2015. The Clarification post.

I'm enjoying my time off WAY too much.

I thought it would be good to start a New Year by clearing out cobwebs from last year(s).

I received some comments on Instagram this morning *waves to Canada* asking why I had changed my mind on certain things. This gave way to long private messages clarifying my position on things and that made me think that actually, why not do it on the blog for all to see/read/chip in? Today's comments were: Why did I do a video about 'scrubs' when I've told people that acids are better? Answer: because not everyone wants to use/can use acids and need an alternative. I would rather recommend ones that I would have no problem using than have people buying husky scrubs that are akin to glass and scrubbing away their (epi)dermis into oblivion. I do on occasion still use scrubs myself - they haven't been banished by any means, I just don't want to overdo it as I do use acids daily. Why is there a picture of a La Mer product when the third ingredient is mineral oil? Answer: because I will always trial something when asked repeatedly by readers to do so (with exceptions) and a LOT of brands use different ingredients in Europe compared to the US. Sadly, the US comes off worse in this scenario because Europe has far stricter regulations than the FDA in the US. Multi-national brands sometimes use different ingredients in the US, Europe and Australasia/Asia due to differing rules. There are plenty of La Mer products in Europe without mineral oil in them (not the original sadly), I can't speak directly for the other parts of the world. Why did I post a picture with my reddened face admonishing brands for adding unnecessary essential oils to products just to make them smell nice (in this particular case eucalyptus) when they can cause irritation, when only a few months ago I posted a positive review about White Rabbit Cleansing Balm that contains said eucalyptus? (my readers miss nothing) Answer: I can only suggest that the composition of WR is much thicker and the % of essential oils lower than the product that caused my irritation (coming Monday) which is much more water-based. I take the point that it would appear hypocritical, but as I said, it's all in the % in this case. And one from me that's been on my mind recently: Skimmed milk. I have recommended skimmed milk in consultations and talked about it on here often. Although it has been discussed for a long time, skimmed milk has now been singled out by Harvard acne doctors/nutrition specialists as being akin to the Devil for acne. Recent tests on skimmed milk vs full fat milk show that skimmed had the highest % of oestrogen and other hormones and therefore could be more likely to trigger acne. Personally, I've tried every other milk and cannot face tea with full fat, semi or other 'healthy' varieties thus far. As it's the only time I take liquid milk (cheese is ok for me), I'm willing to suffer and have even used organic (always) watered-down full fat milk in my tea. Tea vs No Tea? No-brainer. But if you can, it would be worth knocking all dairy on the head altogether. *I have updated previous posts where I mention skimmed milk. I am always happy to say when I've used something I once didn't like, or changed my mind about something. People change their minds. I'm human. I would much rather be fair to brands and say publicly 'Actually, on reflection, this is rather nice' and update my review than pretend I still feel the same way. That's not fair to the brands or you. But this blog has a lot of content and has been going for nearly 5 years (gulp) - and it's increasingly hard to self-police. Please feel free to call me out on something, I've been a mother for 24 years. I am used to explaining myself and my decisions on a daily basis. :) So (finally): if you've been wondering about something I've posted/appear to have 'changed my mind' about, please feel free to give me a shout in the comments. I say 'shout', please keep it respectful and not abusive/aggressive. One thing I haven't changed my mind about is trolls. p.s. - I'm not answering any general skin queries on this post :)