TCA Chemical Peel to Get Rid of Dark Spots, Melasma, and the Mask of Pregnancy

I never thought I would have a problem with dark spots. I made it through 2 pregnancies and into my late 20's with no problems. I would have never guessed by my late 20's and early 30's I would be fighting to get rid of dark spots on my face.

Then my third pregnancy came. I don't know if it was because I was carrying a girl since my first 2 were boys or if my hormones just got out of wack, but one thing is for sure the "mask of pregnancy" did not look cute on me!

So it's been 5 years since I got the pregnancy mask, and it never went away! It fades in the fall and winter and comes back strong every spring the second I enjoy the sun. For me it is a tricky situation. I have kids and a garden that provides 50% of our food throughout the year. Staying out of the sun for any amount of time is not much of an option. I use plenty of sunscreen, it doesn't help me a bit!

The list of things I have tried is LONG!!!!! Not just long either, pretty gross too!

• Lemon
• Garlic
• Lemon mixed with garlic
• Glycolic Acid
• At least 8 different types of dark spot remover
• Skin Bleach
• Boiled onion

Oh the list is awful! The sad part is the most this did was lightly fade the spots just for them to come back darker than ever. None of it was actually removing the top layer of skin so it just slightly faded the top layer instead of helping me get rid of dark spots for good.

Thankfully the I Max 45% Trichloroacetic Acid Serum-Deep Chemical Peel  takes off the top layer of skin. I used the TCA chemical peel with I Max Plant Stem Cell Cream. These are both products specifically meant to work together to make my skin better. 

Using TCA
I Max 45% Trichloroacetic Acid Serum-Deep Chemical Peel

I diluted the 45% by adding 4 parts water to 1 part TCA. By doing this you will not get as big of a peel. However your skin has to get use to the TCA peel chemicals. Even if you have done glycolic peels in the past, TCA is a lot different. Your skin can be very damaged if you just jump straight in with a full strength TCA peel.  

Always do a test patch. I did mine on my lower jaw. When I didn't have an allergic reaction I went ahead with doing the peel. 

• Wash your face well
• Mix 1 to 1 baking soda and water
• Mix TCA 45% with 4 parts water
• Apply Peel with a cotton ball 
• Rinse when it becomes too uncomfortable or at 1-2 minutes
• Apply the baking soda mixture while rinsing to stop the burning feeling
• Use nothing the first day on your skin
• Avoid the sun no matter what

  Using I Max Plant Stem Cell Cream 

   

  

   

  Once you have done your peel you want to give it a day or 2 before applying anything that isn't all natural to your skin. Coconut oil can be great for soothing the skin after a chemical peel. Just rub organic coconut oil lightly on the face. Be sure not to rub hard. 
  
  
  After two days you can start putting sunscreen on in the mornings, but remember to get one with as few ingredients as possible. I use children's all natural SPF 50 any brand. The sun can do a lot of damage on your skin. You should not be laying out or standing in the sun for prolonged periods of time after a peel. The point of the SPF is to protect you from the sun coming through windows or while you are driving or even making a fast run into a store. 
  
  
  In combination with SPF, now you can start using your I Max Plant Stem Cell Cream. This is a plant based formula, but it works well at helping the peel start to best get rid of dark spots and wrinkles. Since it can cause some people to develop bright red skin it is best to try it in the evening before bed. 
  
  
  Thankfully it did not make my face red, but it did burn a small bit. Nothing bad though, and by the next day after the first use, light peeling started. 
  
  
  Continue using it in the evening as needed. 
  
  
  
  
  Results - As of now I am still peeling. However I can already see the difference. The skin that has peeled on dark spots has left fresh skin below without the darkness. 
  
  
  Pairing these products has been great for getting rid of dark spots. I am also seeing improvement with fine lines on my forehead between my eyes from my years of squinting in the sun. 
  
  
  I definitely love these products! By winter I expect to be able to stay out of the sun long enough to do a full peel!
  
  
  
  
  

LIG Group Bluetooth 3.0 Portable Wireless Speaker Review

I've been getting really big into getting Bluetooth speakers lately. I love having one in every room. Having a house with 5 people in it can get a bit noisy, and I have found to gain some control over the madness the best thing to do is turn on some music.

Time to clean, turn on music.
Time to brush teeth, turn on some music!
Time to go play in the pool, turn on some music.

Music is really the best medicine, and the best attention gainer. When the kids are fussing with each other, blasting a song always makes them stop.

LIG Group Bluetooth 3.0 Portable Wireless Speaker

For a small speaker I was pleasantly surprised by the loudness of this LIG Bluetooth speaker. The volume is loud enough to drown out the sounds of Minecraft which is always going in our house. It is also loud enough to still hear while the kids are playing loudly in the pool. 

The Bluetooth connects easily. No issues at all, and we have connected 4 different devices to it and all connected easily. 

The LIG Bluetooth speaker is super light weight. Only half a pound. It's also water resistant, not water proof, but this certainly helps when I am by the pool and have to deal with the occasional splash. 

The only con to this device is the radio feature. If you are living in the city you probably won't have an issue. However I live in the country, very rural. I get all of 2 channels. I get a religious channel and a talk radio channel. So the radio part is pointless for me. 

That one con though was not a big one. I can easily play youtube videos, pandora, or other music playlists from my phone. 

If you would like to try this out, you can find it here. For the price and size it is a great bluetooth speaker! 

Eco-Friendy Bamboo Cutting Board and Chopping Board With 4 Plastic Drawers Review

A little about me. I am a homesteading mother of 3. Our garden is big enough that in the spring, summer, and fall we only use veggies and fruits that we grow. I literally cook between 7 and 20 times a week! We NEVER eat out, and by never, I really mean we eat out maybe twice a year. I simply have the time to cook every night and we prefer the taste of home cooked versus restaurant food.

So when I got the opportunity to review a cutting board I was super excited. I mean as much as I cut up at dinner a cutting board is a pretty important part of my kitchen! The average night has a minimum of onions, garlic, peppers, and potatoes chopped.

The Eco-Friendy Bamboo Cutting Board and Chopping Board With 4 Plastic Drawers is made of sustainable bamboo, which in itself is a huge plus in my books. Bamboo can be grown, harvested, and regrown so fast that we don't have to worry as much about destroying the environment. On top of that bamboo actually looks quite nice.

If you notice between the drawers you can see that they actually fit in like a drawer on a dresser would. So you can move the cutting board around without the bowls getting out of place. The first night I tried this out with just Onions and Mushrooms, however the second night I used bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and peppers. It handled it all easily!

The Eco-Friendly Bamboo Cutting board is very easy to clean. Just takes a couple seconds when I am done chopping to get it clean.

I really looked for things to complain about, however I couldn't find anything. I've used it a total of 3 dinners and 2 breakfasts so far and I haven't come up with one thing I don't like about it. It's all around a great addition to our kitchen. I actually threw away my other board that was beyond scratched up and a pain to clean!

You can get your Eco-Friendy Bamboo Cutting Board and Chopping Board With 4 Plastic Drawers here.

Home Remedy to Get Rid of Melasma, Mask of Pregnancy, or Dark Spots

What is Melasma? 

Melasma is darkening of the skin in splotches or spots. In pregnancy it is called the Mask of Pregnancy. I have no idea why they call it that. They made it sound like something nice. I can tell you first hand it is not. 

Typically Melasma appears:

• Upper Cheek
• Nose
• Forehead 
• Upper Lip

It can appear like a dirt spot above the lip or a large freckle on the cheeks.

My Experience Using Home Remedies For Dark Spots

The list of things I have tried over the last 5 years is long. Something I have figured out is there is no getting rid of them permanently as long as I continue to go out in the sun. It doesn't matter if I use a 70SPF I still end up getting them back as soon as spring comes around.  

So while I have found many things that work to get rid of them, they always come back. So I was on the hunt for a solution that would actually work to get rid of my dark spots during the summer to at least keep them from getting too bad. I'm stubborn. I refuse to stay out of the sun. I've got gardens that need planting, kids that need playing with, lakes that need fishing, and pools that need swimming! 

My Summer Home Remedy For Dark Spots

Items you will need:

• Organic Coconut Oil
• Super Vitamin C Serum (You can find it here:http://www.amazon.com/Super-Vitamin-Serum-Ascorbic-Acid/dp/B01E0DO7GU/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8)
• Lemon Juice

Mixing:

Mix 3 teasoons of organic Coconut Oil with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 1 dropper full of Super Vitamin C Serum. Place your mixture in the fridge for 20 minutes. It will form a soft solid. Because of the lemon juice it will not make a full solid

New York Biology Super Vitamin C is an amazing vitamin C product that can be alone or with other products. Mixing it with the lemon juice and Coconut oil provides a great remedy for dark spots, but also helps with wrinkles.

Within 2 weeks of trying this product I saw considerable improvement in the dark spot above my lip.

SwissVita Micrite 3D Eye Cream Review

I got this product at a discount to review it. The idea of reviewing something and having tested the product in a certain amount of time is nothing new to me. Sadly with this product the time given simply didn't feel like enough time. I was given 2 weeks.

The reason I feel like it wasn't enough time is I liked the product, I really did. Sadly it didn't really do a lot in 2 weeks. So I'm sure you are thinking 'Well it must just not be a good product'. I really don't think that is the issue.

Why I liked SwissVita Micrite 3D Eye Cream

When I first used SwissVita I felt some tightening around my eyes. I felt it working, I just couldn't see the difference. As it absorbed the skin around my eyes felt softer. 

After a week using this product I discovered it worked nicely for helping with the morning swelling I have above my eyes. Due to all the medicines I take before going to sleep at night, I usually wake up with what I call a medicine hang over. Which is the feeling like my eyes are going to close all on their own with that awful groggy feeling. Well the reason my eyes feel like they are going to close on their own is because the medicine puts me into such a heavy sleep, my top eyelids actually swell. 

The SwissVita would reduce that swelling within 10-15 minutes of applying it. Normally it takes around an hour for that swelling to go down. 

What I Didn't Like About SwissVita Micrite 3D Eye Cream

Honestly there wasn't a lot that I didn't like about it. However the biggest issue was the fact that it did nothing for dark circles or wrinkles. So why did I still like the product if it didn't help those things? Well simply, How many of you have bought ANY wrinkle cream and it actually worked in 2 weeks or less? Probably not many! These things take time. Wrinkles don't show up over night! They take time to develop and they take time to soften. 

I really have a good feeling about this product and if I start to see more improvements over time I will update this post. 

The product is not a cream. I am not sure who decided to market it as a cream, but it is more like a gel or serum. Certainly not what us Americans consider a cream. 

Overall I would give SwissVita Micrite 3D Eye Cream a 3 out of 5 right now. It is a nice product that goes on nicely and feels great.