

At the same time, I had been researching solutions to me continuous bloating. Various things appear on Google including food intolerance testing.

This is where it got complicated. There seemed a million different companies offering various ways to tell you what foods you were “allergic” or intolerant to. The most common way was through a pin prick of blood which you drew at home and sent to a lab/placed on a strip which then changed colour. The blood is supposedly tested for levels of IgG (an antibody produced by the body in response to pretty much ANYTHING which isn’t itself).

According to NICE guidelines (the body that basically makes guidelines for anything medical – they are the rules we abide by as dentists and doctors), the only true detector of food allergy is IgA. This is the antibody produced in response to pollen in hayfever sufferers, bee stings, insect bites and to peanuts in those with a true peanut allergy. It leads to swelling, redness, watery eyes, runny nose etc. Yes you can test for this, but you could still be intolerant to a food without being allergic to it.

Therefore I disregarded any of the IgG testing method.

There is also something called “kinesiology” where a therapist places a food item on the body and pressing on a muscle. If the person is stressed by the food, the muscle will unlock (go weak) whereas if there is no stress involved, the muscle will remain locked (strong). Personally, if a blood test for IgG antibodies is deemed not a reliable method of intolerance testing, then I believe even less strongly in the ability of this method to truly detect a problem.

So....off to the dietician I went to be led on the FODMAP elimination diet. It is worth noting that while technically you could do this yourself, even with my science background it was difficult to get my head around. Similarly, nutritionists or nutritional therapists cannot introduce the FODMAP elimination diet as their professions (unlike dieticians) are not subject to any registration and so their level of education is not regulated.

The premise is, that certain carbohydrates stay in the digestive system long enough to start fermenting. This is great for the body as longer digestion = more calories burnt, more nutrients absorbed, feel full longer. However, this fermentation produces gases which lead to bloating.

FODMAP stands for the food groups which you have to eliminate.

Before seeing the dietician, the only pre made food I ate were cinnamon Quaker oats sachets and the “natural” pea snacks from Lidl so I thought I was going to get off pretty easy with not having much to eliminate. I was wrong. There were a plethora of fruits I had to eliminate, no gluten, no lactose. This was relatively easy compared to having to delete onions, garlic, nuts, soy and celery. Turns out they put this in EVERYTHING. Meatballs, sausages, lea and perrins, stock, gravy. It also means you pretty much cannot go out for food because even though they may cook something with no sauce (although frankly what’s the point of food without sauce when you’re paying for it!), they will probably have involved seasoning or stock at some point so it just wasn’t worth the effort or in fact embarrassment of being “that” customer.

Cutting a long story short, you cut these out for 4-8 weeks (depending how long it takes for the symptoms to go), then you introduce the big 3 (onions, garlic, leek) individually then the food groups. Turns out I am intolerant to:

sweet potato (a massive bummer as I was having this every day)

broccoli - only if eaten every day or in combination with other trigger foods such as sweet potato 

gluten (I can live without it and will take the hit if it’s a home-made cake)

sweet corn and corn cakes (which I thought would be better for me than rice cakes, turns out not!)

lactose (I sort of assumed this from the acne reactions), especially in cheese and cream forms

apples and dried fruit or in fact anything high in fructose

beans and peas – although fortunately hummus in small amounts is fine

sweetener other than sucralose, stevia and erythritol. I can also have aspartame but won’t because of the negative effects it has

As a by product of this FODMAP elimination diet, which technically is only designed for reducing symptoms of IBS, I lost 2 kilos, and my skin completely settled down. I did not have a single new spot the whole time I was on the diet and any bumps or scars I had completely calmed down.

Here is a before and after. I managed to dig out the same clothing in an effort to try and keep the 2 images as similar as possible. Bear in mind, there are no filters, no fake tan, no posing, no lighting modifications because I am not an Instagram model, I am a real person and I want you to see the difference in reality, not from one pose to another.

I have written a shorter post on the supplements I use/food group substitutes I use so stay tuned for that

Link to colonic hydrotherapist:
http://gardenofhealth.co.uk/

And dietician: http://www.ckennynutrition.co.uk/

The Ordinary product review. Nothing ordinary about it.

I genuinely believe this is the best range I have ever tried. The carrier systems and feel of the products may not be the most sophisticated but I love them as:

 1) you know what concentration the active ingredients in (which quite frankly is the only bit of the product I care about)

2) the active ingredients are in a stable form – you can find plenty of products on the high street with active ingredients such as vitamin c (cough Aldi cough), but as soon as you mix them with water the ingredient is no longer active and effective

3) the packaging is appropriate for the product i.e. dark glass for vitamin c products to avoid UV oxidation AND mostly recyclable due to the use of glass vs plastic

4) they are mega affordable so if you skin does not agree with a certain ingredient you have only lost a fiver

I have tried A LOT of products from the range so will do a quick rundown of my favourites, and some that I have used but may not be repurchasing

Product	Pros - Why I liked it	Cons
Hyaluronic acid and B5 serum	Cheapest way to get good quality hyaluronic acid into the skin	It is a bit sticky. This is not a problem if you only layer a moisturiser over, but I have found if you layer it over niacinamide or use a vitamin c powder mixed with the moisturiser it will causing some pilling
Ascorbyl Glucoside Solution 12%  Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% Solution	Pleasant to use, no stinging, no grittiness so good to apply makeup over. Dark bottle to avoid oxidation	I did not really see any results from either of these products so swapped to a higher concentration
Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate Solution 20% in Vitamin F	Feels lovely to apply.	Oil base so this was donated to my mum who has a drier and non acne prone skin
Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2%	Great for resurfacing and brightening	Doesn’t feel great to apply, gritty. This does go after 5/10 mins as it absorbs and warms to the skin, but you would probably want a primer if applying foundation over
100% L-Ascorbic Acid Powder	This is my current form of vitamin C. You can make it as potent or diluted as you like. Minimal tingling. No gritty feeling.	I find it works better mixed with a moisturiser vs a serum as sometimes it does not dissolve fully in a serum and leaves white patches on the skin. The problem completely disappeared when I mixed with moisturiser.
Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion	Lovely product. Lovely lightweight serum, did not cause any peeling or irritation. I did not even need to use a moisturiser over this	None I prefer this formulation to the Granactive Retinoid 2% in Squalane
Granactive Retinoid 5% in Squalane	Great product, you skin feels like silk in the morning.	This caused absolutely no irritation or breakouts on my skin however I had to switch to oil free products for my comedones, so this got moved to use on my neck only. My neck cannot seem to tolerate the higher strength retinols that I use on my face, so this is perfect
AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution	This may well be my favourite product from the range. The concentration of the acids is great and is the highest performing mask of this kind that I have tried. Glass skin ahoy	It burns and tingles. Beware if a first-time user of acids. Start with leaving it on for just 2 minutes and work up slowly. When you’re mad like me, you can even run your foreo over it at the end of the 10 mins to activate it further
2% Salicylic acid serum	2% is the percentage you need for it to have a true pore cleaning effect, so this is perfect	I prefer my la roche posay effaclar duo as it provides the triple spot fighting whammy with salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide and niacinamide so I stick with this to avoid having to apply 10 different products
100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil	Lovely texture, absorbs quite quickly but can also be layered to do a massage or for a healing boost. I had a burn from a product (too strong a retinol) on my neck and this was the only thing that solved it and stopped it being sore and itchy. If you do not have any pore blockage issues this would be great to use on the face too	Doesn’t smell great, which actually is fine by me because I do not want added fragrance in my products.
Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA	Lovely simple moisturiser. No oil, no fragrance. Great for cuticles and nails too (tip from Mr Truaxe himself)	None
Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%	Great concentration of the actives. The added zinc is also great for my acne prone skin. No irritation	If you layer this under hyaluronic acid, make sure you only use a small amount of the niacinamide otherwise the hyaluronic can leave little white patches, however these disappear as soon as you layer over a moisturiser.
Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG	If you are at all prone to puffiness – going through a break up, massive Chinese food binge – slap this on the night before and again in the morning and it’ll disappear. The other wonderful benefit of this product is it can be mixed into other things. For example, when I’m on a real summer kick, after dry body brushing my legs (which I do daily) I mix a good squirt of the caffeine solution into my body cream and slather on for some skin firming action	This is drying (it’s kind of the point of the product) so I apply this onto clean, dry skin, let it absorb for a couple of minutes while I brush my teeth etc then layer my eye cream or moisturiser over the top
Lactic Acid 10% + HA	Lovely texture, easily absorbed, good resurfacing	For some reason this worsened my acne. I am lactose intolerant but that is a digestive thing so shouldn’t have affected the skin but either way, I stopped using this and donated.

In summary, my must haves are the aha bha peel, the caffeine solution, vitamin c powder and niacinamide. For beginners, I would definitely get the hyaluronic acid serum and the retinoids.