Guest Post - Ed the Tortoise

Hello! My name is Lord Edwin Goji Berry of Haslemere...or Ed for short. I'm Harriets tortoise and today I'm going to share my beauty routine and tips with you!

First off let's talk diet. I suppose you could say that I'm on the alkaline diet eating greens and greens and greens it's the way forward! Dandelions and vetch are my favourite but I'm also partial to a nice slice of juicy cucumber to help me stay hydrated. It's good for you humans too, with vitamins A, B and C and it's good for your kidneys! 

I take a nice warm bath every day or two to wash any any sneaky bits of dirt and it's helps my digestion! 

After my bath I get dried off and go out in the garden for some exercise!

Every so often I like to have a bit of olive oil rubbed on to my shell! 

Ooh look I'm so shiney!! Olive oils not just for your salad either, you can put it on your finger nails if they are flaking and it helps them grow, and you can use it as a hot oil treatment on your hair...maybe I should tell Harriet, she's always banging on about bigger hair...

Vitamin D from Mr Sunshine is also very important for me, it helps my shell grow. If the sun is having a day off then I have a special light to keep me healthy. 

Oh, yes I love it under here- toasty warm!

 My last beauty tip for you all is to get lots and lots of sleep! 

Sometimes I get so tired I forget to sleep in my shell! Oops! Sleep is important to help digest your food properly and help your body recover from the day, personally I have about 15 hours sleep a night plus several naps. Naps are essential!!

Anyway, that's all from me for today...I'm off to the garden...

Lush Cosmetic Warrior Face Mask

No one can resist Lush Cosmetics right? Just walking past the smell lures you in, making you want to sniff bathbombs until you feel quite sick in the head.
I thought I would share with you my favourite Lush product in this post. Cosmetic Warrior facemask. Now this, unfortunately, doesn't have the amazing Lush smell I was talking about- in fact if I'm honest it smells like wet dog. But its great! A few years ago when my skin had terrible acne I would use it regularly, but now I use it every so often if I feel like I'm having a bad skin day.

It instantly reduces redness and makes your skin look less angry, and the natural ingredients mean there (shouldn't be!) anything to irritate your skin further.
You keep it in the fridge so as you apply it, it quickly cools and soothes. The instructions recommend leaving it on for 5-10 minutes, but I normally leave it on as long as I can, then gently soak it off with warm water.

Other great things about Lush... 

They don't test products on animals

You can see who made your product and when

They have a great recycling scheme-trade in 5 empty pots for a free one!

Roaccutane Days

Since the documentary about the roaccutane drug 'Dying For Clear Skin' was shown on the BBC late last year it has come in to the public eye in a very negative way. During 2011 and 2012 I did two 3 month courses of the drug and wanted to share my experience for any one who is considering seeing a dermatologist for their acne.

I had terrible skin since I started secondary school, staring out with a few little red spots on my nose to eventually covering my whole face. My mum first dragged me to the doctors when I was about 13, I didn't really want to go, I wasn't that bothered about my spots- teenagers get spots right?! On this first visit I was prescribed some topical solution to be used in the evening. All went well and after a few weeks I noticed an improvement...then it stopped. Back to the doctors, another cream which worked then stopped on to antibiotics, creams, gels, contraceptive pills, hormone balancers...this went on for the best part of 10 years of my life. Outside of the prescribed medication I tried all the various anti-spot over the counter medicines, you know the ones- Freederm, Clearasil, Tee Tree Oils. Went to various places for facials and glycolic peels. Just like with everything, there was good times and bad times with my skin, but once I got in to my 20's it really started to bother me. I was too old for spots now.

I tried not to let it affect me, just hide it all under make up and no one would notice. But as I stood each morning caking my face I thought; I shouldn't have to be doing this. There were a few occasions where I thought I looked so bad I missed social occasions making up an excuse to stay in.

Enough was enough and back I went to the doctors. Having looked through everything I had been prescribed over the last 10 years she decided there was nothing else for it but to refer me to a dermatologist to be considered for roaccutane. She gave me a leaflet and warned me about possible side effects, but st that point I was desperate and ready for the next thing!

I had to go to our local hospital to meet with the dermatologist. I was weighed, measured and asked to do a pregnancy test before she handed over my new prescription. She told me to be aware of my mind and my body and to take the tablets accordingly, up to 3 a day.

I started the course that night and saw results really quickly. No new spots were coming through! Finally! All I had were the ones already on my face.

However, during this time side effects also kicked in. I was warned by a friend that I would 'dry up' and they weren't wrong! My lips became very chapped and I was piling on lip salve every 5 minutes, and putting chapped nipple cream (designed for breast feeding!) on the corners of my mouth as they were splitting and bleeding. You have to put factor 50 on everyday to stop your skin drying out, but despite this I could still pull it off in sheets with tweezers- disgusting! You get dry eyes and have to carry around eye drops and be careful driving. You get nosebleeds as the skin up your nose cracks. Even your lady parts are affected! One of the plus sides was that my hair didn't get greasy...ever! This was a blessing during festival season!

All of his makes it sound like a terrible experience, but it really wasn't. I watched happily as my skin quickly cleared and transformed to match everyone else's around me. If I found these effects were bothering me I simply dropped down to 1 tablet until symptoms had eased. I never progressed to 3 tablets. 

For the 'mental' side of things, I felt no different. I was happier as my skin was clearing! I do understand that there are negative mental side effects causing depression and anxiety which is why it has to be prescribed by professionals and for a short course. You have to go back to visit the dermatologist before you can collect your next prescription to be assessed, so if you have any worries or concerns this is the time to speak out or adjust your dose. For me it was a miracle and I'm so glad I took it. Two years on and my skin is still great! Of course I still get the odd little spot, who doesn't.

 Now I have rambled on enough...but I hope this is helpful to any one who is going through or considering roaccutane treatment. What's your experience, or do you have another wonder drug? Let me know in the comments below!