Review some of the skincare products from The Ordinary

Recently, I passed by a pop-up store by Hust.sg at Raffles Exchange and chanced upon the brand The Ordinary. What caught my attention was the chemical names as I researched on the latest anti-ageing ingredients when I took a specialist diploma course in cosmetic science at Singapore Polytechnic a few years ago. But nothing beats trying the serums and testing the efficacy of them.

Before I decided on getting the above 4 products, I knew that I wanted to reduce the look of acne scars on my face but without being overly abrasive, and I wanted to reduce the uneven tone or brighten my skin so that my face will look rejuvenated. I read some reviews from other bloggers, such as

• The Best Products From The Ordinary to Stock Up On, Stat by Byrdie 
• Reviewed: The Best (and Worst) Skincare Products from The Ordinary by TheSkincareEdit
• We Tried Every Product From The Ordinary — Here's What We Thought by Refinery29

The top 4 products which I have chosen are as below. Surprisingly, there aren't that expensive.

1) Ascorbic Acid 8% + Alpha Arbutin 2% (costs SGD 19.50)

• Targets hyperpigmentation, dark spots, uneven tone, signs of age
• A unique combination of two powerful brightening ingredients
• Alpha arbutin is a derivative of hydroquinone and inhibits melanin production

2) Alpha Lipoic Acid 5% (costs SGD 12)

• Targets lackluster skin, signs of age
• A concentrated serum to brighten and to target signs of age
• An enzyme with strong antioxidant activity, sensitive skin will probably find this too harsh.
• Meant to be applied only two or three times a week, at night, so could be a good alternative to daily vitamin C

3) Lactic Acid 10% + HA (costs SGD 12)

• Targets uneven tone, textural irregularities, fine lines
• A high-strength superficial peeling formulation
• Make your skin more sensitive to the sun and could be irritating

My Review: Despite the high concentration of lactic acid, there was no burning sensation. Yet the slight tingling sensation makes you feel that the serum is taking its effect. The smell is distinct but reasonably acceptable. I used it for almost 4 days per week and I could see a remarkable pinkish glow on my skin, seemingly taking its effect as a superficial peeling serum. I made sure I apply moisturizer at night and it seems like the skin absorbs the moisturizer even better. I used to have lots of acne during my 20s, but now at mid-30s, I have mainly scars which I hope to reduce the uneven tone. Well, I don't expect a miracle change but I think over time the overall skin tone will improve with the mild chemical exfoliation. For the low price, I will definitely consider continuing to use it long-term.

Scars from previous acne

Read more from other users: SkincareByMoonlight,  WardropeOxygen, ViewsInPixels, NessiesBeautyBlog,

4) Ascorbyl Glucoside Solution 12% (costs SGD 18)

• Targets dullness, uneven tone, signs of age
• A brightening serum with stabilized Vitamin C derivative
• Ascorbyl glucoside is not as powerful as the gold standard, L-ascorbic acid. It's effective for evening out skin tone, but probably won't help much with collagen synthesis.
• Suit any skin type, especially acne-prone skin

PUPPP rash of pregnancy - What worked for me

Now in the 30th week of my second pregnancy, I am suffering a super terrible itch named PUPPP (pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy), also known as polymorphic eruption of pregnancy (PEP). There are big patches of red skin all over my stomach and breast, which get really itchy when rubbed against clothing, triggering my unconscious scratching. Scratching momentarily satisfied my itch, but resulted in more itch, more redness and purplish "bruise". 

Stage 1: Early onset of PUPPP

There are smaller pink spots all over the stomach, of which some of them congregate together. During this stage, the itch is already immense. Not knowing what it could be, most mothers will be like me, I subconsciously scratched it frequently. During this "inflammation" stage, the papules and plaques are pretty distinct. As the skin is inflammed and more sensitive, I used purely aloe vera gel.

Day 3 of PUPPP

Stage 2: The spread of PUPPP

Even with minimal, light and indirect scratching, the pink spots will continue to spread in greater area. By day 5, my entire stomach is almost completely red. Even with light scratching, the skin was easily "bruised" under the surface and the patch will look a purplish-blue instead of red. That area will feel slight pain compared to the other areas of redness.

Day 5 of PUPPP

It is important not to scratch or trigger the skin further. I will recommend against any of these when you have PUPPP. You also will not want to introduce open wounds that increase risk of infection.

1) Do not use shower head.

The water blasting from the tiny nozzles hits on your skin, aggrevating it further. You may feel good during a shower bath as it reduces the itch, but unconsciously, the spots are aggrevated and begin to spread to greater area. Use a

tap or water scoop instead.

2) Do not use hot water to bath.

Similar to use of shower head, hot water provides you only with temporary relief of itch but it actually stimulates the nerves and "dries" your skin. Cold or room temperature water provides greater relief and the itch is reduced more after the bath

3) Do not rub your skin too hard while bathing

The last thing your skin wants is further stimulant. Besides using milder soap, only gently clean your skin without scrubbing.

During this stage, I have also experimented with a few external remedies:
1) Aveeno Daily Emollient Cream (Triple oat complex + ceramides)
I used this straight after bath, applying on the left side of my stomach. It provides about 3-4 hours of itch relief and I apply more whenever the itch is back.

2) 99% Aloe Vera gel
I also used this straight after bath, applying on the right side of my stomach. It also provides about 3-4 hours of itch relief. It seems like the rash spread less compared to the left side of my stomach which I used Aveeno (oat/ceramide based cream).

3) Suu balm dual rapid itch cream (menthol + ceramides)
My friend introduced this cream to me as it was effective for her. I like the menthol which provides a cooling relief but the itch relief only lasts about 2 hours. Perhaps it is lighter compared to Aveeno. This cream is formulated by National Skin Centre Singapore, especially people with dry and eczema skin. While mentol's cooling effect cacels out itch, but products higher than 1-3% concentration irritates the skin. Suu balm cream has 3%. Hence I avoid putting it direct on skin. I will always apply aloe vera first and let it dry before applying Suu balm on specific spots. As the cooling sensation makes me comfortable, I have bought the other range of products such as Suu balm wash and lotion.

Day 7 of PUPPP

Surprisingly, the itch reduced on day 6 night. Either I made a conscious effort not to scratch and the itch reduced, or because the itch was more manageable and I scratched less. And because of that, the redness did not spread further to other areas. The redness has also started to become paler. I also noticed papules and plaques are significantly less. Some little areas seem a little flaky, hence I apply generously more aloe vera on those areas. Whenever it feels a litle itch and bathing in cold bath, the other difference I made during day 5-6 was the following:

In terms of fluid intake:
1) Drank more water and green tea throughout the day
2) Drank lemon water in the morning (for detoxing)
3) Avoided my usual intake of milk or sweet drinks like bubble tea

In terms of food intake:
1) Had more vegetables (e.g. spinach) and fruits (e.g. apple, dragon fruit, grapes)
2) Avoided chicken and pork, but had salmon fish instead.

Day 14

Although I have less itch and no more pinkish rashes, the dark marks from the past rash seem to take many days to fade away. Meanwhile, I have started to use my stretch mark creams again and no adverse reaction. Hope it gets back to usual soon.