As you may or (and I hope) may not have noticed, I seem to have broken out slightly  around my face and neck. In the past I have not been one for spending money on pimple erradicating products as I have found that with a change in diet, more sleep and more water, most skin problems just go away. However, on this occasion I have done all those but with no avail and have tested the market to see what’s out there.

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For the past 5 days I have been using Heal Gel, available online at Victoria Health (£33.50).  The gel has been traditionally used for scaring, keloid scars (scars that a prone to women with dark skin), blemishes and aged scar tissue. Although at 25 I highly doubt I have any aged scar tissue, I would like to heal any dark patches pimples, spots and other blemishes.  So far so good, but I will try it for 3-4 weeks and keep you updated on the results.

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Here is some more information on the gel:

The Soothing Group contains:

• Arnica Montana – A plant-derived anti-inflammatory. This has been shown in clinical trails to significantly reduce bruising and swelling. When the smallest of your body’s blood vessels are damaged they let blood leak into the cells around, and as the haemoglobin in the seepage breaks down it discolours the skin – result, bruises.
• Madecassoside – A valued and valuable plant-derived anti-inflammatory. The plant it comes from is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb.
• Haloxyl TM – Another anti-inflammatory, which has been shown in studies to reduce bruising .
• Glistin Glutamylaminomethyl Indole – This is a peptide – a little chain of amino acids, like proteins but shorter, in fact so tiny they can be absorbed by skin. It maintains the nerve cells so they don’t burn or itch so much. It has been shown in studies to work as a mild local pain reliever.
• Biodynes® TRF® – Derived from yeast. Another anti-inflammatory which also actively renews cells and helps them breathe more easily.

The Repair Group contains:

• Collaxyl® Vinci02® – More peptides which has been shown to help repair the surface and undersurface layers of the skin, and stimulate the undersurface cells to make the protein collagen.
• Oristine® – This peptide’s job is to encourage the enzyme SIRT1, which helps regulate the way cells age and deal with stress.
• Signalline® – This tells the signalling enzymes of the body to pass on the message to regenerate the surface and undersurface skin layers and produce more collagen.

The Anti-Scarring Group contains:

• Polysilicone-11 – A silicone that stays on the surface of the skin as a gel and seals it, so that the rest of the ingredients can work undisturbed. It also softens and flattens the visible surface of the wound. Plastic surgeons have used silicones for years to improve scars, and they are very successful in flattening early, red scars when the wound has fully healed.
• Methylsilanol hydroxyproline aspartate – Hydroxyproline is an amino acid, a big part both of collagen and of elastin, the protein that controls the elasticity of connective tissue fibres. It has been shown to help keep damaged tissue from losing its texture and stretchiness.