skin care and sun protection

i was born fair. in my teens and in my twenties, i used to sunbath with hardly any protection because i wanted the golden tan look. but i hardly achieved that look, instead, i end up looking like an overcooked shrimp with peeling skin a few days after.

then i noticed that i had brown spots all over my face. nanay (my daughter's ever trustworthy caregiver) would tell me that i have "peke" skin because underneath my makeup are the dreaded sun spots. my derma prescribed obagi but tested me first for adverse reaction, thankfully (since i cannot afford it, he he he), i am allergic to the whitening part and can only tolerate the foaming gel and the toner which i had been using consistently since then. it is really good. i had intense pulse light (IPL) on some of my dark spots and most of them are now gone. the diamond peel also worked wonder because my pores are now smaller. my best friend, maribel, and i used to admire the blown up pictures of models with hardly a pore in sight (that was before we knew that the pics were airbrushed, **he he he**) and although my skin is nowhere near that perfection, at least the pores are less visible, and i think it's partly due to diamond peel. a word of caution though, a lot of so called beauty centers offer diamond peel, inquire first if the technicians are trained and if they are supervised by a board certified dermatologist.

my derma also prescribed sunblock. i used to think that i don't need sunblock because i am rarely exposed to the sun but turns out that even a few minutes of exposure will condemn your skin to the dreaded sun spots, ugggghhhhh

i tried a lot of sunblock and the results varied, such as:

• ashy gray film
• oily film
• pungent smell
• stings especially when applied on the folds of the nose

i especially hate it when my face turns into a wok of oily face at noontime. then i tried shiseido, and no, this is not an advertisement for shiseido, it's just that i am so happy with its performance. i have been using it for about two years now and i have no complaints whatsoever. it is not sticky, it does not make my face a target for shell and petron, it does not sting, and it is fragrance-free. the drawback is that it is more expensive than the other brands but a tube lasts about six months so it's really worth it.