NOLA SAINT SEER

creating a space for myself and my sisters

[nolasaintseer-blog]

Managing My Acne

I’ve struggled with acne most of my life. Blame it on poor adolescent hygiene, a crappy diet, a non-existent skin care routine, too many beauty products, or the most important factor in my eyes...Genetics. Only recently is when I started to control my acne and prevent breakouts. I rarely have zits now. I credit most of my clear skin to actually figuring out what skin type I have. Once I figured out my true skin type I was able to create an attack plan to get rid of the bumps and scars! Below is a list of the most common skin types: 

Combination: Combination skin is basically what it sounds like, it can be dry in some areas and oily in others. The oily parts are usually in the T-Zone area, which is your forehead, nose, and chin. It’s a combination of both oily and dry skin. 

Dry: With dry skin you have little to no pores, no visible oil production, no Black Girl Glow (or black guy glow), and flaky skin...which is a definite no go when applying make-up foundation 

Oily: The most dreaded skin type...ok I’m biased but seriously, oily skin is the worst. You shine from a mile away and I’m not talking that Black Girl Glow. I’m talking someone just dipped your face in a pot of olive oil, your grandma went a lil crazy when greasing your scalp, you look like you’ve been sitting in a sauna for 2 hours. It’s bad...and your pores lawd your pores, it looks like someone drew them on with a sharpie. But I digress...you know when you have oily skin.

Sensitive: People with sensitive skin can also have any of the skin types above. I know, unfortunate. With sensitive skin comes redness, itching, burning and other reactions that present itself through your skin. Sensitive skin is caused for a variety of reasons but I believe its mainly in response to products with too many foreign chemicals. 

Here are some tips and products that I found to really work with managing my acne throughout my #breakoutjourney 

Tips

Find a skin care routine and stick to it. Wash your face with a cleanser, apply a toner, apply acne spot treatment (nights only), and moisturize! Do this morning and night! Twice a week you should exfoliate to get rid of the build-up of dead skin. STICK TO IT...that was my biggest problem, actually sticking to a skin care routine. You won’t regret it. 

Drink water! Seriously it works and plus your body needs it, you have to stay hydrated. Drinking the necessary amount of water each day really plays a part in having clear skin. I have my tumbler with me everywhere I go. 

Make sure your facial moisturizer has some type of SPF protection. Don’t wanna damage that beautiful skin with rays from the sun! It’s needed. Seriously. Make sure your moisturizer has sunscreen. 

Ya diet! Healthy body= healthy skin. What you eat is super important. You can’t have clear skin and continuously put toxins in your body. So switch it up sometime eat more veggies and drink more water and try to stay away from processed foods. 

We, as black women tend to use a lot of oils and products in our hair. So just make sure it stays in the hair. Those products can clog up your pores or if you have sensitive skin it can cause an allergic reaction. Try to lessen up on the hair products or be extra sure to avoid your face. 

That time of the month. Your period will cause break outs, so just keep an eye out on that. Be sure to drink plenty of water, make sure you’re following your skincare routine and maybe treat yourself to an at home facial. 

Use a product with salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide to combat zits. This can be used as your spot treatment product. 

Products 

Cleansers: 

[nolasaintseer-blog]

What’s for Dinner?

I work in an office from 8:30-5pm most days out of the week. Which means that after work I am beat...seriously, once I get home I’m ready to chill out and read a book. So, when it’s time for dinner I like to make quick and delicious meals. One of my favorite 1 hour or less meals is Shrimp Scampi with Linguine. I stopped following a “real” aka online recipe for this a couple of years ago because I’ve always found that just throwing my personal spin on the dish tasted better, so I invite you to do the same! Here it goes, Quick Shrimp Scampi! 

What I use: 

Olive Oil, Sea Salt, Lemons (I usually use lemon juice), White Wine (I just use the cheapest I can find; a Pinot Grigio) Black Pepper, Parsley Flakes (if you have it on hand, use fresh parsley), Cayenne Pepper, Onion (halved), Onion Powder, Garlic (3 cloves), Garlic Powder, Shrimp, Linguine; Do you add anything different? Let me know! 

Now that we have the ingredients laid out...what comes next? 

I always start with cooking my pasta because it takes the longest amount of time. I bring a pot of water with salt to a rapid boil then add in the lingunie and cook for about 7 minutes until al dente. Drain pasta and set aside. Next, I begin prepping my ingredients. I peel and devein the shrimp, I usually leave the head on because it adds more flavor but I forgot this time...whoops! Then I season the shrimp with anything I can find: salt, pepper, parsley, cayenne, lemon juice, and onion and garlic powder. I dice the onions and mince the garlic (my food processor is a life-saver) and from there I usually wing it. 

I heat up the olive oil in a skillet add the onion, cook until browned and then add the garlic. Remember GARLIC BURNS QUICKLY so always add it last! After the garlic and onion is browned I toss in the shrimp. Sauté the shrimp in this mixture for like 15 seconds (which I also forgot to do...whoops). I always found that sautéing the shrimp first provided a better texture than letting it cook in the white wine and lemon juice. 

After sautéing the shrimp add in about a cup or half a cup of white wine and the juice of one lemon. You’re welcome to add more or less if you want, I like my scampi light on the lemon and heavy on the olive oil. 

While slightly simmering the juices and wine so that it becomes infused, I add a bit more cayenne pepper, olive oil, black pepper and parsley, TASTE YOUR FOOD..if it needs more seasoning add more seasoning. Let cook for about 3-5 more minutes until shrimp turns pink. Do not cook too long, your shrimp will taste rubbery and gross. 

Once the shrimp are pink I slowly add my lingunie to the skillet and mix together. I top with more black pepper, cayenne pepper (you will come to realize I’m heavy handed with the cayenne and black pepper, I LOVE IT) and parsley. Next step SERVE! 

How do you prepare your shrimp scampi?!

[nolasaintseer-blog]

Product Insight

I recently moved from New Orleans to Chicago and let’s just say I am definitely not ready for the weather change. Winter is creeping over the Chi and I can see how the cold is starting to affect my skin. Like most Black Women, I have extremely oily skin but coupled with the cold of Chicago my skin has become an oily-dry-crazy conundrum. So! My simple “skin care routine”, if you can even call it that, has to change pronto, a change that I will try to document here.

Because I have expensive taste on a limited budget I’m going to have to gradually introduce new products to my routine and I’ve decided to start with a quality cleanser/exfoliator. I’m starting with an exfoliator due to the buildup of dead skin I’m noticing in my T-Section after applying make-up.

My fiancée swears by Kiehl’s products after great results with managing his eczema so I’ve decided I’ll solely try them out for my routine and because I’ve seen little to no reviews on Kiehl’s products for brown/black skin…so why not contribute!

I’ve been eyeing two Kiehl’s exfoliators: Epidermal Re-Texturizing Microdermabrasion (dermatologist grade, $42, 2xs per week) and Clearly Corrective Brightening and Exfoliating Daily Cleanser (2xs per day, $29). I decided on the Clearly Corrective Brightening and Exfoliating Daily Cleanser one because I am running out of my daily Cleanser and this is a two in one(!) and two it’s more aligned with my budget, lol. I did receive a sample of the dermatologist grade and WOW it’s worth the money, it’s basically a spa grade facial. Seriously, I couldn’t even see my larger than life pores. I’ll be purchasing it next.

So far, the Kiehl’s Exfoliator and Daily Cleanser has been great! It doesn’t smell harsh and the smell doesn’t linger on your skin. I have the Black Girl glow I’ve been looking for, hardly noticeable pores, and my skin isn’t dry after a trip outside in the freezing weather here. I haven’t used it for too long…so I plan on giving an update in a month or two.

If you have any questions about the above two products that I didn’t answer, reach out to me!

xxnolasaintseer