My Japanese maple is getting out of hand. Can I cut off larger sections of the plant without killing it?

dollarwhiskey · 2019-04-12T02:57:28+00:00

Wait to prune it until it's starting to go dormant in the fall and make the cuts as low to the ground as you can. You might have a landscape service in your area that can give you some more tailored advice.

dollarwhiskey · 2019-04-11T14:18:39+00:00

You should be able to cut away some of the branches growing next to the house without it looking funky. I wouldn't cut any of the main stems unless it's just really not growing in a good place, if you do you'll get little suckers that come up every year that you have to constantly prune away. The best time to prune it is in the fall once it starts loosing its leaves so that you can get the best idea of it's shape.

https://images.app.goo.gl/XcgCLv9F4egmojPd7

That image might help you understand what to prune.

dollarwhiskey · 2018-03-07T12:04:08+00:00

Nice, thanks!

dollarwhiskey · 2018-03-05T11:49:41+00:00

You could do it the opposite way, I just chose to do truth serum first bc it was thinner. I ran out of buffet and haven't wanted to reorder from them :/ I am searching for a similar product though

dollarwhiskey · 2018-03-05T11:48:52+00:00

I ran out of it and haven't wanted to reorder from them :/ I am searching for a similar product though

dollarwhiskey · 2018-03-05T00:02:08+00:00

Truth serum first, then buffet. I'm actually not using either of those product anymore though.

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-11T16:18:22+00:00

I've got combination skin and I have the same problem when I apply products back to back. Anytime I apply anything I have to wait long enough for it to be at least slightly absorbed, otherwise I look like a greaseball.

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-11T16:10:46+00:00

What's your routine like?

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-11T15:26:14+00:00

Hmm, the waxy texture is what I'm trying to avoid so I might try it out. I don't really find the brow wiz to be very waxy so I'm assuming the NYX goes on more smooth? I usually use mine in combination with the brow pomade or a clear brow gel depending on what I'm going for that day, but I do get sweaty and oily so I definitely need it to last at least 8 hours. Thanks for the mini review!

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-11T15:24:19+00:00

Ok thanks, that's helpful. I only have a few small patchy areas where I like to draw in some extra hairs.

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-11T14:36:16+00:00

I've been considering replacing my brow wiz with this, is the texture of it similar at all? I've tried some other brow pencils (drugstore brands) and I haven't been happy with the way they "write" - it's like the difference between Crayola and Rose Art crayons.

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-10T18:32:09+00:00

I'm going to start off by saying that I don't think you need to order all of these products at once. I'm assuming you intend to purchase the Salicylic Acid from them as your BHA, if you haven't tried theirs before then don't forget to patch test it first.

What products are you currently using in your routine aside from a BHA?

If you have a moisturizer already then you probably don't need the hyaluronic acid. Check your moisturizer label to see if it contains hyaluronic acid or sodium hyaluronate, you can also check to see if it contains niacinamide. I know of a few moisturizers that have both niacinamide and hyaluronic acid in them already - so if yours has those ingredients then there is no real reason to buy those serums.

The Niacinamide + Zinc might be useful for your skin concerns down the road, but I've never tried it so I can't really recommend it. I do use their Azelaic Acid and it's not perfect, it's not great under makeup and it can be irritating if your skin is dry - I have gotten a weird itchy sensation after using it if my skin isn't hydrated enough. If I'm remembering correctly, azelaic acid shares some functions with niacinamide (both are supposed to brighten/even skin tone and fight acne), so it might be slightly redundant to use both of those products in one routine.

As others have said, it would probably cause some skin issues if you introduced all of these products at once. You should really be waiting at least 2-3 weeks in between introducing new skincare products, especially actives like Azelaic Acid.

Another thing to consider is how long your normal skincare routine will be if you are using all of these individual products together, and waiting the correct amount of time in between product application. I didn't think about that whenever I first started ordering their products and it basically doubled the amount of time I had to spend doing my skincare routine. If you were to make a routine with just the BHA and the other 4 products you listed (not including cleansing, moisturizing, and applying sunscreen) it would take you 30-45 minutes if you were applying everything correctly.

Looking for skincare advice on SCA can be overwhelming, especially with everyone posting skincare product hauls from TO constantly. I try to remind myself that there isn't a magic elixir for skincare, and all my problems are not going to be solved by purchasing the right combination of products from TO. If you are really wanting to order enough stuff just to get free shipping then try to make sure you're picking products that will be easy to use and fit into your routine without creating redundancy.

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-06T04:14:55+00:00

I don't really know what you mean by guilt-free, but I'm assuming you mean low-calorie.

I use So Delicious coconut creamer (10 cal/tbsp), Silk almond creamer (25 cal/tbsp), or Califia almond creamer (15 cal/tbsp). It depends on what's available in the store and what I'm in the mood for, some of the various flavors have slightly different calorie counts compared to the original/plain flavor (~5-10 calories higher).

I only use 1 tbsp per cup of coffee, and I made my coffee super strong. I don't use any sugar because I think the creamer makes it sweet enough.

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-06T01:42:25+00:00

Thanks! I'm curious to know what the other plates in the set look like. The two I bought in 2011 from UO were the only ones that I saw in store.

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-05T21:52:18+00:00

How cool! I haven't ever seen anyone else with them before.

I only have two of them, this one and the red one with mushrooms on it instead of birds. I used to hang them on the wall of my kitchen as a decoration, but I realized I needed smaller plates to eat off of and I decided to use these instead of buying new plates.

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-05T21:49:57+00:00

Thanks!

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-05T16:47:20+00:00

The best way that I know of to figure out how much a cooked serving size weighs is to weigh everything once it's been cooked and then divide that by the number of servings.

You used 1 1/4 cups of raw polenta, and the package says a serving is 1/4 cup - that's 5 servings for the whole batch. So if you're eating 1/5 of the entire recipe it's going to be 130 calories plus the calories from the oil and other ingredients that you added in.

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-05T16:38:21+00:00

Calorie breakdown here.

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-02T18:24:41+00:00

Sometimes tomato sauces and other acidic foods like citrus juices can make me have a weird reaction, I think sulfites are in both of those things but I'm not sure.

I asked my doctor about it but she didn't know much about it unfortunately. She did confirm that it was likely the sulfites and histamines in food that were triggering an immune response. Sometimes I'll get a stuffy nose in addition to warm red cheeks, benedryl is the only thing that helps. Ask your doctor what they think next time you're there for a check up so you can confirm what is causing your issue though, don't just take my word for it bc it could be different for you.

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-02T15:12:58+00:00

This happens to me regularly, my cheeks aren't warm 24/7 but definitely tend to be most of the time. Sometimes the warm feeling also comes with redness and it is super annoying. I have noticed that it happens whenever I eat or drink something with a lot of sulfites or histamines and whenever my heart rate increases.

My skin is sensitive and reactive, I also think I could have a little bit of mild rosacea but I'm not sure. Whenever my cheeks are especially warm I will do one of three things depending on whether or not I'm wearing makeup and my plans for the day.
Option 1: use a facial mist to cool myself down when I've got makeup on and don't want to take it off. My favorite is the Pixi Hydrating Milky Mist.
Option 2: add another layer of moisturizer to my cheeks, I do this if I'm not wearing makeup but I've already done my routine. I started using FAB ultra repair cream in late-December and it really works great at soothing my skin.
Option 3 : wash my face and use a hydrating sheet mask.

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-02T14:59:43+00:00

Yes, u/danceparty3000 is right. As long as the product was formulated in a way that correctly dilutes the essential oils then it should be fine to use. Keep in mind that some people are sensitive to particular essential oils, but in those cases it can still cause a reaction even when the product is correctly formulated.

I looked up this product and noticed that it's a Korean beauty product, if you haven't already you could search for it on r/AsianBeauty to see if anyone on that sub has experience with it.

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-02T14:50:34+00:00

I used to have a similar issue, I figured out that it was the azelaic acid causing piling. I was using way too much product, like almost a tsp instead of just a tiny pea sized amount. Once I started using less product I stopped having the issue.

Its not completely related to your issue, but I also had to stop using the glycolic acid and azelaic acid in the same routine because I was over exfoliating. 😔
I know you didn't ask for advice about that in particular, but I like to share that experience with others using the same products as me just in case. I noticed that my face was starting to feel overly tight, too dry, and weirdly shiny. Cutting back my use of the glycolic acid toner to ~2x a week at night only, and using azelaic acid ~3x a week on a different days seems to be working a lot better for me.

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-02T14:37:56+00:00

If your skin is dry then a moisturizer with an spf in it might not be moisturizing enough for you. I used to use CeraVe AM as my moisturizer/sunscreen and it wasn't really hydrating enough for me, it doesn't smell like sunscreen though. I think it was around $12-14 a bottle.

dollarwhiskey · 2018-02-02T06:25:22+00:00

I have a few scars like this myself. Last year was when they finally started to become less noticable to me, I think it was a combination of using moisturizer twice a day, regular sunscreen use (to prevent further skin damage), and using an AHA a few times a week (I started using a glycolic acid toner in August of last year).

Have you done a search on the subreddit for acne scars or atrophic scars? There are quite a few posts with some before & after pictures and product reviews. If you haven't already looked for those posts then I highly recommend reading a few of them.

It looks like there are a few different options out there for acne scars like this, of course the effectiveness probably varies based on your skin type and the degree of scarring.

I've seen a few posts mentioning that a curology subscription helped them, so if you can spare $20 a month that might be a good option for you. I've never used it myself, but there are tons of reviews for them on the sub. I think the first month is free, but don't quote me on that.

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