Best Personal Products and Life Hacks

Since I was a teenager, I grappled with combination skin. I’ve been jumping from one soap to another, but I couldn’t find one that I could use for long periods of time. That was the case until I came across Spar soap. After using it, I noticed the good effects immediately. As such, I’ve listed here some of the best personal products and practical life hacks.

Clothing:
T-shirts: Hanes Easy Fit (XL), Macbeth Classic or Gold Slim Fit (XL), Brute Classic Regular Fit(XL), V-neck versions and tag less. But I also buy any brand as long as it’s made of 100% cotton, plain, with no design, and colors that are light shades of gray, blue, yellow, pink, and brown.
Polos & pajamas: H&M 100% cotton, colors that are light shades of gray, blue, yellow, pink, and brown.
Pants, joggers & shorts: Uniqlo (M) thin, loose type, with pockets, mostly cotton, garterized hip with tie, garterized/regular ankle.
Boxer shorts: Carter, Burlington & BioFresh, loose type. Hanford (M) can also double as a loose boxer brief.
Undies: Brute (XL), Carter, Burlington & BioFresh (M), trunk type, 100% cotton.

Personal Hygiene:
Shampoo: Dermtropics Shampoo and Conditioner, its a local brand, using wet milled virgin coconut oil. Sebamed Anti-Dandruff Shampoo and Repair Conditioner.
Shaving Cream: Human Nature
Hand Sanitiser: Arokuro Ethyl Alcohol from Daiso or Human Nature
Hand Wash: Human Nature
Soap: Spar soap is a natural antifungal soap, made in USA.
Deodorant: The Body Shop Blue Must Zest Anti Perspirant Deodorant
Toothpaste: Human Nature Sensitive Gel Toothpaste or Sensodyne Repair
Toothbrush: Curaprox Ultra soft CS 5460 and Velvet CS 12460 toothbrush.
Dental Floss: Watson’s or Med o Guard
Shave: Schick Exacta II
Napkin/Pantyliner: Jeunesse
Cotton Buds: From Daiso are good.

Health and Medicines:
Cough: Lagundi syrup and/or Banaba tea. Fluimucil 500/600mg.
Cold/Runny Nose: At first sign of cold, use Betadine Nasal spray. Vitamin C every meal or take California Gold’s Immunue 4, drink lots of water, eat “laswa” or veggie soup, take plenty of rest and sleep early. For stuffed nose, Salinase Nasal Drops.
Headache/Migraine: Advil or any generic Ibuprofen.
Dizziness/Nausea: Human Nature Soothing Balm or Bonamine.
Mouth Wash: Human Nature Mouthwash or Betadine.
Mouth Sores: Apicuria Oral Spray or Human Nature Mouthwash or Orofar L.
Sore Throat: Apicuria Oral Spray or Kamillosan or Bactidol lozenges. Apicuria tastes better, but Kamillosan is more effective. Drink hot calamansi juice.
Skin wound: Povidone Iodine, fresh crushed Oregano and Aloe Vera leaves.
Athlete’s Foot: Spar soap, fresh crushed Oregano leaves.
Foot Deodorizer: Human Nature Foot Spray.
Arthritis/Pain Reliever: Al Di Ginger Brew, Mefenamic Acid.
Food Supplement: Intra made in Canada. Super Nutrition’s SimplyOne.
Sleeping Aid: Add a dab of Human Nature Lavender Oil on the pillow. Drink red wine.
De-worming: Mebendazole.
Constipation: Eat veggies daily, fresh Banana, Dan-D Pak Very Berry Oatmeal from Canada or Carman’s Muesli made in Australia, McVities. In emergency cases, I take C-Lium Fibre or Bisacodyl/Dulcolax.
Dry skin: Spar soap, Human Nature Virgin Coconut Oil or Sunflower Oil.
Insect bites/skin irritation: Human Nature Rescue Balm.
Mosquito repellant: If outdoors, use plants. Human Nature Skin Shield Oil with Citronella.
Facemask: Ilwoul from South Korea is reusable and breathable. For cloth type I use Hanes facemask.

Working long hours in front of the laptop has a lot of side effects. But most concerning is eye strain. Computer screens are bright and staring at them without blinking results in dryness and redness of the eyes, blurred vision, and migraines. Desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile phone screens emit blue light, which disrupts sleeping patterns.

According to a study, eye strain affects some 90% of people who spend at least 3 hours a day in front of a computer.

One way to ease eye strain is to follow the 20-20 rule. This means that every 20 minutes, you should look at an object around 20 feet away and stare at it for 20 seconds. This way, you’re giving your eyes a break. But this is difficult to apply in real life. Like me, for example, when I’m focused on work I tend to forget a lot of things. There was even a time I wasn’t aware my neighbor’s house next door was on fire, haha. More info here.

To remedy this, use software and web apps. F.lux is desktop software that adjusts the color of the screen to negate the side effects of blue light. It activates in the evening and gradually turns the screen color to a tinge of orange by nighttime.

EyeLeo reminds you to rest your eyes by taking a short or long break. One of the excellent features is the eye exercises. It also has a strict mode that prevents you from skipping breaks. A must-have feature for workaholics like me, haha. EyePro is of a similar mold, but with more extra features.

You can get more Windows 10 options here.

You can also take eye supplements. I personally use Now Foods Ocu Support with 100 mg of bilberry extract, which I find effective against blue light. It is taken 3 times a day with food.

If ever you decide to go for glasses, choose a frame that is lightweight and durable. Small lens may look cute but I prefer larger lens.

To fix some common sleep problems, read this.

Hydrogen peroxide is a colorless liquid readily available in grocery stores and pharmacies. It has powerful oxidizing properties, which makes it an effective disinfectant. It is also an ideal bleaching agent. But that’s not all, it has more household uses than you can imagine.

I mainly use it to wipe clean molds that grow on cabinets during the rainy season. See video below and be amazed.

To prevent mold growth and odor in clothes, bedding, etc., store items inside vacuum plastic. Buy a vacuum to use as a suction tool. Placing dehumidifiers near closets also works. Some natural dehumidifiers are silica gel, rock salt, charcoal, and baking soda. Plants are also good, here’s an article of moisture absorbing plants. Here’s a list of essential oils to help disinfect the air.

Lighting: Phillips LED bulbs, brighter and long-lasting. Choose the warm white tone. Smart light bulbs automatically turn on when dark and off when sunrise. Some light up when there is movement and turn off when there’s none. It is best if they are placed outside the doors, house corners, and gates.

Use beeswax candle as they have lots of benefits. Made from the caps of bee honeycombs, beeswax candles burn clean, are very long-burning, and give off a pleasant natural fragrance as they burn. Beeswax candles are dripless when burned properly, and release negative ions which help clean the air in a room. It is also renewable.

Batteries & chargers: Rechargeable Eveready AA or AAA batteries and chargers. Don’t buy China made, they can explode and cause fire.

Dishwashing: Human Nature Dishwashing Liquid.

Laundry: Human Nature Detergent. I recently encountered Terra Wash + Mg Eco Laundry Sachet. The active ingredient is magnesium, which can act like soap when it comes in contact with water, effectively removing dirt and sebum. You can save water and electricity as there’s no need to rinse repeatedly.

Cookware: Use wooden rice and soup spoon, frying shovel and spatula. Or metal, don’t use plastic.

Cooking Ingredients: Turmeric, Cinnamon, Black Pepper, Oregano, Garlic, Iodized Salt. For cooking oil, I use Dona Elena Olive Oil or Minola with Lauric Acid pouch and transfer the contents to an empty Dona Elena Olive Oil bottle which is spill-proof.

Dinnerware: Made of glass, ceramic, porcelain, or opal. Corelle and Luminarc are very good brands. Don’t use plastic for hot foods.

Food storage: Made of glass or ceramic with an airtight cover of either plastic or bamboo. Omega and Home Gallery are cheap but good brands.

Bed & Cover Sheets, Pillows & Covers: Dakki brand are 100% cotton material, light, thin and durable. I would love to try the bamboo-based products in Linen and Homes. Use waterproof covers for bed sheets and pillows to prevent sweat, dirt, and stains from accumulating. Another option is WonderSlumber.

Towel: 100% bamboo fiber. I’ll try the Misu Towel.

Snacks: Bananas and other fruits and veggies, Dan-D Pak Very Berry Oatmeal, Carman’s Muesli, McVities.

Drinks: Al Di Ginger Brew or Turmeric Tea + Calamansi, Ginger + Turmeric, can be served hot or cold. Yakult for probiotics. Non-fat Milk in a tetra pack. Swiss Miss or any cocoa based drink. Red wine helps calm the brain and makes you sleep.

Sweetener: Coco Sugar or Dr. Gerry’s Coco Nectar, can be purchased from any Human Nature outlet.

As an off-the-shelf rinse aid to prevent calcium carbonate deposits on dinner wares and utensils, I use a half cup of distilled white vinegar. It is effective as a water softener.

To prevent ants coming to your food, place it on top of a pet food bowl with a moat and add cooking oil on the moat. Its very effective.

Please note: Do not order online any glass or fragile items, as they can break easily.

Before sleeping and after waking, give thanks for all the blessings received for the day and being given another day. When you wake up, don’t stand up immediately. Stay in bed for a while, think or talk and feel your body, then sit at the bedside for a moment more, before standing up. Then drink at least a glass of water.

When taking a bath, gradually wet the lower body first: feet, legs, and thighs. Then the arms, stomach, back, neck, ears, and lastly the face and hair. This will help the body adjust to the water temperature. Then shampoo your head, wash your face, and then your body.

When buying a bidet, choose the one with less number and just the right size of holes, and a soft lever. More holes and smaller size means less water pressure.

Laptop: My options would be MSI Modern 14 and Asus VivoBook X1500EA-BQ2585WS. Both have backlit keyboards.

I will be adding more to this list as I discover more practical and good-quality products.

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