Before I start this post I would like to say that I am returning from my unannounced sabbatical. This was due to personal reasons that I am not going to cover, because somethings should remain private and off of the internet, but just know I am doing better than ever now.   

As a teenager I suffered from viral acne; horrendous, painful and extremely bloody. To control this issue I had to take some heavy duty medication which turned off the oil ducts in my face, thus resulting in dry skin and lips, something I had to maintain so that bleeding and pain did not occur throughout my treatment period. The medication took a year and a half to clear my skin, and only minimal scaring remained, something I have been self conscious about for five years of my life. Once the treatment period ended, the oil ducts in my face have turned back on, but not the full extent that they once were and I only get blemishes due to hormonal changes once a month, something I can easily deal with, but the issue still stood about dry skin, so through trial and error I have found the most effective and cost effective skin care routine for myself. I now get comments about how beautiful my skin looks, and that is such a change from the bullying that I suffered that the hand of a genuine viral infection. So continue to read on for my personal skin care routine, and just for a little extra, I have thrown in my hair care routine.

Clear skin actually starts from within. Despite having to take medication as a teenager to clear up my acne infection, I know that clear skin begins with what you consume. Dairy, sugar, and oils all contribute to increased oil production and blemishes on the skin. I'm one of the lucky ones that does not get blemishes from dairy (cheese is one my favourite foods), but sugar and oils do lead me to have a small blemish or two, so I tend to drink only water and coffee, and even then I have only one, maybe two coffees per day (more now that I have higher fatigue levels due to iron deficiency which is very common in women often due to regular blood loss and reduced iron absorption, but that is a story for another time). I aim to drink two to three litres of water a day, which besides being good for the skin, is great for the kidneys, liver, urinary system, and blood, and basically the entire body benefits from this. I barely drink soft drink, juices, and never drink cordials. I hear you screaming now, just give us a list of products that you use on your skin, so okay enough about the benefits of water, here are the products I use.

Cleansing/Face Wash/Mask/Spot Treatment

As I barely have blemishes on my skin, and these blemishes often only appear once a month due to hormones (hormonal pimples often occur on the chin and are much larger and more red than your common yellow pimple), I tend to use a very gentle face wash, and then once a week I use a gentle exfoliater and mask. 

For my everyday cleanser I use Garnier Fructis Naturals Pure Active Fruit Energy Energising Cleasing Gel. This is very soft and gentle on the skin and does not dry out the skin. I use a facial cleasing brush to apply this which eliminate extra oils on the skin from the fingers. Unlike the recommendation to use a cleanser twice a day (once in the morning and once at night), I only cleanse my face at night time after I have showered. 

For my exfoliater I use Garnier Fructis Pure Active Fruit Energy Energising Exfoliating Gel. I specifically chose this as it was in the same line as the cleanser and because I knew that Garnier products work well for my skin. The recommended amount of times to use this during a week is two to three times, I however only use it once. This is just due to personal preference and that I train in taekwondo multiple times a week resulting in sweat build up, so on a Saturday night when I know on a Sunday I will be doing no exercise for that day, I will exfoliate that night to remove and debris from my face for that week. 

The same night I exfoliate I will then use a mask. On the nights I exfoliate I use a mask that is hydrating. The typical mask I use for hydration is Montagne Jeunesse Creamy Coconut. This masks is specifically designed for hydration and contains coconut water and shea butter. When I have extra blemishes and when I just want something about more skin tightening I use Montagne Jeunesse Mud Pac. This mask is specifically designed from pore cleaning and due to this being a mud mask, tightens the skin as it dries. I use masks for more problem issues I have with my skin. I also use the Nutrimetics Clear Spot Correcting Gel on any blemishes to dry them out a remove them from my face.

Tackling Hydration 

Morning Routine     

I begin my morning skin care routine using a toner. The toner I use is by an Australian brand that uses only natural ingredients and is 100% vegan and 100% carbon neutral. I use Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner. This toner contains rosewater, chamomile and is completely alcohol free. This toner is specifically designed for all skin types. Toners are important in a skin care routine as they rest the pH balance of skin. This particular one is very cost efficient and I find it to be very hydrating. The great thing about it being a mist toner is that is can be spray whenever over the face, whether this be over makeup or later in the day when your skin is feeling dry throughout the day without reapplying a moisturising cream. 

Over the toner I use a day cream also by Sukin. I use Sukin Hydrating Dy Cream with Rose Hip Oil. I apply this using a foundation brush then rubbed it in my my fingers. Applying it with a brush to begin with reduces the amount of oils transferred from the fingers. Obviously there will be some from rubbing in the cream, but using a brush limits it to just that one transfer. I use the day cream most days, but some days when I am in a rush or when my skin has blemishes I use a lighter moisturiser. I use Sukin Facial Moisturiser for Sensitive Skin. This is more lightweight than the day cream, but still provides moisture to the face. I apply makeup over the top of these products, often without a primer as these provide so much moisture. 

Night Routine

The first step of my routine is to apply oil to my face. I use Essano Rosehip Oil. This particular rosehip oil also contains acai berry antioxidant oil. This is an organic natural brand as well. I use this as it provides extra hydration and it helps with reduce acne scarring, and redness. This has no real smell which is great as highly perfumed products cause me to have allergic reaction breakouts. I apply this by applying a few drops onto my face and rubbing it in with my hands. Instead of just a light rubbing into the skin, I massage it into the skin. 

 

The second step of the routine I apply the a night cream. Once again I use a Sukin branded one. I use Sukin Calming Night Cream for Sensitive Skin. I apply it to the face with a brush and the massage it in with my fingers. There is no smell at all for this cream. The best part of Sukin products is that they last for a very long time. The products have a six month expiry date on them, and guess what, they last the entire six month period.  

Body Hydration

For body hydration I use two different products. For my legs, stomach, breasts, and feet, I use Vaseline Intensive Care Coca Glow. This body lotion is quite thick. For my shoulders, neck, arms and back and I like to use a more water based body lotion. I use Glow Lab Body Lotion. This is a thinner body lotion and does not leave a shiny sheen over the skin, which I don't hate, but don't want to have that on my neck and shoulders. This particular body lotion is great in the aspect that it cools body temperature. I use these after showering.

  

I have no particular favourite lip balm, and find most to work for me. I have a particular lip scrub I use, this being Lush Lip Scrub. When I buy a new jar, I change the flavour every time. At this present time I am using a Lip Smacker Disney Emoji Belle Lip Balm; rose flavoured. 

Hair Care

I don't have a particular shampoo and conditioner that I use, I just tend to use what is in the shower at the time that I shower, except when I have had blonde in my hair, and I used purple shampoo and conditioner at this time. After washing my hair I use Garnier Fructis Miraculous Oil Brushing Express in damp hair. I concentrate on the ends of my hair where the most damage has occurred. I will then dry my hair and use any heat product. This oil is a heat protectant and reduces frizz and makes it easier to brush my hair. When my hair is dry I use HASK Unwined Rosé Wine 10 In 1 Leave-In Spray. This is a product that I have just discovered and the fact it was wine inspired had me buying it instantly. It makes my hair so soft, smooth and shiny. 

 

Disclaimer: I have decided that on this blog I am going to start covering different criminal cases, miscarriage of justice cases, and other cases that spark my interest. As someone with a background in Forensic science, I am going to try and give different cases perspectives from a Forensic science stand point as well as giving as many facts about the cases.  This is going to be done out of the want to bring more light to cases that may not even been know, or to provide insight into where bad Police and Forensic work has occurred. 

Back on the 11th of January 2013 the body of teenager Kendrick Johnson was found inside a rolled up mat in the gymnasium of Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia, U.S.A. The initial cause of death stated that Johnson's death was accidental suffocation, with the specific autopsy results stating Johnson died of positional asphyxia, after Johnson fell into the mat to retrieve a shoe that fell in first. This conclusion led the Lowndes County Sheriff's department to label the death accidental, this resulting in the inquest into Johnson's death to conclude.

Police during the initial investigation, have claimed that they had spoken to students at the high school. The three students who were spoken to claimed that it was common for students to store shoes behind or under the gym mats where Johnson was found. One student claimed to share a pair of shoes with Johnson and that Johnson was known to jump onto the mats and threw the shoes into the holes of the gym mats. From this information provided, Officers hypothesised that Johnson's death could only be accidental. This conclusion contradicted with Johnson's family who hypothesised that the victim was murdered. 

On the 15th of June 2013 an independent autopsy was undertaken. The family of Johnson funded this autopsy. This second autopsy concluded that blunt force trauma occurred to the right of Johnson's neck and various soft tissues. The official autopsy report stated that the findings were not consistent with positional asphyxia*. This suggested that the victim's death was not accidental. This new information allowed the family to proceed with legal proceedings. On the 31st of October 2013 the U.S attorney announced that there would be a formal review into the death of Johnson. This review was delayed due to further legal proceedings filed by the family that demanded that the governor of Georgia authorise an inquest instead. The Governor's office stated that no inquest would be made until the U.S Attorney's review had been completed.   

A third autopsy was carried out and concluded that the cause of death was non-accidental blunt force trauma. 

When the independent autopsy was carried out it was found that there were no internal organs present when Johnson's body was received, and the body was in fact stuffed with newspaper. This may seem strange to people who do not know any proceedings with funeral homes. The funeral home had placed newspaper in Johnson's body when dressing the body for the funeral. This practice is an old one that is not often used to fill empty cavities where organs should be, but most commonly cotton and sawdust are used. These empty cavities had to be filled as the funeral home never received Johnson's organs from the coroner's. The prosecutor had claimed that the organs had been removed and discarded before Johnson was sent to the funeral home. 

The high school had 35 surveillance cameras that overlooked the gym in which Johnson's body was found. The November of 2013 saw 290 hours of footage being submitted to CNN for investigation after the court awarded this to happen. A Forensic analyst was enlisted to investigate footage from two cameras that were missing a total of 65 minutes of footage from one camera and 130 minutes from the other camera. The analyst found that where lapses were seen was the result of unsynchronised camera systems. It was also determined that where the mats were situated was actually out of range of camera view. Originally it was believed a cover up had occurred, but through this investigation it was determined that the position of cameras and unsychronised systems gave the appearance of doctored footage.

This cases, like most unsolved cases, has many theories and misinformation surrounding it. Various sources state that Johnson's body was found headfirst in the mat. This information is true, Johnson's body was found this way. Where the credibility falls short is that some sources state that the gym mat opening diameter was smaller than Johnson's shoulder width, suggesting that in order for the victim to be found within the mat, he would have had to been, for a lack of better term, stuffed into the mat. In conjunction with the second and third autopsy reports stating blunt forced trauma was the cause of death, the most likely way for Johnson to be found in the gym mat would be for an assailant to put the victim there after death. 

One source stated that dried blood was found on the wall of the gymnasium, shoes and a hoodie not belonging to Johnson were found at the scene. This particular source claimed that Police did not test these items. Due to this source only speculating this, I cannot say if this is in fact the truth. If however this is the truth, then this is bad Police and Forensic work. The blood on the wall should have been tested to link it to either the victim or anyone that may have been present at the time of the incident. The hoodie may or may not be linked to the crime. This at a forensic stand point would not be on a high enough relevance to warrant the spending to test it, however the shoes were speculated to be found on the mat above Johnson's body. These should have been tested in relevance to the crime. This source also stated that the Police did not cordon off the scene, the CCTV footage is missing from the time of Police investigation of the scene, and that the Coroner was not called until six hours after the Police entered the scene. I cannot find sources that support that claim, yet I cannot find any that refute it either, so it remains in question.  

The exceptionally hard part of this particular crime is that it occurred in a school where thousands of students frequent. This makes DNA evidence really hard, not to obtain DNA, but to distinguish if the DNA is transferred or it came from the incident. The cost alone to DNA test the gym and then having to find suspects for the crime, as you must have a reasonable amount of evidence to have someone give DNA evidence, would be astronomical. So for people who are going to say, "let's just DNA test everyone in the high school and then DNA test every article related to the crime scene to find out who the majority of the DNA came from and hopefully find a match," this is a very unreasonable idea. The cost is just too high that the items that are of most relevance are the only items that will be tested, and finding a match is harder as unless the assailant is, or a close family member is on a criminal database, there will be no matches available to even go forward with investigation resulting usually in a cold case.       

In my personal opinion, I believe that the police investigation was a product of conformational bias. This is a form of bias that forms when an individual/s (the Police in this case) already has a preconceived idea about what happened. This often leads to ignoring crucial evidence and the development of patterns that are often not there. In this case the Police believed that the death was accidental very early on into the investigation. This transitioned to the coroner and resulted in the wrongful conclusion from the autopsy. 

Many theories surrounding who may have killed Kendrick Johnson have arisen. I personally do not want to comment on these theories as the theories themselves are quite complex and some cannot have even occurred due to proof via alibis and CCTV footage. So far there is no true suspect, just various theories. So far this case remains unsolved, and it is unclear if any further criminal investigation is likely to occur.  

My final thoughts on this case is that it was wrongfully handled from the beginning. Police had preconceived ideas about the event and how it occurred, resulting in an incorrect conclusion. This makes this case a miscarriage of justice case. The family deserve to know what happened to Johnson and the assailant deserves to be identified and charged. Due to the early ruling of this being an accident no murder weapon was investigated, so I personally would like to see a weapon type try to be matched to the injuries. I would like to see if there was fingernail scrapings taken from the victim during initial forensic examination, and if swabs were taken from the clothing of the victim.      

*link to official autopsy report by Dr. William R. Anderson

Author Note 1: the organs may have been destroyed prior to the second and third autopsies, but microscope slides from the first autopsy were given to the independent examiner. 

Author Note 2: the image that comes up of Johnson's body from a Google search that shows a bludgeoned and bruised body is that from after the autopsy occurred. 

Now I'm that person that hates cooking, so anything that I can do to limit the amount of time in the kitchen, the better, and I despise cooking in the morning. From that, I decided that I needed to prepare my breakfasts in advance, and this is where I created this recipe. Now this recipe has the texture and look of cake, but it has none of the bad elements that cause weight gain and health issues. It is not a cake however, and I am labeling it as baked oats, a recipe that is full of all the goodies that you need in a healthy balanced diet. 

Ingredients 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) 
2. Sift together the oat flour, quinoa flour, half the cinnamon, and the baking soda
3. Add in milk and eggs and beat until the mixture is the consistency of cake batter
4. Pour mixture into a greased cake tray/tin 
5. Cover the top of the mixture with the apricot, blueberries, rolled oats, and the remainder of the cinnamon 
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the knife comes out clean   
7. Allow to cool
8. Slice and store in an airtight container

This recipe can be stored in the fridge for up to a week, or frozen for two months.

  * If you don't have access to oat flour, or you find oat flour too expensive, you can make your own by grinding up the desired amount of rolled oats in a blender.

**  If you don't have access to quinoa flour, or you find quinoa flour too expensive, you can make your own by grinding up the desired amount of quinoa in a blender. Always rise the quinoa before use as this removes the bitter taste.