In one week, two messages about "collaborations" and paid deals. I've asked both what they mean, what kind of content it is but no answer, as expected. I'm guessing they're bots and only know to respond to acceptance but now more than ever am I convinced that there's a PR infestation here TT
For context-
blue - me (22f)
yellow - my niece (13f)
red - my BIL (30m)
green - my bf (23m)
My niece called me yesterday afternoon, saying she hadn't eaten and she was really hungry. She's 13 but she has mild cerebral palsy so she's not able to do a whole lot, especially make a meal for herself. My sister (33f) is a SAHM who quit her job to care for my niece. My BIL is a resident doctor and on this particular day, he was working a shift. I sympathise with that, it's not easy, and my niece loves me so I try to help out as much as I can with her care.
The fridge is usually stocked with food that my niece knows to heat up in the microwave but there apparently was none yesterday, which is why she called me. When I got there, the place was a mess. Things everywhere, laundry not done (huge loads of it just scattered), many dishes not done and still in the sink. My sister wasn't there, nor was BIL. My niece said my sister left in the morning and hadn't been back since. Immediately I was worried so I called my sister a few times but she didn't reply but I could see her location and she was like an hour away. I decided I'd talk to her about it later after focussing on my niece. When I called my BIL, he was just finishing up his shift and said he'd come home soon. He sounded tired and said he hadn't eaten yet when I asked, I was about to cook for my niece anyway, so I made extras.
He got home, we ate, I helped him clean up the place and then he crashed. I left soon after making sure my niece was okay and settled. Today, my sister sends me the above messages because my BIL and her fought over her absence. I didn't want to go in hot and accuse her of things but why would she be an hour away, leaving her disabled daughter home alone with nothing to eat, and she hadn't eaten since the night before! The place was a mess and come to find out from my BIL, they're not on the best terms with each other due to my sister's recent spending. A resident's salary isn't exorbitant and it's barely covering the care material needed for my niece on top of general living.
She even "threatened" to tell my boyfriend of a few months about me going over "for BIL" like I was the one being shady which raised all kinds of alarms for me bc my bf knows I help out wherever I can. Of course I love my BIL, he's been in my life since I was a child myself, he's like a good big brother to me. And my bf is the one that dropped me off and offered to stay and help but I know my sister and BIL don't like strangers in the house, fair enough. So he dropped and picked me up, that's it.
I'm suspecting infidelity but I don't know how to bring it up when she's like this. She's coming over in a while to my parents' house (I live with them) and I just know it'll be a whole thing. AIO?
I naturally have soft black hair but I want to try a really dark, "blacker than black" style. I've looked online and people have said that adding either a blue tint/overlay or purple one over a dark brown/soft black can help reach that. I honestly love the idea of a little tint to my hair but it still stays black in most lighting. I'm wondering which colour would be better for a warm-neutral light olive. I look quite nice in jewel tones, have deepset, largely round and dark brown eyes so they're very prominent. I want to pick a colour that won't wash them out.
Anyone have any experience or opinions here?
21F, I've been on tret for the last 2 years, 0.05% (initially 0.1%, now at maintenance). The confidence is honestly insane after being a teen bullied for acne.
Skin type - combo leaning dry and dehydrated with rosacea. I also have a condition called autoimmune progesterone dermatitis so luteal week is inflammatory hell, but it's well managed.
Current routine-
AM - Dokdo cleanser, Mixsoon beta glucan, Illiyoon ceramide cream, Roundlab birch juice sunscreen
PM - Bioderma micellar water when I wear makeup, Dokdo cleanser, Mixsoon beta glucan, Tretinoin gel (0.05%), Illiyoon ceramide cream and Bepanthen nappy ointment around the eyes and corners of mouth.
For me, it's high volume eating. The kind where influencers show how you can eat close to a kilogram of food in a sitting for 500cals. Or 50-60g protein per meal. That was the bane of my gut's existence.
I've lost about 32kg (70.5lbs) and high volume eating made my life hell in the beginning. I'm not on any meds that curb appetite but I've always been a low-volume eater, it's easier to gain weight like that, yeah, but now that I'm where I want to be, I've been doing some reflection on my dieting methods.
I hopped on the "high volume nutrient dense" bandwagon early on, but I was always bloated, felt uncomfortable, nauseous and struggled to finish the food which made me tired. Eventually I got so sick of it that I started doing low volume nutritionally dense food.
My main goals were protein and fibre (100g and 30g respectively). I bought a fibre supplement online (13g/serving) and I'd add that to my water bottle and sip over the day. That covered my prebiotic fibre. I'd eat 2 fruits a day spaced out (usually apples and/or pears) for insoluble fibre and 1 glass of chia seed water at night so I could wake up and empty promptly. I also replace a portion of my muesli with plain wheat bran for insoluble fibre.
For protein, I'd prep chicken breast in thin slices, marinate and then air-fry low and slow with butter till kind of crispy. I'd have about 150g worth (raw weight) per day in small batches which covered about 35g of protein. Small protein muesli bowls with 75-100g greek yogurt, my fruit (cooked) and 20-30g of the muesli became an almost daily dinner for me, especially when i didn't feel like chia water, I'd just add the chia to the yogurt and make a pudding-type situation. I'd also eat rice toasted in ghee or butter with a portion meat or tofu and high-calorie condiments (in moderation ofc), or a creamy bean and lentil soup. I tried eating a ton of lettuce or broccoli with seasoned meat but I could never eat it and feel good, I'd bloat and get sick so this worked so much better for me. Also stopped eating breakfast bc I really just hate it.
I stopped bloating, stopped feeling nauseous and tired and I felt the energy to work out and actually saw the weight drop. I don't hv anything against high-volume eating but I used to force myself to eat that way thinking I just had to eat large amounts of food to feel satiated when I've always preferred low-volume. I just made a few "half-way" swaps to cut down on calories and I dropped the weight. Even now, I eat low volume and nutrient dense and my gut is just so happy.
Skin type - acne-prone, especially on the forehead, comedones, dehydrated but T-zone and chin were quite oily + rosacea
Before picture - Late October 2024
After picture - Today afternoon (Note that I am wearing a slight lip tint in the after so pls don't ask how I got rid of lip pigmentation; I didn't. )
Routine (has been the exact same for the last 1yr 10mos)-
AM - dokdo cleanser, Bellflower 3% ectoin, Illiyoon ceramide cream, Purito urban sunscreen spf50
PM - Bioderma micellar water as first cleanse, dokdo cleanser, Bellflower 3% ectoin, K-Seoul 2% liposomal retinal, Illiyoon cream and Bepanthen ointment around eyes and corners of mouth.
Lighting - indoor white light in first picture and natural light by a window in the second picture.
As you can see, I do still have some texture, especially on the forehead, but that's pretty normal for human skin. Getting into the star products-
Retinal - OTC retinoid, increases cell-turnover. I particularly like the liposomal delivery method which is basically the retinaldehyde molecules encapsulated in the liposomes to protect the molecules and maintain stability. This makes sure it can penetrate deeper into the skin but it's like a controlled system, slowing down the release of the retinal so it doesn't irritate the skin as much. Initially, I experienced mild peeling on the chin and around my nose, but that subsided in 2 weeks. After that, it was pretty smooth-sailing.
Ectoin - a powerful antioxidant that acts as a strong humectant to hydrate skin (which is why I paired it with the retinal which can induce trans-epidermal water-loss) and cellular shield. Great for sensitivity, redness, dryness and is gentle enough to be paired with actives like retinal. I use Bellflower's 3% which is on the high side of what you'd find commercially in a dedicated ectoin serum. You'd usually find it otherwise, in moisturisers for dermatitis like by E-45. Really helped with my rosacea flares and not letting the retinal irritate my skin and flaring up my rosacea.
She's 4 years old and we had a rescue golden who passed in December of cancer at age 5.5. She had him all her life since we picked her up at 2 months old, and since he passed, she's been totally different in the worst way. She didn't play at all for the first 2 months, barely ate, and we could see how scared she was of everything. Her daily walks, other people, other dogs and animals, it's like the world scared her without her fluffy companion.
We decided to take a road trip with her, maybe give her a change of scenery now that she was feeling a little better and more confident in doping things. This was her on the trip to our hotel after seeing a monkey!
Where do you guys find whimsical earrings from? I'm on the hunt for preferably steel and resin earrings but I can't find any. Tried my hand with Etsy but a single pair is like 5-6k or 3k minimum :(
This lady in the Korean plastic surgery sub said she went to South Korea, signed a legally binding waiver without understanding the language, not under duress. And she was mad, calling it abuse and invalid.
I'm South Korean, I work as a medical malpractice attorney dually qualified in the UK and SK. I told her that no one forced her to go to South Korea for elective plastic surgery, no one forced her to go to that clinic, no one forced her to sign the waiver, but she did anyway fully knowing that she didn't understand the language.
Then she berated me so I gave it right back to her and called her a clown because who gets mad when a contract they signed voluntarily doesn't play out to their whims? I told her she sounded like an American Karen with how she got angry over a country functioning in their national language. She misinterpreted "like an American Karen" as in she was behaving like one to be "you are" and corrected me with her final response after I said I wouldn't reply and engage anymore. I'm posting the text, images are apparently not allowed in post.
Interesting_Park9457 - "22 year old trainee from India, unfortunately I don’t take orders from the help. Nor from peasants. That’s alI. You are dismissed."
Now, I've spent a lot of time in India, my adoptive parents took me in when they were on vacation in Korea. I spent the first 9 years of my life in Mumbai then Chennai until we moved to SK for me. I've never known Indians to be like this. Everyone I knew was progressive, some of my closest friends are the most empowering Indian women I've encountered. My friends have been struggling with the recent wave of Indian hate and people like this just propagate it in a public multi-national sub. "I don't take orders from the help" and "peasants" is just vile. I'm sorry, this is quite a self-serving spiel and I'm in no way generalising. A part of me wants to show how internally ugly people can be, and how comfortable we are being so rude on social media. Such rampant bigotry in someone so young.
I've been on tret 0.05% since April 2023. I'm 21F, started it for nodular and cystic acne as a teen that wasn't responsive to azelaic acid, benzoyl peroxide, niacinamide and salicylic acid. This finally worked for me!
NOTE: I don't really have a true before pictures as I was a highly insecure teenager who hated taking pictures at the peak of my acne. The December 2024 one was a snapchat picture (without filter) when my active acne settled 7-8 months in and it was mostly hyperpigmentation. The before picture was also taken in my room, indoor white light and the after in natural light. No makeup on the face but I do have a tinted lipbalm on in the after.
Skin type - combo in general but can change quite a lot depending on season and sometimes stress. I have rosacea and autoimmune progesterone dermatitis with mild eyelid eczema.
Rest of my routine-
AM - Roundlab Dokdo cleanser, Iunik beta glucan serum, Illiyoon moisturising cream and Thank You Farmer's mineral sun fluid.
PM - same but no sunscreen and tret 0.05% after serum and before moisturiser.
Picture details - No makeup, no filters, in front of a window so natural light taken today!
I've been on tretinoin for 3 years, I'm 21 now and these are the skin conditions I have-
What this post is - I got over 15 DMs of people who read my comment on tret helping with my acne and the "tret glow" and they wanted to see the results, so thought I'd post it here instead doing it one by one. This is just to show you my personal results with it, and yes, I HAVE A DOCTOR'S PRESCRIPTION AND HAVE BEEN USING IT STRICTLY UNDER MEDICAL GUIDANCE.
What this post isn't - an advertisement for tret; if you want to explore retinoids, see a dermatologist. I'm not telling anyone to start tretinoin, I'm not saying you will see these results, everyone is different. My skin isn't perfect, I do have texture but I've never had any clinical cosmetic procedures like peels or laser so my skin will not be flawlessly pore-less, there is no such thing as pore-less skin. I'm not putting this under product review flair bc I think it's in bad faith to treat a medical-grade drug as such.
Rest of my routine-
AM - Roundlab Dokdo cleanser, Iunik beta glucan serum, Illiyoon moisturising cream and Hello farmer's mineral sun lotion
PM - same routine as AM but tretinoin after my serum and before moisturiser, and no sunscreen at night obv. Every now and then, especially during summer, I use Conscious Chemist's SA cleanser 2-3x a week on my nose and forehead alone as I'm combo skin.
Side effects - I had purging when I started that lasted 4 weeks but then it settled and it's been smooth sailing since. No, I haven't experienced dry eyes or meibomian gland dysfunction because I don't apply around my eyes and I buffer with bepanthen around the eyes before tret. Tret cream made me break out, gel was great (menarini) but a little harsh so I switched to a micronised gel and it's been amazing.
EDIT: added a pic from December 2023 when I was about 7 months into using tretinoin. My active acne had settled by this point and it was mostly texture and PIH. Don't have pics of way before bc I was a heavily insecure teen who didn't like pictures bc of my acne.
I'm on tretinoin for acne, and have rosacea + I live in the UK with dry/dehydrated combo skin, and I'm prone to contact dermatitis; so this combination of circumstances warrants deep hydration and barrier support. I used to love the Iunik beta glucan serum when it was a simple product with predominantly beta glucan (they've gone from 400k to 160k ppm). Recently re-purchased after blowing through my stock and it stings, causes redness, and triggers my rosacea. I came to find out that they've reformulated, so I'm guessing something new just isn't working for me. I know it's not my skin, I've been steady using this serum for 2 years, I usually buy in bulk from OY, and haven't gone more than a couple of days without it.
Anyone have any recs with minimal ingredients lists? I'm not one to villainise "chemicals" and all, but I have sensitive skin and a short list helps me identify what may or may not be causing the reactions and what to look out for with my allergies. I try to avoid herbal extracts, I think heartleaf is the only one that works for me, but I just love beta glucan. Stopped all peeling with tret, my face never feels tight even during winters, and my rosacea has been well-managed with it. Even hives and itching from any allergic reactions settle with it. I'm going to try the mixsoon essence since it's 100% beta glucan (reportedly), but thought I'd ask around for recs too.
To preface: Reddit said AIO was loving it and abusive relationships might too lol, now I'm genuinely curious if this counts or if I'm just being a dunce about it.
I'm 22F and have been with my bf for the last 7 months. It's honestly been pretty great, he's very attentive, very mindful of communicating, I loved that he's always done his best to empathise with me, but I feel like he's taking it a little too far.
Last month, a client at work was hassling me and had been stalking me for a while, which eventually escalated physically into an attack. I'll save the details, but it ended in him being arrested and left me with some baggage. Physically, my injuries were minor and healed within a couple of weeks, but it's something I've been in therapy to manage. One thing I want is to just forget about this and not dwell, it's how I deal with things, and imo, I spent enough time talking about it and venting to people around me, now I'd like some normalcy and to focus on the future.
My boyfriend was nothing but supportive, but now he keeps coddling me in the worst way? Every single day, several time a day without fail, he brings up details and memories of the day even though I've asked him explicitly not to. But he just responds with a "but you're traumatised". I've been talking to my therapist, I have an outlet, I have guidance, I told him I don't need this from him, but he got upset. He tells new people I meet about what happened and tells them to "be gentle" with me because I've "experienced significant trauma" unprompted.
It's like I can never move on from this when he's around and it's suffocating. It's kind of infuriating being told how I should be managing the aftermath of MY experiences. What's so wrong about wanting to forget about it? He also follows me EVERYWHERE. Drops me off at work, picks me up (which I greatly appreciate) but he shows up at hangouts with my friends, to my parents' house when I visit, even just going on errands, he's always around "for my safety" and brings up these details, I'm kind of at my wit's end here but feel kind of crazy for finding his concept of "care" to be suffocating.
He gets really mad if I try to go out without him, my only place of peace is a badminton class I signed up for women only, and I met a lovely couple there. When I introduced him to them when he came to pick me up, he just straight up told them everything, including imo unnecessary details of the assault, and they haven't spoken to me since.
I'm 22F and have been with my bf for the last 7 months. It's honestly been pretty great, he's very attentive, very mindful of communicating, I loved that he's always done his best to empathise with me, but I feel like he's taking it a little too far.
Last month, a client at work was hassling me and had been stalking me for a while, which eventually escalated physically into an attack. I'll save the details, but it ended in him being arrested and left me with some baggage. Physically, my injuries were minor and healed within a couple of weeks, but it's something I've been in therapy to manage. One thing I want is to just forget about this and not dwell, it's how I deal with things, and imo, I spent enough time talking about it and venting to people around me, now I'd like some normalcy and to focus on the future.
My boyfriend was nothing but supportive, but now he keeps coddling me in the worst way? Every single day, several time a day without fail, he brings up details and memories of the day even though I've asked him explicitly not to. But he just responds with a "but you're traumatised, it's good to talk". I've been talking to my therapist, I have an outlet, I have guidance, I told him I don't need this from him, but he got upset. He tells new people I meet about what happened and tells them to "be gentle" with me because I've "experienced significant trauma" unprompted.
It's like I can never move on from this when he's around and it's suffocating. I can tell it's not malice, he's just not capable of that level of harming people but it's kind of infuriating being told how I should be managing the aftermath of MY experiences. What's so wrong about wanting to forget about it? He also follows me EVERYWHERE. Drops me off at work, picks me up (which I greatly appreciate) but he shows up at hangouts with my friends, to my parents' house when I visit, even just going on errands, he's always around "for my safety" and brings up these details, I'm kind of at my wit's end here but feel kind of crazy for finding his concept of "care" to be suffocating.
I'll go first! I started on a ketoconazole shampoo 2x a week + a redensyl hair serum twice a day. My hair's much more dense now after unexplained hairfall that wasn't genetic, and just this imo, makes me look very put together and just enhances my face. Although, it did take about a year on this regiment to see the change.
Another thing I do is eat enough fibre. In the last year, I've really upped my fibre intake after we found a couple of polyps in my colonoscopy. I'm at about 28-35g per day and I've noticed my stomach get flatter. My overall weight hasn't gone down by more than 2kg, I wasn't overweight before either, but I can tell my midsection is slimmer now.
What are your small and consistent habits that don't give you instant gratification but in the long-term make you really see the change? I'm trying to move away from this expectation of instantaneous results, it's been messing with my mind, so what tips can you share?
I'm looking to get a helix and vertical lip labret done. This isn't my first time doing the helix, I went to a tattoo studio that did piercings but they put the wrong jewellery and it healed up terribly so I let it close. Anyone have any experience with places that follow sterile procedure with people who know what they're doing?
I'm 23F, my boyfriend is 25M. Put plainly, he's obese, at 6'2 and 283lbs. For context, he used to be an athlete in highschool and university but suffered a back injury at 19. The injury itself healed up within a year and he was cleared for normal activity (not competitive sports but working out and daily life). He had to quit his sport which I know took a toll on him and he had a phase of eating to cope and was depressed and pretty much a recluse. He went from 175lbs to 250lbs during this phase but lost it with the help of a good therapist and trainer.
I met him towards the end of that journey in the gym and we really hit it off. However, he's gained back all the weight and more, and it's really affecting his health. He's stopped working out as well, completely. He'll maybe take a 20min walk 1-2x a week. He can't tie his shoes without huffing and puffing, he's officially a type-2 diabetic, borderline hypertensive, has sleep apnea and his back has been killing him. His doctor made it clear that after the injury, he'd have to maintain the lower-middle end of normal body fat to avoid pain and strain on the spine. But being obese and having a bf% of 34% (per his last scan) has literally been killing him. Needless to say, our intimacy is suffering but tbh that's not really on the forefront of my mind.
For the last year, I've been trying to get him to work out more and mind his intake. Nothing crazy, I've invited him to the pool with me hoping that was low-impact enough for him, I've tried getting him to go on pleasant evening walks with me, I bought him a walking pad when he said that walking helped ease the tension in his lower back and hips. But none of it stuck. I started cooking for him instead of agreeing to takeout, still made good food, just made a few swaps, tried to switch to a whole-food diet with ultra-processed stuff only 1-2x a week, etc. He consulted a dietician but couldn't stick to the plan, went to an obstretician for potential surgery but they refused when he couldn't drop 7-10lbs in a month as trial.
He's become a slob. He eats in bed, makes a mess and I have to change the sheets, and when I tell him I'm giving up on him, he just says "good riddance" and goes straight back to eating. Physically, I'm not attracted to him but with his attitude lately, I'm emotionally detached. I know he's struggling and needs help but I'm clearly not able to push him towards that and it's really affecting me, watching him be so irresponsible with himself. I've suggested going back to his old therapist but he just insulted her and said it was never happening. I'm checked out now and want to leave but I feel kind of icky for leaving over looks. To me, I know the body changes, there will be ups and downs, heavier and lighter days, but it's the complete unwillingness to consider his health when he's diabetic at 25. I want a family some day, healthy kids, a healthy pregnancy, all of which he's said he wants with me but he's just not taking care of himself and it's been established that the father's health matters just as much. AIO?
