My latest DIY treatment and skin cream recipe
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Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:44 am

Here's an update on my latest "experiments".

I'm a major DIY'er when it comes to skin stuff. I do a LOT more than most people would ever be comfortable with. I've done my own subscission, dermal filler, PDO thread lifts, etc.

I've also been creating my own skincare recipes for a while now, and have tried many different ingredients/actives and combinations. So far there has only been a couple of ingredients that really wow'd me and I saw hugely noticeable results very soon.

The first is alpha-Arbutin. It took about two weeks of consistent use, but it is BY FAR the best thing I've ever used for pigmentation and lightening/brightening skin tone. There is a great supplier on EBay that sells the pure powder ( tip: the ALPHA arbutin is stronger than the BETA arbutin). Be warned, the stuff stinks like rotten eggs once mixed with liquid.

The second was a zinc oxide (as in diaper cream) and Lanolin combination. I don't think it's the actual ingredients as much as it is they're both a fabulous occlusive that help heal the skin barrier. (Although they do know that Zinc is required for the production of collagen, and in studies topical zinc does speed healing, so this probably does contribute somewhat) With these two ingredients I saw a huge improvement in texture and plumpness of the epidermis.

The latest: yesterday I made a new concoction containing methylene blue. This is a deep blue pigment that's been used for over a hundred years. It's used as a dye, for cell staining in lab testing and has anti microbial properties. Recent literature on its anti-aging effects are pretty interesting. Thankfully you only need micro grams of it, otherwise I'd look like a smurf. The stuff stains EVERYTHING. I'm eager to see how this performs. I'm not allowed to post a link, so just do a search for "methylene blue aging" and you'll get a number of studies that pop up.

I also did my first DIY PRP treatment yesterday. I actually was successful with the whole procedure! Total cost was under $100 for all the supplies ( and it's enough to do 5-6 treatments), compared with over $1000 per treatment at a doctors office. I bought my own centrifuge ($60), vacutainer tubes, butterfly needles, etc. I'm lucky in that my sister is an ER nurse, so I had her do my blood draw. I'm not sure if I could do that part on my own!
Anyway, I spun down the blood, extracted the platelets and did a few subcutaneous injections to some scars and used the rest as a serum after micro needling. I'm going to do 3-4 treatments about 2 weeks apart.

I'll be back in a couple weeks with an update on the methylene blue and the PRP treatments.

Has anyone else tried the methylene blue yet? If so, I'd love to hear your experience!

free skin care · Sat Mar 23, 2019 9:01 am

That last one is so hard core. That's crazy, I never would have thought of that!

What speed did you spin your blood at, and did you only use the platelet layer? It's the thinnest middle layer, I'm assuming? How did you know how deep to inject it?

I have so many questions I don't even know where to start! :P

Sat Jun 01, 2019 11:01 am

Trizzy123 wrote:

Here's an update on my latest "experiments".

I'm a major DIY'er when it comes to skin stuff. I do a LOT more than most people would ever be comfortable with. I've done my own subscission, dermal filler, PDO thread lifts, etc.

I've also been creating my own skincare recipes for a while now, and have tried many different ingredients/actives and combinations. So far there has only been a couple of ingredients that really wow'd me and I saw hugely noticeable results very soon.

The first is alpha-Arbutin. It took about two weeks of consistent use, but it is BY FAR the best thing I've ever used for pigmentation and lightening/brightening skin tone. There is a great supplier on EBay that sells the pure powder ( tip: the ALPHA arbutin is stronger than the BETA arbutin). Be warned, the stuff stinks like rotten eggs once mixed with liquid.

The second was a zinc oxide (as in diaper cream) and Lanolin combination. I don't think it's the actual ingredients as much as it is they're both a fabulous occlusive that help heal the skin barrier. (Although they do know that Zinc is required for the production of collagen, and in studies topical zinc does speed healing, so this probably does contribute somewhat) With these two ingredients I saw a huge improvement in texture and plumpness of the epidermis.

The latest: yesterday I made a new concoction containing methylene blue. This is a deep blue pigment that's been used for over a hundred years. It's used as a dye, for cell staining in lab testing and has anti microbial properties. Recent literature on its anti-aging effects are pretty interesting. Thankfully you only need micro grams of it, otherwise I'd look like a smurf. The stuff stains EVERYTHING. I'm eager to see how this performs. I'm not allowed to post a link, so just do a search for "methylene blue aging" and you'll get a number of studies that pop up.

I also did my first DIY PRP treatment yesterday. I actually was successful with the whole procedure! Total cost was under $100 for all the supplies ( and it's enough to do 5-6 treatments), compared with over $1000 per treatment at a doctors office. I bought my own centrifuge ($60), vacutainer tubes, butterfly needles, etc. I'm lucky in that my sister is an ER nurse, so I had her do my blood draw. I'm not sure if I could do that part on my own!
Anyway, I spun down the blood, extracted the platelets and did a few subcutaneous injections to some scars and used the rest as a serum after micro needling. I'm going to do 3-4 treatments about 2 weeks apart.

I'll be back in a couple weeks with an update on the methylene blue and the PRP treatments.

Has anyone else tried the methylene blue yet? If so, I'd love to hear your experience!

Hi , Can you share the recipe using the alpha Arbuthnot and also the concoction using methylene blue. Thanks

Sat Jun 08, 2019 9:41 am

I always want to go natural. For my skin, I apply my own skin care product, which I make using coconut oil, honey, baking soda, and milk. It really leaves my skin feeling soft and smooth. Try it!

Fri Jun 21, 2019 8:47 am

Hi all. Sorry for the VERY delayed response. I had an ill parent and haven't had a moment of free time. Anyway, this post goes into detail on my PRP methods, and later today I'll get to the question about the methylene blue and the alpha arbutin.

About the PRP (yes it is hardcore, and that's just the beginning of the crazy things I've done to my own face). I've done this about 6 times so far, and definitely notice a difference. The biggest being an overall plumpness/firmness of the skin,the epidermis is smoother and evenness of pigment/skin tone. Overall I would say my skin looks younger and much healthier. And almost like it has better circulation- it just looks a lot more "alive".

Everything was purchased off EBay or Amazon. Here's what you need and some links, along with my process.

1. First I spread a thick layer of numbing cream over the entire area of the vein I am going to use. Then cover it with plastic wrap and let it "soak" for about 45 min. This numbs the area and you don't feel a thing when inserting the needle, allowing you to focus on the task and not the pain.
2. Once the area is good and numb, I sanitize with alcohol, open the butterfly needle package and tie the tourniquet. Wearing rubber gloves, I then insert the needle (the initial poke is at about 15 degrees, but then you level it off almost parallel with the skin to insert it the rest of the way. Veins are very close to the surface). There is instruction for this on YouTube. No blood will come out until you put the vacutainer tube on, so don't worry about blood gushing everywhere.
3. Pop on the vacutainer tube (it MUST have the ACD preservative in it. Can't use use just plain empty tubes). The tube will automatically stop filling one it's full. Then continue to change them out until I have 6 full tubes.
4. Remove the needle and apply bandaid.
5. I then take the tubes and place them in the centrifuge. Tubes must be balanced, so if you're doing 4 tubes, 2 on each side opposite each other. There is a study I used to determine the spin settings. It also has some good instructions on the whole process. First spin is at 1200rpm for 10 min.
6. After the first spin, you will see there are three layers. The top layer which is clear yellow liquid (platelet poor plasma), a small middle layer which is yellow and cloudy (platelet rich plasma or the "Buffy coat") and the bottom layer that is dark red (red blood cells). You want to extract the top and middle yellow layers (I use a long eyedropper) and leave the red blood cells. The yellow stuff is what you want, the red blood cells can be discarded. You'll get a little of the red blood cells when you suck it up in the eyedropper, but that's fine. So I extract the top and middle yellow layers from all 6 tubes and transfer all this to spin tubes. After the reduction I'm down to 2 full spin tubes of yellow liquid.
7. I then do my second spin at 2000rpm for 10 min. This further separates the clear yellow from the cloudy yellow. The CLOUDY layer is what you want. So I use my eyedropper to draw off the clear yellow layer (and discard) until I get down to the cloudy layer. I combine the cloudy layer from both tubes into one.
8. I then seterilize my face and microneedle all over. Once the microneedle has made tiny penetrations in the epidermis, I apply the PRP (the yellow cloudy liquid you are left with). I just take the eyedropper and drip it on my face a drop at a time and gently rub it in. Side note: studies say that the microneedle channels stay open for about 30 min before closing up, so you want to apply the PRP within 30 min of microneedling.
9. I leave all of the PRP on my face and let it dry (It's kind of sticky at first and then dries and kinda feels how dried egg yolks feel on your face). Then I apply aquaphor on top of it to serve as an occlusive and "seal in" the PRP. I sleep overnight with this on and wash it off in the morning.

I've done these treatments about every 2 weeks. It wasn't until my second or third treatment until I noticed a big difference. Not that the number of treatments mattered, but that it took a week or two for the first treatment to "kick in" and for the PRP to do its regeneration. But obviously multiple treatments are better.

The PRP can be left at room temp for up to 5 hours with no loss of effectiveness. If you don't use all of the PRP, it can be stored in the tube with the cap on in the fridge for up to 5 days and remain active. Each day of storage there are slightly less white blood cells, so ideally you'd use it right away.

I've also taken the pure PRP and transferred it to an insulin syringe and injected it into some old acne scars. I would inject about .5 ml right into the center of the scar, with the needle depth being about 1 cm. Those have definitely improved by this treatment! The texture of the scar blends better with my skin now, but the biggest thing is the discoloration is pretty much gone. I had some that were hyper (dark) and some that were hypo (white or lacking any pigment). They all now have the same color as the surrounding skin. So the PRP definitely does something to correct the damage to the melanocytes.

Let me know if there is anything I've forgotten. Overall this treatment is a little time consuming- from the start of numbing my arm to the end where I'm applying the aquaphor takes about 2-2.5 hours. But it's not difficult or painful, and the results are WORTH IT. Oh, and you're saving yourself about $1000 per treatment doing it at home vs having a clinic do it!!!

Ok, so I can't post links here, but if you'd like the links to all my supplies just private message me. I can also send you the study I mentioned.

Fri Jun 21, 2019 8:53 am

P.S. my latest "experiment" has been doing my own lipodissolve into my chin/jowls. It's a piece of cake to do, cheap (about $70 for 10 treatments)and really does work way more than I expected- but there's a few tricks you need to know.

Let me know if anyone's interested in these instructions as well.

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