It's a girls world

Shopping in Stratford Westfields

Kokoro Guildford

Kokoro meaning heart in japanese is a small cafe/restaurant in Guildford on North road. It used to be named something like 'Sushi box' and was ran by English people. Back then, they sold sandwiches, salads and a select amount of sushi and Japanese noodle dishes. I ate there once or twice then and the sushi was poor, stodgy rice and small tiny pieces of fish.

Kokoro

The cafe opened as kokoro under new ownership (by Korean people) around spring time this year and it has improved in terms of quality, quantity, price and so much more. It is always so busy now and rightly so. They have around 8 bar seats and it's hard to get one!

The food

The concept and food is like the Wasabi sushi chains. Sushi in the fridge and hot food on the counter. Prices are so reasonable, a large bento of sushi is around avergae £7 to £9. Meat gyoza £2.75. Although the sushi is good, I expecially love the hot food. Small rice or noodle plus meat side is £4.25. I must emphasise, very, very, generous portions. A small katsu curry, is the same size as one served to you in Wagamama's for £10. Chilly chicken is delicious, deep fried chicken with a sweet hot, red pepper flake sauce. The rice is also the very nice pearl sushi rice, not the cheap alternatives. Medium size hot lunches are £5.55, this is substantial for two hungry girls or a starving man!

Pictured above, small katsu curry, mixed sushi bento, mix and match-chilly chicken and ginger prawn bento, chicken gyoza.

Acne. How to get rid.

I know there is loads of information on the internet about acne. They vary from tips from 'gurus' on youtube to pages dedicated to the cure. I absolutely love youtube videos from girls who like to pass on new products and review products companies have given them to try before releases in stores.

Today, however, I was plain mad after watching about a third into a video, dedicating to 'curing' acne. I was an acne sufferer and after suffering from this horrific experience (4 years long to be exact) I cannot and did not want to watch a video where a youtuber was emphasising with other girls, how bad acne is, considering what she called acne was a few spots. The worst thing is, girls who are watching these videos can be as young as eleven or twelve years old; if someone is telling them a miracle treatment is Neutrogena 2 in 1 mask, they will believe it. If they had real acne, products like these will not work, instead a young girl who goes on believing a miracle £5 drugstore product is going to solve it, will keep using it and inevitably end up with acne scaring when the ordeal is over.

I know a lot of people won't read an anonymous blog from someone like me. But, I'm going to tell you my story for those who will. Throughout my teenage years, I did get spots and pimples, I could have had maybe five, six spots at a time on a bad week. This bothered me as a thirteen year old, knocked my confidence of course but it was only when I hit sixth form the real problem started. My face exploded overnight, it was across my cheeks, chin, hairline, nose, everywhere. Spots as big as peas under my skin, serious blackheads and whiteheads. I ignored the problem thinking it will go away, naively telling myself it was only temporary. I started using products like Clean and Clear, you name it I have probably tried it. Only after a year, I went to the doctors and was diagnosed with acne. I was given low strength antibiotics, creams with benzoyl peroxide... None of these treatments worked. I was finally referred to a dermatologist after a year of trying G.P allowed prescriptions. I think that year must have consisted of three different types of pills and 2 different types of creams. Again, the dermatologist diagnosed me with acne and gave me some antibiotics which were to control the acne (via blocking hormones) until I hopefully grew out of it. He was thinking a years treatment until I was 18 will do the trick. Hallelujah! the pills worked! I was free of acne when I started university. First year was a breeze, waking up, no base makeup, no smelly anti spot products, I was confident and thought life was going good. Then in my second year, the spots started creeping back, again, like the first outbreak massive painful spots covered my face. So, of course I immediately went back to the doctors. This time at my new campus surgery. I told the doctor, I was using an antibiotic prescribed by my old dermatologist and it worked fantastic, now no longer on the pills, the acne was coming back. The reply was, he did not have permission to prescribe these drugs, you have to be a specialist in the field. So, I was given low strength antibiotics, like the very first ones I used. I didn't have much hope and was right, these pills did not work. It was only after a year and a half, I was referred to a dermatologist. This amazing woman put me on a drug called Roaccutane straight away after receiving all my various test results. Roaccutane, is a steroid prescribed by dermatologists after all treatments have failed. The drug being so strong has a lot of side effects. I took Roaccutane for 5 months. The acne is now 'cured' but I have been left with a fair amount of scarring on my right cheek and around my hairline. This wasn't due to me squeezing spots, although that probably did not help, my skin was getting so fragile after healing it self over and over again, scarring was inevitable.

After that long story, the point is, acne is not one of the worst things to suffer from, its not even an illness as such. I understand and emphasise with any of you who suffer from spots. However, if you have acne, you must not listen to youtubers telling you Clearasil is best, head to your G.P and get advice from an expert in medicine not in using a airbook mac. Your doctor can confirm whether you are suffering from acne or just have some teenage spots. Its never a waste of time for them or you, that is is why they are called general practitioners. If your acne does not improve after two trials of antibiotics prescribed by them, insist you should be referred to a dermatologist. Real acne can ruin peoples teenage or even adult years don't let it stop you.