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health

Better Living Through Getting Stomped

Four years ago I started going to a Thai massage parlor.

This is the practice where they walk on your back, drive their elbows and the heel of their palms into you, and sometimes tie your limbs into knots. My findings are that the older and smaller the Thai lady, the more brutally she stomps on you. I spend much of the session attempting to practice the Vipassana body sweep technique under duress and trying not to vocalize the pain. It’s great and I love it.

They would of course lessen the pressure if asked, but this is both incompatible with my male ego and would go against the teachings of the Bodhisattva in the incarnation known as Patrick Swayze.

If I were a rich man I would go monthly, but I am not, so I limit myself to three or four times per year. I consider this a component of my prana-bindu training.

health

Up-Armoring My Face

In January 2024 I decided that I was going to start to wear sunscreen on my face every day. Ambient radiation is no good. Helios wants to kill you. These are truly the last days. Et cetera.

What holds one back from wearing sunscreen every day is that American sunscreens are shit. They do the job, but they feel heavy, leave a white cast, and are generally not the sort of thing you can throw on and forget about. As such, connoisseurs of anti-radiation face-armor opt for products from Asia. I have spent the past 19 months purchasing a number of different bottles, tossing something on my face every day, and spelunking the depths of /r/AsianBeauty and the related corners of the blog-o-sphere for data on previous engagements.

First, Asian sunscreens generally come in one of three types: Essence, Milk, or Gel. Milk is so-called because it comes out similar to milk: white and runny. Essence is squeezed out of the tube with a viscosity and consistency reminiscent of the typical American product. (If we were sticking with the diary analogy, I’d call this one Greek yogurt). Gel is somewhere in between the two (low-fat yogurt?). Milk tends to be the most durable. Essence is more moisturizing. I like both Milk and Essence, and have no time for Gel.

The Internet will tell you that the best (or “HG” in Youth-speak – eventually I learned that this is an abbreviation for “holy grail”) sunscreen is Shiseido Anessa Perfect UV Sunscreen Milk from Nippon. This is the one I bought first. I did not like it initially, but I tried it again after a few months and decided that The Internet was correct. The problem I first had was that I was not applying enough. A lifetime of shitty American sunscreens had trained me to apply as little sunscreen as possible. After a few months of playing around with products that are actually good, I figured out the proper amount (the two finger thing is a good guide, but the runniness of Milk-variants require a little more), and, lo, when applied properly and in the correct amount, Shiseido Anessa Perfect UV Sunscreen Milk does work great. It is one of the few that stands up well to sweat and Extreme Activity™. Unfortunately, it is expensive. So I save this for when I know I’m going to be out all day, sack deep in ball sweat.

For every other day of the year, I have settled on Rohto Mentholatum Skin Aqua Super Moisture UV Essence. I can toss this one on in the morning, forget about it a few minutes later, and – as long as I don’t get wet – it works all day. (All of these things say you’re supposed to reapply every couple hours, but I rarely think to do that.) This one is cheaper than the Anessa, so I can apply it everyday without feeling like I’m breaking the bank.

One of these two products goes on my face every morning, as well as my neck and ears. It covers the whole face. If I’m outside in the sun, I probably have a hat covering my forehead and sunglasses covering my eyes, but I still up-armor the whole face. It doesn’t matter what the weather is, or what my plans for the days are. Developing the habit is the key to preparedness. On sunny days, the same product goes on my arms. I don’t believe in body-part-specific sunscreen, though my extensive research has shown that some Beauty Bloggers disagree with me.

I order this stuff from both YesStyle and Stylevana, and have had good experiences with both. I gather that Jeff Bezos will sell you some of these products, but I don’t trust his store for anything I’m going to put on or in my body.

My notes on all the products I’ve tried are as follows.

Shiseido Anessa Perfect UV Sunscreen Milk

  • Gold bottle.
  • Minor scent, but fairly unoffensive.
  • No sting.
  • Great sweat resistance, if applied properly.
  • Forget its on a couple minutes after application.
  • Great daily wear, but expensive.
  • Great for high exertion.

Rohto Mentholatum Skin Aqua Super Moisture UV Essence

  • Blue bottle.
  • No scent.
  • No sting.
  • Great daily wear.
  • Forget its on a couple minutes after application.
  • Does not hold up to sweat. Not appropriate for high exertion.

Rohto Mentholatum Skin Aqua Super Moisture UV Milk

  • No scent.
  • No sting.
  • Great daily wear.
  • Forget its on a couple minutes after application.
  • Minor resistance to sweat. Not appropriate for high exertion.
  • Small bottle and milk-type requires higher volume for coverage, so more expensive than Essence-type equivalent.

Rohto Mentholatum Skin Aqua Super Moisture UV Gel

  • Blue bottle.
  • No scent.
  • Minor sting.
  • Does not hold up to sweat. Not appropriate for high exertion.
  • Slight sheen.
  • Slightly inferior to Essence variant.

Rohto Mentholatum Skin Aqua Super Moisture Barrier UV Essence

  • Gold bottle.
  • No scent.
  • No sting.
  • Great daily wear.
  • Goes on a little thicker than the non-Barrier blue bottle one.
  • A little more “dewy”, but not shiny.
  • Requires more scrubbing to remove.
  • Minor resistance to sweat. Not appropriate for high exertion.

Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence

  • Blue bottle.
  • No scent.
  • Stings around eyes.
  • Would be good for daily wear, but for sting.
  • This + wind = tears
  • Minor resistance to sweat. Not appropriate for high exertion.

SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Hyalu-Cica Water Fit Sun Serum

  • No scent.
  • No sting.
  • Goes on super light, immediately disappears.
  • Vanishes at the first hint of sweat or moisture.
  • Would be great for daily wear, but for complete lack of water resistance.

Purito SEOUL Daily Soft Touch Sunscreen

  • No scent.
  • Goes on a little thicker than others.
  • Dewy. A bit of a shine.
  • Not great for daily wear due to shine.
  • Very slight tackiness when I touch my face throughout the day.
health, food, books, review

How Not to Die

Last year I read How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger on the recommendation of Hundred Rabbits.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part addresses common killers and how they can be mitigated, prevented or reversed through nutrition. The second part of the book covers specific food groups and gives guidelines for their regular consumption.

The book is meticulously researched, with every claim backed up by real, peer-reviewed science. When reading it, it felt like every other sentence had a citation. It’s unlikely that the average reader could actually go through each of the cited studies to confirm that the conclusions presented in the book are an accurate representation of the paper, or if they’ve been skewed to better fit Dr. Greger’s message.

The book grew out of NutritionFacts.org, a non-profit organization started by Dr. Greger with the goal of reading and understanding as much of the published science on nutrition and health as possible, and presenting the results as dietary guidelines actionable for normal people. (Unfortunately the website focuses primarily on video dissemination, which for me is an ineffective means of information transmission. I prefer plain text. Hence the book.)

Dr. Greger is largely opposed to consuming meat. He eschews terms like “vegetarianism”, instead preferring to advocate for what he calls an evidence-based diet centered on whole-food, plant based nutrition. I like to consume flesh, do not intend to stop, and think the consumption of it does provide important nutritional value (a point on which the doctor does acquiesce). Many of his warnings about flesh eating are less about the nutritional value of the meat itself and more about the cleanliness of the production and preparation environment. However, if you can look past the anti-meat tendencies and the possible biases in which type of research is reported on, there is still a lot of very good data in the book. It’s one of the best owner’s manuals for the body that I have read.

health, ablution

Pandemic Omega

So far my only recent purchase directly related to pandemic is another bottle of Omega-3 supplements.

A few years ago I accidentally discovered that Omega-3 supplements are an effective remedy for the cracked skin I experience on my hands due to dry winter air. Usually I pop my last pills sometime in February and don’t bother re-upping until the following November. This year I ran out in December and didn’t experience any issues – it must have been a more humid winter than usual – so I didn’t restock. But toward the end of February my hands were starting to feel dry due to the increased frequency of hand washing, use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer, and surface cleaning.

I restocked the pills, started dosing twice a day, and about a week later the skin on my hands felt healthy and smooth. I can wash my hands as frequently as I want, with whatever soap is available, and not worry about my skin cracking and creating a new vector for attack. The skin suit is fully operational.

Purchasing another bottle of Omega-3 supplements seems a much more rational purchasing response to COVID-19 than the newly popular pass time of nonsensical hoarding of bottled water and toilet paper.

prk, health

Omega

I have always had a problem with dry and cracked skin on my hands in the winter months. I do not consider this a cosmetic issue. Dry hands create an additional vector for disease and diminish the fidelity of haptic interactions with the world.

Starting two months prior to my PRK surgery last year, and continuing throughout the recovery period, my surgeon assigned me to take omega-3 supplements – specifically, he was pushing Nordic Naturals ProOmega 2000. This is a standard procedure that the office assigns to all patients in order to increase moisture in the eye. I started on the supplements at the beginning of October 2017 and, coincidentally, that was the first winter I had no problems with dry skin. I stopped taking the omegas last summer, around the time of my six month post-op checkup. This year, as November rolled around, my skin began to dry and crack on my hands, right on schedule. I resumed the omega supplements, and in about a week my hands were back to normal.

I’ve never regularly taken supplements before, preferring to modify my diet to remove its deficiencies rather than masking them by popping pills. The omega supplements have been more effective than any dietary modifications I’ve tried (I like fish, and enjoy eating it frequently), and are preventative instead of the more reactionary balms or salves (ClimbOn is the best I’ve found, being effective, minimally greasy and not stinky). There seems to be no shortage of claims associated with omega supplements, most of which appear to be noise, but I’ll continue to pop them during the winter to promote skin health.

health, audio

The Axolotl Tanks

I’ve been using an isolation tank every few weeks since the beginning of the year. The tanks are large, enclosed bathtubs, filled with body-temperature salt water, in which you float and not much else.

Before my first float I wasn’t sure if claustrophobia would be a problem. I’d never experienced claustrophobia, but I’d never enclosed myself in a bathtub before either. What I was missing here is the key component of the experience: sensory deprivation. With the tank closed, there’s no light, and the tank is large enough that I don’t touch the sides. Without any incoming data telling you that you’re in a small tank, you could be in an Olympic-sized pool, or simply floating through space.

There are odd an unusual claims about the benefits of isolation tanks which match the odd and unusual experience of the tanks themselves. To me, the tank is just a venue for meditation. It eliminates distraction, making the process a bit easier, but does not offer any additional benefits of its own. (Telekinesis has yet to manifest.) If you are not comfortable in your own head, you won’t have a good time.

I enjoy playing music during my sessions, sometimes for the whole hour, more often just for the first and last 15 minutes. Ambient textures are best, as anything with a beat requires too much attention. I tune in to SomaFM’s Drone Zone every now and then, which usually ends with at least one new purchase that I’ll queue up for the next tank session. Tom Heasley’s Where The Earth Meets the Sky and Massergy’s The Vast Colure have recently been useful. I’ll also sometimes go a less electronic route, opting for chanting from Gyuto or Georgian monks. It should go without saying that I’ve tried ending a session with Akira’s Requiem.

Isolation Tank

herb, health, wilderness, quote

Veratrum viride

Indian Hellebore

Indian hellebore is one of the most violently poisonous plants on the Northwest Coat, a fact recognized by all indigenous groups. This plant was, and still is, highly respected, for even to eat a small portion of it would result in loss of consciousness, followed by death. It is sometimes known as 'skookum' root, the Chinook jargon for 'strong, powerful.' This plant was an important and respected medicine, used by most northwest coast groups. The Tlingit used an Indian-hellebore medicine for colds. The Nisga'a used small quantities of the root for toothache. There is one report of a Haisla who was cured of tuberculosis by placing a lozenge of dried Indian-hellebore root under his tongue for a day. It is said that his face went numb, but he recovered. The Haida made a poultice for sprains, bruises, and rashes, and a medicine for colds. It was believed almost any disease could be cured with Indian hellebore. The Haida also treated kidney and bladder troubles and acute fevers with this plant. The Nuxalk made preparations for chronic coughs, gonorrhea, constipation, stomach pains, chest pains, heart trouble and for toothache or rotting teeth. The Kwakwak'wakw made medicinal preparations for constipation, internal back and chest pains, colds and to abort pregnancy. The Nuu-chah-nulth rubbed the mashed root on sores or rheumatic areas to stop pain, and as a general liniment. Among the Coast Salish this plant was utilized by the Quinalt, Squamish, Sechelt, Mainland Comox, Southern Vancouver Island Salish and other groups for similar cures. Some species of this genus are powdered to form the garden insecticide 'hellebore.' People who drink water in which hellebore is growing have reported stomach cramps. Other symptoms of hellebore poisoning include frothing at the mouth, blurred vision, 'lockjaw,' vomiting and diarrhea. - Jim Pojar, Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast
herb, health, footwear

Obenauf's Skin Care

I’ve been using Obenauf’s products on my boots and other leather products since last spring and have been constantly pleased with the results. Though I’ve replaced their White Jaguar Leather Cleaner with my standard Dr. Bronner’s soap that I use to clean everything else, their oil and leather preservative are great products.

A couple days ago, I read an article which mentions that some people use Obenauf’s leather preservative as a skin care product. I was a bit shocked at first, but it makes perfect sense. All the LP consists of are “three different natural oils… suspended in Beeswax and Propolis.” And what makes a standard skin care balm? Beeswax, olive oil, and your minced up dried herbs and/or essential oils of choice. LP is pretty much a balm without the herbs. That may make it inferior to products that include the healing power of herbs, but LP is designed to protect skin – dead skin that you wear on your feet, but skin none-the-less.

(Arguably, this lack of herbal material in the LP could be a benefit: it means that the product has no strongly identifiable scent (a useful trait in the woods). If one did not care about the scent and wanted to add something extra to the LP, it would be a simple matter to melt it and put a few drops of essential oil in. Though that’s fine for skin care, I’m not sure I want my boots smelling like tea tree or lavender oil.)

I decided to experiment. This morning I cleaned out a small tin from a commercial balm and filled it with LP (by heating the LP until it liquefied, then pouring it into the smaller container). Now I have a convenient way of carrying the LP around with me, which should encourage me to try it on a regular basis.

Obenauf's Skin Care

I always carry some sort of skin balm with me, both in my urban EDC and in my wilderness gear. Usually, I opt for Badger Healing Balm or Burt’s Bees Res-Q Ointment. I’ve made my own herbal balms in the past, but, as with home-made soap, I have never felt that what I made was in any way superior to store-bought products nor that there was a significant financial savings by making my own stuff. If I decide that I like the LP product, I’ll probably end up carrying it in my larger rucksack in lieu of a normal balm. That would give me the ability to treat not only my own skin, but also take care of my boots in the wilderness. More functionality than what I have now, and it seems a good plan.