Wanted: Home remedy for back pimples

Dear Mary,

I have pimples on my back. What causes them and what can I do to treat them if a derma is not an option? Is there any product in the stores that I can buy or something that can be made at home for this kind of problem? If they leave dark scars, what can be applied?

Cathy

These pimples usually come out when one has oily skin. Buy a bath brush with a long handle and scrub your back gently with soapy suds. This will help a lot. Do not use any cream as it might aggravate the problem. There will be scars, but they will go away after a while.

Mary

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Say Eye To Inexpensive Creams

Dear Lucy,

Good day! I’m turning 34 and I’ve noticed that there are already lines forming under my eyes and at the sides. What kind of cream could you recommend that is affordable to lessen those lines? And also, what kind of whitening cream can you recommend that is also not expensive for my nine-year-old daughter who has dark spots due to mosquito bites? She has white complexion. Please don’t suggest an expensive cream because I’m only a single parent.

Viel

An eye cream is a must for women because caring for the eye area is often neglected and overlooked. There are a lot of inexpensive but very good eye creams on the market. One that immediately comes to mind is the Nivea Visage anti-wrinkle Q10 eye zone cream. It is a high-performance wrinkle repair cream with proven visible benefits around the eyes. Also very good is Revitalift Eyes from L’Oreal.

Remember that for an eye cream to really work, you have to apply it diligently and regularly. And do not be discouraged by the fact that you are paying several hundreds of pesos for a tiny pot of eye cream – a little goes a long way and the contents of the seemingly small pot will serve you much longer than you initially think.

I remember when we were kids, our yayas would bathe us in guava water nightly to rid our skin of any scars caused by mosquito bites or wounds. It must have helped because I don’t see any visible scars on my skin and that of my siblings and cousins whose yayas did the same. I also remember that Eskinol was popularly used then to whiten dark spots.  

All that said, I believe that prevention is key so perhaps you can apply a mosquito repellant on your daughter’s skin and encourage her not to scratch the bite. Also, teach her not to peel off the scab prematurely because it can reopen the wound and thus lengthen the natural healing process unnecessarily.    

Lucy

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Who Nose The Best Plastic Surgeon?

Dear Tingting,

I’m going to go through a rhinoplasty revision (nose surgery) again, but I’m not sure which doctor to choose. I’m going through this again because my nostrils are not symmetrical and I feel conscious most of the time because of this mistake, which I want to correct. However, I don’t know if I should go to Dr. Agcaoili or Dr. Corazon Collantes-Jose. Both are board members of the Society for Cosmetic Surgeons here, but I don’t know which one is better because neither would show me their past work. Could you please help me by asking around? I just want my nose to look natural and mestiza at the same time.

Rina

I’m sure Dr. Agcaoili and Dr. Jose are good plastic surgeons who, however, for reasons of confidentiality, could not show their patients’ pictures for you to see. We must understand that. Since you asked, I’ll give you two more names to choose from: Dr. Conrado de Gracia at Medical City and his student once upon a time Dr. James Joaquino of Clinica Manila.

Tingting

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