Thanks ramblinrose,
I'm actually currently testing a new toner that i'm making using a pretty cool ingredient. I've used it for almost a week, and really want to give it time to be sure it's a good thing. So far i'm really liking it. The new ingredient is great for skin/acne, and i'm combining it with a few other helpful ingredients.
But yeah, i'm anxious to share this new recipe with everyone soon. It'll probably be a whole new thread as the main ingredient is different
I had written a somewhat long comment about my history but I figured no one wants to read that! lol
All I want to say and what I think I was getting at in my somewhat-long comment is Thank You!! I've been using this for around 3 days and my skin hasn't looked better!
I have horrible scarring and redness but my overall skin tone looks amazing and I LOOK HEALTHY!! Horahh! I've also been drinking HEAPS of water during the day. The scars look like they'll heal in no time as well - probably wishful thinking but it's better than the helplessness I was feeling just a week or so ago.
I'll definitely post in a couple of weeks to see how this goes. Your post actually prompted me to come out of my lurking state and create an account!
Awesome, that's great holes2heaven. I really hope it continues to help your skin over the coming weeks/months. Thanks for sharing!
Also, the other day i was at wal mart, and i thought i'd take a look in the salt section to see if anything new was available. (Wal mart seems to be making small strides in the area of organic foods. Hopefully this continues...)
Anyway I found Himalayan pink salt in a large grinder. It was 4.99, and was called Olde Thompson Himalayan Pink Salt. I picked it up and have been using it in the toners i'm experimenting with, as well as food. It's a great option if you don't have a whole foods type store near you, but have a wal mart. Hopefully they are carrying this product nation wide
I am loving my new recipe for this toner! It's simply 1/2 green tea and 1/2 aloe vera (Lily of the Desert inner fillet). Since the aloe is a gel, the mixture is easy to apply without any dripping. I've been using it for 3-4 weeks.
Ofg, I'm looking forward to hearing about your new toner!
My skin hasn't been going too well for the last two days but I think that's mainly due to the fact that I've been eating terribly lately. The Christmas season brings out the baker in me.
I might try to add a natural cleanser soon.
What are you using to cleanse now? And absolutely, i am living with clear skin now (thank the maker) but when i used to occasionally splurge on crappy sugary foods it would show in my skin very soon after
On 12/30/2012 at 11:14 AM, lmaohf* said:I've been using the green tea toner for about 3 months now and I love it! Thank you onefatalgoose! and I saw this the other day
[Removed]
what do you think about it onefatalgoose?
Awesome, glad to here it is working for you. And i'll have to check out the link
Also the new toner i'm making is almost ready to be shared. I'm taking pictures and then making a new thread in the next few days hopefully
My skin hasn't been going too well for the last two days but I think that's mainly due to the fact that I've been eating terribly lately. The Christmas season brings out the baker in me.
I might try to add a natural cleanser soon.
What are you using to cleanse now? And absolutely, i am living with clear skin now (thank the maker) but when i used to occasionally splurge on crappy sugary foods it would show in my skin very soon after
I've been using plain oatmeal, though not everyday because I'm paranoid. I only use it when my skin feels a bit groggy. I do like using oatmeal as kind of like a spot treament. I feel like it calms the redness down and possibly sucks some of the bad stuff out. Eitehr way skin not doing so well because of holiday eating/routine. Need to get back into healthy eating and exercising :/
I just signed up to say thank you to onefatalgoose! I tried this for almost a month now and I use it twice a day. Who knew green tea and sea salt will control my acne?lol. I had severe acne and been through a lot of medication for many years, not to mention accutane (been through it twice) but now, I only get 2-3 little pimples (huge improvement). If only I could get rid of the scars faster. Anyway, the only problem is that I get a lot of blackheads but overall I am very happy with this toner. Again, thank you onefatalgoose for sharing this, you really helped me a lot and I'm looking forward to your new toner. 
It's been a month since I switched from BP (after slowing down for weeks) to green rooibos, and unfortunately I haven't seen any improvement. Constantly getting new spots and some large, painful ones as well. I don't know what to do - I really wanted this to work, but maybe I'm one of those for whom it doesn't work. I can either keep using it a little longer, since I thought I didn't give it enough time my last attempt, or move on. I'm aware that diet can be the culprit, but so far (1 months), avoiding grains has done nothing. The search goes on...
Just wondering - has anyones toner gone bad? I made it about 2-3 days ago and last night and today, the smell was HORRIBLE. Basically resembled off milk 
This was my fourth batch and had never happened before, especially after just two days. I must have done something wrong? Hopefully doesn't happen to the one I made today.
Hey thanks for this post, I just made a batch, put 20 tea bags into 1.5 cups of water with some salt, and what I'm wondering is that while letting it steep for 10 minutes, will the water automatically take all the flavour out of the tea? Or should I stir it constantly? (All tea bags were soaked)
Will report what happens. I never had acne before, but after moving out of my parents house (I had to for work 
) I started getting it, even while I was eating better, sleeping better and exercising better. Probably because I'm never as relaxed living with landlords as my own family.
EDIT: Would a good indication that the solution is strong enough be that I can smell it in bed after applying to my face?
It's been a month since I switched from BP (after slowing down for weeks) to green rooibos, and unfortunately I haven't seen any improvement. Constantly getting new spots and some large, painful ones as well. I don't know what to do - I really wanted this to work, but maybe I'm one of those for whom it doesn't work. I can either keep using it a little longer, since I thought I didn't give it enough time my last attempt, or move on. I'm aware that diet can be the culprit, but so far (1 months), avoiding grains has done nothing. The search goes on...
Sorry to hear that SweDan. At least you gave it enough time to see if it really could make an improvement in your acne situation.
For so many people with acne, i feel like they made what would have been a short period of teen acne into something much worse by using harsh cleansers and creams. Which is why i believe simple/natural solutions like homemade toners and washes are so healing for many people.
But...that is not the case for everyone. And since acne stems from so many complex body functions, and those functions relationship to one another...it really is so difficult to pinpoint the exact cause from person to person
If you don't mind my asking, i'd be curious to know all the diet changes you've tried. Or even...the type of water you drink? Bath in?
Mini update:
Made this batch on monday, its thursday now, the thing I like about it is that I don't have to moisturize (as the olay cream I use makes my face feel kind of wierd)
More pimples breaking out, but I'll give it time, regular regime has been whatever facewash my mom buy's for my sisters, clean&clear, the super rocky types (st ives I think?)
EDIT: I keep a small amount in the cupboard and the rest in the fridge, will it last long enough, maybe 2 weeks without spoiling? Its been non refridgerated for 4 days already
@zijincheng, you might want to keep it all in the fridge if it's possible. I'm not entirely sure about the shelf life non-refrigerated. It could be days or weeks. And that's great that you don't need a moisturizer now. If you'd like some homemade cleanser ideas, i'd be happy to share any that i'm aware of
Also i'm putting together some pictures for the new toner i'm making, and loading them into a youtube video. i'd post them on the thread i'm going to start, but i believe it's against the board rules to advertise products. And i'm not sure if that qualifies as advertising. I think i'm going to ask the moderators about that
@zijincheng, you might want to keep it all in the fridge if it's possible. I'm not entirely sure about the shelf life non-refrigerated. It could be days or weeks. And that's great that you don't need a moisturizer now. If you'd like some homemade cleanser ideas, i'd be happy to share any that i'm aware of
Also i'm putting together some pictures for the new toner i'm making, and loading them into a youtube video. i'd post them on the thread i'm going to start, but i believe it's against the board rules to advertise products. And i'm not sure if that qualifies as advertising. I think i'm going to ask the moderators about that
Thanks for the reply, I put it in the fridge. Do you recommend a cleanser before putting this solution on? And would using my regular cleanser (clean&clear sensitive) be counterproductive, and work against this toner? I haven't been using any cleanser for the past few days, and a few more pimples have popped up, but like you said, pimples take many days to form, so these could have been just from before.
Do you recommend a cleanser before putting this solution on? And would using my regular cleanser (clean&clear sensitive) be counterproductive, and work against this toner?
I don't personally use a cleanser before hand. But you can, and if you do i would always recommend using something homemade. That way you control what you put on your face. Even these 'sensitive skin' washes can be too harsh for the skin. One really easy wash to make at home uses yoghurt and oatmeal. If you have a food processor, you can grind up the oats to a fine powder (or close to) and then add some to the yoghurt. This is going to be far more sensitive to your skin than any over the counter wash. Especially from Clean & Clear.
Ok, the new toner i'm making is up. You can check it out here:
http://www.acne.org/messageboard/index.php/topic/325096-white-willowlicorice-root-toner/
Do you recommend a cleanser before putting this solution on? And would using my regular cleanser (clean&clear sensitive) be counterproductive, and work against this toner?
I don't personally use a cleanser before hand. But you can, and if you do i would always recommend using something homemade. That way you control what you put on your face. Even these 'sensitive skin' washes can be too harsh for the skin. One really easy wash to make at home uses yoghurt and oatmeal. If you have a food processor, you can grind up the oats to a fine powder (or close to) and then add some to the yoghurt. This is going to be far more sensitive to your skin than any over the counter wash. Especially from Clean & Clear.
Hey, thanks for the reply, I feel like I don't need cleanser because most of the stuff washes off with water anyways, been a week using it now (accidentally knocked my big bottle of toner over left with a small one) and it seems like the acne got worse. 15% more spots, not sure whether my skin is still adjusting to it, or I should stop? One thing though, I realized that when I put this on, I don't need to put moisturizer, however my skin isn't 100% moisturized, there are still a few dry flakes in maybe 3-4 spots, would that aggravate it?
EDIT: I went ahead and put moisturizer on it, neutrogena sensitive skin something.
Ok, the new toner i'm making is up. You can check it out here:
http://www.acne.org/...ice-root-toner/
Checked it out, seems like the intended effect is similar to this? Just different natural ingredients with different chemicals?
EDIT: I went ahead and put moisturizer on it, neutrogena sensitive skin something.
Ok, the new toner i'm making is up. You can check it out here:
Checked it out, seems like the intended effect is similar to this? Just different natural ingredients with different chemicals?
There are more natural ways to moisturize, rather than using something OTC. Using OTC products mostly defeats the purpose of using the toner. Things like rose hip seed oil (very, very thin, fast absorbing oil), and/or fresh aloe vera from the plant (or close to it). Even powdered marshmallow root with a little water is very slimy and moisturizing to skin.
And yeah, the other toner uses a few different ingredients that provide some potentially powerful skin healing/regulating effects. Definitely worth giving a shot in my opinion
I noticed that somebody asked about how long this kind of toner stays good. A while back I looked at some research related to this. Unfortunately the catechins in green tea degrade quite rapidly. Under normal conditions you would find at home 50% were gone within the first 7 hours. Now, that's 50% starting from a lower concentration than what you get with so many teabags in a cup of water. Regardless, I wouldn't expect any tea to retain antioxidants for very long. You can extend the shelf-life somewhat by adding some vitamin C powder into the mix.
Interesting Sepsi. Thanks for sharing this. Adding vitamin C seems like a great idea for use in any skin treatment regardless.
I've actually read quite a bit about the research you've put into green tea. And it seems like you put alot of effort into it. I'm curious as to what is in these green tea creams that would keep the anti-oxidants from degrading. Do they add vitamin C to the lotions? Also i'd be curious about the anti-inflammatory properties (which might not degrade as fast as the anti-oxidants themselves, or at all depending on freshness of tea, i honestly don't know) Also if we go by what you've already uncovered, it seems like the higher the concentration, the more EGCG is going to penetrate the skin.
So it could be that the effectiveness of strongly concentrated green tea brews comes from the anti-inflammatory nature of the tea rather than the anti-oxidants.
If you don't mind, i'd actually like to link to your site discussing this. If you don't want this, just let me know
http://www.acneeinstein.com/topical-green-tea-for-acne/
http://www.acneeinstein.com/fresh-green-tea-topical-acne-treatment/
http://www.acneeinstein.com/hack-your-tea-2/
You also discuss much less sebum being produced when using topical green tea. Something i wasn't even aware of, so that is a huge plus. And you seemed to be concerned about the tea evaporating from your face when you used it topically, but would it not leave a residual layer behind? I guess i can answer that, as the concentration i describe can and does leave a greenish tinge to the skin. Long after application. (Which is why i've suggested using a less concentrated batch during the day)