Monday, March 28, 2016

Postpartum Hair Loss Remedies for New Moms

It is a common issue that most pregnant ladies face postpartum hair loss after delivery; usually from 3 months after delivery. Let's start from the basics.... Preggers may find that hair feels fuller during pregnancy. It is not that preggers grow more hair, its just losing it at a slower rate than usual. During pregnancy, higher levels of estrogen prolong the growth phase, resulting in lesser shedding of hair and thicker tresses. So postpartum hair loss is actually having your hair loss cycle back to its previous pattern thus you may notice more hair falling out. Not all preggers notice huge changes in their hair before and after giving birth, though for some it may feel drastic especially women with longer hair. I even seen some worse cases that lead to spot balding - so scary :( .

So this is me now, 6 months postpartum. Photo was taken after I had a pampering session with my stylist Charles, from Headlines Hairdressing. 

Im so glad up till now my hair are still intact. Haha.

I won't deny, surely there have been hair lost. But its not anything major. So I guess whatever I've been doing to manage the hair loss works?

1. Oral Supplement - Biotin
About the Product (product information taken from Amazon)

  • vitamin, supplement, Natrol, biotin, hair, skin, nails, health, maximum does
  • Supports healthy hair and nails, in addition to energy production
  • Water-soluble B-complex vitamin necessary for cell growth and the production and metabolism of fat into amino acids.

All these while I have slightly thinner hair on the crown of my head, I've been taking Biotin supplement months before I was pregnant and until I found out I was pregnant. My gynae didn't say it was dangerous to consume during pregnancy, but just advised that I could make do without just to be safe. So I only started consuming this product again after I stopped breastfeeding, which was also just about 2 months before I started shedding hair. Best to consult your gynae/ lactation consultant whether you can take this when breastfeeding.

There's two versions to this supplement brand, one which has 1,000mcg of Biotin and 10,000mcg of Biotin. This is exactly the one Im taking. Im not sure how much is needed to be effective, but being the Kiasu (aka fear of losing out) me I bought the one with the higher content. Haha.

Ingredients FYI.

2. Hair Loss Shampoo & Conditioner
As much as I try to use hair loss shampoo and conditioner to upkeep my tresses and minimize hair loss, I am not the kind who'd spend hundreds of dollars just on a set of shampoo & conditioner. Especially when I wouldn't know whether for sure whether it'll work for me. I got mine off qoo10, where each bottle on promotional price went for approximately $20+? Inclusive of delivery... Of course I did some research and read reviews of the product before settling on the purchase. 


Conditioner on the left, shampoo on the right. Both are of different brands if you can't tell, and both are products from Korea. The conditioner smelt quite nice, similar to regular conditioners. While the shampoo had a herbal smell and also was dark brown in colour - kind of like typical herbal hair loss shampoos. The shampoo actually dries hair out a little. My hair felt dry after washing but it was okay for me since I used conditioner to rinse out after. The herbal smell from the shampoo can be masked by the conditioner but if you are really really sensitive to such smells then you'd most likely still be able to smell the shampoo.

One other tip: use fingers instead of comb (otherwise wide-tooth comb) to brush through your hair gently while it's wet. Remember at this stage hair falls off easier so be gentle if you don't wish to pull out more hair.

3. Hair Loss Tonic & Hair Growth Lotion
I've been using Yanagiya hair loss tonic, the slight-scented version for a couple of months. It has a very mild citrus-y scent to it which was quite refreshing. Previously I tried the unscented version, it was scentless and minty. Both refreshing! You can find this also on qoo10, quite a few vendors are selling this product. Of course I just chose the cheapest one. Hurhur.


I also recently purchased a hair growth lotion from qoo10, same seller as the Yanagiya hair loss tonic. It was an additional (optional) add-on to the purchase of the hair tonic. Apparently also the same brand - Yanagiya. You're supposed to use the tonic on the scalp first after towel-drying hair, massage for 5 minutes then use the Alomail scalp lotion aka the hair growth lotion. What the combi is supposed to do - step 1: prevent hair loss, and step 2: promote hair growth. The Alomail scalp lotion was cooling, and had a mint smell to it.

4. Scalp Treatments
Ever since the start of my hair loss (from the fourth month postpartum), I've been going to my hair stylist, Charles for scalp treatments. Before my hair loss even started, I consulted Charles since I was worried and asked for preventive measures. I was recommended this treatment called the Matrix Sensoria Spa Cream Bath Scalp Treatment.

I'm now 6 months postpartum and till date I've only gone for 3 sessions of the scalp treatment. I tell you after the very last session (i.e. the third session), I could significantly feel MUCH LESS hair falling off. It was super obvious like immediately after the treatment session itself 'cuz when I brushed my hair with my fingers, there was no hair that came off in my hands. Im not joking! I remembered clearly that night I was thinking to myself maybe its just the first day so my hairs all intact since scalp was clean. Over the next couple of days I kept monitoring and tried the same thing, still either no hair or max one strand of hair fell off. That was comparing to previously where at least 5-7 strands of hair fell off EVERYTIME I ran my fingers through my hair. And I vouch till today (16 days since my 3rd session), my hair fall rate still remained the at the improved rate. HAPPY LAH!! Seems like the end of my hair loss days look like its close by, 'cuz I was told some Mummies suffer from postpartum hair loss up till 9/10 months.. :O

Oh ya, I did write about the Matrix Scalp treatment previously. If you need more details about it you can read up here. :)
So that comes to the end of this write-up. I'll have to say, different methods and remedies work for different mummies since our bodies react to different products differently. I also cannot be 100% sure which of the above remedies are/ not helping in reducing my postpartum hair loss but Im VERY SURE something is working.

Frankly speaking as I did mention, the most obvious change would be right after the 3rd session of the scalp treatment. I myself was surprised when the obvious effect took place so quickly but Im only emphazising b'cuz it really worked for me. Even after the first two sessions I went for didn't make me feel any different at all but I still continued going for the treatments because I knew there's not gonna be any remedies that would be effective immediately - everything needs time to work lah. You'd just have to be patient and manage your expectations. If and unless its taking too long then oopsie, you know you've just flushed some money down the drain.

Feel free to leave comments in the comments box below if you have any questions regarding this topic and I'll try my best to answer if its not already stated in my blog above. Thanks for reading! : D

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Beauty Review - Lip Embroidery with Beauty Recipe

Ever since I've became a Mom, I've got lesser time for myself and spend all my free time on my baby girl Fayth. I'd do what ever I have to quickly then give her 100% of my attention whenever I can. Dolling up is still necessary for me (even thou I'm a Mom) bcuz I like to minimally look presentable at most times (that I can). Its a habit cuz I have a mentality that "opportunity pops up anywhere", and so do people - lol. I've turned to semi-permanent makeup so I could cut shorter my prep time or even no makeup on the weekends but still look presentable. My latest treatment was Lip Embroidery with Beauty Recipe.



Here's what to expect as a customer at Beauty Recipe and how the treatment process goes...

Arriving at Beauty Recipe, Lisa seated at the reception area waiting. Shop seems small but environment is private and cosy - it is located opposite Parkway Parade, beside Standard Chartered Bank. They have another outlet at Jurong East too.

So this was the original colour of my lip, before I start my treatment.

Colours available to choose from. I was recommended the one on the far left, which would turn out pinkish and not so red. Bottom right shows brand new and sealed needles - every customer will have brand new ones for hygiene purposes. 

This was a photo shown to me on the colour/ effect I could expect after the treatment for the colour I chose in the pic above. Seems quite nice eh?

1st up, Lisa has to use lip liner to draw a shape of the embroidery for me to check on before she could get the real thing done. She only traced my lips since she advised that my original lip shape was nice enough and didn't need any changes.


After Lisa was done with the rough outline, seemed fine and I gave her the green light to start the embroidery.

A think mask was then laid over my lips, with some liquid which was also the numbing agent.

Waiting time for numbing mask to work was about 15 minutes? Was quite fast to feel the effect.

By the end of 20 minutes, my entire lip felt numb and weird 'cuz I couldn't feel anything at all. It felt so weird I started using my fingers to touch & pinch my lips for fun. Erm, you don't have to do that. Lol.

Getting some ink in.....
Initially before the needle touched my lip I was quite scared 'cuz I remembered for Eyebrow Embroidery even though the numbing cream started to take effect, there would still be slight feelings of the blade cutting throu the skin. But as Lisa begun and I took a deep breath in, I was surprised there was NO PAIN AT ALL. Really.. so relieved at that point. So can you imagine how numb my lips were, haha.

After a short while.... ta-dah~~ Ma sexy red Jolie lips. Ahahahaha... 

You can purchase this post-treatment gel to help quicken the recovery process. I think its a must-buy!! Twice a day or whenever your lips feel dry.

And so my lip embroidery was done, all thanks to Lisa!

You can see from this pic my lips looked a tad swollen, I felt kinda weird 'cuz it was swollen and numb - not a very nice combi. I asked for a mask to cover my lips while I went for lunch. It wasn't that bad, but I was not used to seeing my lips like sausage which could not be complete closed since it was swelling.

-- Recovery Process Over The Next One Week --




Day 1 (actual day of embroidery)

  • there was zero pain during the whole process. 
  • after numbing effect wore off, there was a slight tingly feeling.
  • lips were rather swollen, looked 30% larger than before (just my estimation).
  • I wore a mask after I left the shop 'cuz lips were really red and glossy, was not used to it.
  • could eat right after, but in a weird manner since lips were swollen and numb, also had to be careful not to get too much food onto my lips. Note: I was advised to avoid certain foods & drink during this period (will share list below).
  • iced lips at night to help reduce swelling, 10-15 minutes should be sufficient; rinsed/gargled with salt water after food to keep bacteria at bay.
  • application of post-care gel when ever necessary/dry.
  • and definitely need to avoid touching the embroidered area - you don't want to get your lips infected!

 Day 2

  • swelling went down by half, did not wear mask out of the house already.
  • there was no pain but lips felt tight, as if they were very dry so had to avoid stretching mouth too widely.
  • normal taking and eating was fine, just refrained from laughing or stretching mouth too widely. 
  • looked as though I was wearing red lipstick with super gloss.
  • continued to gargle with salt water after meals.
  • applied post-care gel whenever needed.
  • iced lips again at night.
  • no signs of peeling yet.



Day 3

  • by now swelling looked completely gone, but lips were still as red.
  • lips still felt very dry, I would say it felt as thou lips were cracking so I had to keep my mouth movements small.
  • when I has clean fingers, out of curiosity I tried to touch my lips.. and when pressing against the dried skin, it felt like the layer of skin "popped up", a little like blisters without fluid inside (if you get what I mean). It was strangely addictive to play with, haha! The "popped up" feeling felt like keropok, dry & hard. I could tell that most likely the entire row of skin would fall off together.
  • continued to apply post-care gel and gargled with salt water after meals.
  • since lips no longer swelled, I stopped icing lips that night.
  • during shower & brushing my teeth that night, as I was rinsing toothpaste off, I felt water running through between the dried skin and my lips. Most parts of the dried skin actually was detached from my lips but was just hanging off some parts that were not dried yet. Since there was a big piece of dried skin dangling from my upper lip, I helped myself with removing the redundant skin gentle (warning: please do it only if you are confident you can avoid hurting the raw areas! Otherwise just leave the skin alone until it falls off on its own).
  • can't wait for everything to come off!!


Day 4

  • lips looked uneven now that some of the skin had fallen off, i.e. some parts pinkish and some parts still red.
  • well, overall it still looked like red lipstick from afar.
  • top photo shows how my lips looked starting of the day.
  • for some reason, my lips started to itch by mid day - maybe its just part of recovery?
  • again that evening while bathing, the dried skin on my lips softened and started coming off a little more. Most big pieces came off and by the end of the night only 40% of dried skin is left.
  • bottom photo shows lips after shower - new skin revealed pinkish undertones.
  • lips felt sore, but no pain.



Day 5

  • upper photo showed lips in the morning, more skin fell off after brushing teeth in the morning. Most of them came off on my finger as I applied post-care gel.
  • bottom photo showed lips by mid day - after lunch more skin came off, again on my finger as I applied post-care gel. Think almost all dried skin is gone?
  • lips looked pink, and glossy with the post-care gel.
  • very natural-looking, love love!!
  • lips still felt a little sore, rims of my lip was flaking slightly.


 Day 6 

  • lips looked lovely in pink.
  • there seemed to be a rim of slightly darker colour on the outer of my lip embroidery, though not obvious in the photo.
  • lips still felt a little sore and dry, but I've started eating and drinking normally.



Day 7
  • flaking skin around lips were gone and everything looked perfect!
  • lips continued to feel minimally numb/tingly until around 2 weeks after embroidery.

Foods & Drinks to Avoid!
  • spicy food
  • hot food/drinks
  • seafood
  • raw food
  • chicken
  • eggs

I personally would recommend to have something dry and comes in pieces to eat since you tend to have your lips wrapped around a spoon if you drink soup or eat rice. I mostly had salad (which is a lighter choice) and anything similar which I could pick up with a fork and "deliver" into my mouth, just to avoid getting food onto my lips. Preferred to keep lips dry. And as for water, always room temperature and my coffee luke warm. All drinks were taken with straw. Well, my recovery seemed quite fast and well, so I guess I've been doing the right thing. ; ) 

This was me 1 week after my lip embroidery, with no make up except concealer. Hehe, very satisfied!
The lip embroidery package comes with 1 FOC touch up session, which I will decide after two months if it is necessary since the colour effect turned out quite well for me. I was advised I could only touch-up after 2-3 months when lips are ready for it, and usually whether lip colour changes/fades, would only show after 2 months.

The cost of Lip Embroidery ranges from $580-$880 (usual price), but currently there's an ongoing promotion @ $580 for new customers. Do call in to find out exact details of promotion and remember to book for an appointment first before heading down.

Telephone: 6567-3568
Email: enquirybeautyrecipe@gmail.com
Address: 87 Marine Parade Central, #01-503B. Singapore 440087.

Find out more about them @ http://beautyrecipe.com.sg/about-us/

So that's all for this write-up...
Feel free to leave comments in the comments box below if you have any question and I'll try my best to answer if its not already stated in my blog above. Thanks for reading! : D

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Cheers and stay tuned for more. 
; )

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

My Plastic Surgery Review with Wish Clinic Taipei - 3 Months Post Op

Hello there! If you have been following my blog posts for the last couple of months (Part1Part2Part3), you'd have known that I've went to Taipei last November to get my eyelids and nose done at Wish Clinic. Wanted to look pretty pretty for my wedding photoshoot and banquet. This blog post is just gonna be all about the updates post-op, 3 months later! Pics plssss~~~ P.s. all pictures have not been edited except one or two below where skin smoothener was added; for true results!
Left: 1 month post-op
Centre: 2 months post-op
Right: 3.5 months post-op

Top: 1 month post-op
Centre: 2 months post-op
Bottom: 3.5 months post-op

If you can tell, eyelid thickness is slowly going down. At this point it is still a little thick, but bcuz I did Ptosis, it usually takes minimum 6 months to look natural.

Top: 1 month post-op
Centre: 2 months post-op
Bottom: 3.5 months post-op

For my nose, you can see that its getting slimmer on the nose bridge as well as the tip; more streamlined which makes it more feminine.

Pictures taken 3 months post-op. This is me with only concealer and blusher - my typical day at work. Hardly wear much make up and mostly no eye make up now cuz I wanna let my lids recover well. Not that you can't wear eye make up, I just feel better w/o having to remove at the end of the day.

Hehe, CNY family portrait. Slight eyeliner here.

No make up; with skin smoothener. Want to pinch her face**!!

Ahahaha, got this off Facebook the other day. Left was me when I was 16 and right is like now. Much difference you think?

Above Vid shows me 3 months post-op; during CNY. :)

And this Vid shows my interview with Wish Clinic.

Anyway, this comes to the end of my plastic surgery review with Dr Chuang from Wish Clinic Taipei. The interview video above was a co-operation with Wish Clinic just to share.
If you'd like to book an apartment with Airbnb, here's the link using my code to get $28 off! http://www.airbnb.com.sg/c/vanessat19
If you need help on the location to book an apartment for, you may PM me and I'll gladly assist you on it.

Feel free to leave comments in the comments box below if you have any question and I'll try my best to answer if its not already stated in my blog above. Thanks for reading! : D

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Cheers and stay tuned for more. 
; )

Wednesday, March 02, 2016

Oh BABY - Baby Shower Event by Supermom on 26 February 2016


I was recently invited to a baby event organised by SuperMom - OH Baby Baby Shower event, which was held on 27 February 2016 @ Singapore Turf Club. The pre-event write-up seemed quite interesting with lots of contests for expecting Moms or already Moms to join so I thought why not?

Some highlights of the event include brunch/high tea, Mummy Pageant, free goodie bags, and lucky draw... Hey, free stroller and staycation.. not bad eh?

Event highlight photos taken from: http://supermom.com.sg/oh-baby-by-supermom
http://supermom.com.sg/oh-baby-by-supermom

On arrival at the event venue.. rainbow balloons at the registration area. Mummies or Mummies & Daddies-to-be reporting.

Free photo-taking area. Say cheese**


Hubs & I had to pose for one as well. Hah!

Some sponsors at the event... Baby Cakes Company.




Meet the guys from Balloon Blasters. They specialise in balloons for all parties and occasions. Website: http://www.balloonblasters.com.sg/

"Welcome New Baby" Balloon from Balloon Blasters.


A quick panoramic view of the ballroom.

Nestle Mom

Auum.

Apparantly AUUM is a nail salon who offers nail services using non-toxic polishes. Check their FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/auumsg/


Biocair Singapore.

Biocair offers lifestyle products which help protects from harmful germs and pollutant. Visit their website here.

Pigeon - needs no introduction. Am a big fan of Pigeon products - their milk bottles are a life saver.

Some breast pump on display, with bundle packages at the event.

Happy Sockshttps://www.happysocks.com/gl/?gclid=CP7w_cOtocsCFU4WaAodheQFRA


Happy Socks is available for orders online only at the moment.

Huggies - giving out some goodies.

Cryoviva - Cord Blood Banking. Booth set up for free consultation for Mummies & Daddies who'd like to know more.

Event passport... Summarizes all the booths available at the event.

Contest Time~ "What's Inside The Diaper Bag"? For those Mummies who missed the event.... guess what's the price for winning this game?

Ju-Ju-Bu BFF Hello Kitty Collection... WOAH!! Envious lah!


Another fun contest for expecting Mummies, "Beautiful Mummy Pageant". I joined once sometime last year at SuperMom Bazaar, was a really great experience which I can share with Baby Fayth when she's older. I think ALL Mummies should participate, its super fun!

One of the Mummies whom I felt was really cute & sporting.

Another beautiful Mummy.
Contest for Daddies.. Diaper Wearing Contest! Haha. Look at them chiong to be the fastest diaper wearer.

Diaper inspection time. Lol...

Brunch/ High Tea was provided.

Food from Chilli Padi. Highly recommended Peranakan restaurant & catering. I personally frequent this place when I wanna have a some Peranankan food. Check out their website here

Mummy winnner of the Aprica Stroller prize. Shiok! Just in time for the little one.

Guess who I met at the event? Mummy Calista who's the writer behind MLBB, also the Mummy speaker for the day.
That kinda sums up the event. Full seating!

These were just some of the highlights of the event. Pictures speak a thousand words, I hope the pictures were enough to give you a feel how the event went. Please pardon for the dark pictures since the background was day-light lit. I really enjoyed myself (even thou not an expecting Mummy right now) so I can see how much more fun and fulfilling this event would be for expecting Mummies; with the contests and prizes all catered for expecting Moms... Highly recommended!! 

Thank you SuperMom for the invite to such a wonderful event. Looking forward to more!

Do feel free to leave me a comment for more qns on this topic and if you liked reading my blog posts and would like to read more of my writings, do follow me for more updates!
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Cheers and stay tuned for more. ; )