Adult Acne: Causes and Treatments May 31, 2012

 

 

There are few things that are more frustrating than acne.  Once we reach our late 20s we figure that we shouldn’t have acne any more but that isn’t true for many, many people.  Case in point Selma Hayek.  Hayek revealed in the May, 2012 issue of Lucky magazine that she suffered from terrible acne as an adult:

“My skin?! When I was 25 and I left being a soap opera star in Mexico to go try to be a movie star in Hollywood and all of Mexico was laughing at me? And I could barely get work as an extra? You want to talk about bad skin? I had acne. And this acne was so bad, it sent me into a severe, severe depression. Like I couldn’t leave the house. I’d wake up in the morning and lie there and touch my face before I got up, just to prepare myself to look in the mirror! “The next stage with that sort of depression is food: too little, or too much. Guess what I did? I mean, I was fat and broken out, I couldn’t leave the house and I couldn’t pay the rent!” A friend, she says, saved her: “Alfonso Cuarón—amazing director—he came to the house. He did not play it down, he did not try to say, Oh you look fine. He said you can’t do this to yourself and taught me to meditate, relax. I got myself back together!” She also went on Accutane. “I didn’t want to, but it cured it. Since then my skin’s forever sensitive and dry.”

Hayek certainly is not alone when it comes to suffering from acne as an adult.  According to The New York Times article When ‘Younger’ Skin Is Not A Blessing:

More adult women are getting pimples than ever before, according to a study presented in March at the American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting. Today, clinical acne afflicts the complexions of 45 percent of women ages 21 to 30, 26 percent of women ages 31 to 40, and 12 percent of women ages 41 to 50, according to the study, conducted by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital.

What Causes Adult Acne?

Just as with teenage acne hormones play a major role in the formation of adult acne.  As the WebMD article Is Your Skin Hormonal? explains:

Just as you may see a little thinning in your hairline or the slight shadow of a moustache, more blackheads and blemishes are a sign of aging. “About a third of women will get adult acne, usually in their early 30s, even if they didn’t have breakouts when they were younger,” says Beverly Hills dermatologist Dr. Stuart Kaplan. “Starting in your late 20s, estrogen levels decline faster than testosterone.” Because testosterone is an androgenic hormone, it increases masculine qualities (hence the new facial hair) and boosts oil production, plugging your pores and causing blemishes. The difference between adult acne and the teenage type? Small red bumps (not painful, cystic pimples) are more common when you’re older, according to Kaplan, and acne along the jawline or around the mouth are a telltale sign that you’re dealing with a hormonal breakout.

 Furthermore, according to another WebMD article, Adult Acne: Why You Get It, How To Fight It, adult acne is caused by:

Adult acne is caused by sebum, an oily substance produced by the skin’s sebaceous glands. Sebum clogs pores, which attract bacteria and become inflamed. For some adults, breakouts are a result of hypersensitivity or overproduction of androgens (male hormones). But an imbalance in both male and female hormones (estrogen) can also cause breakouts. For women, this can happen during pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause. Some medications, such as corticosteroids, and cosmetics can also contribute to the development of acne.

 There can be even more causes for adult acne which include:

• Changes in humidity or weather
• Cosmetics, skin products or hair products
• Family heritage or hypersensitivity
• High-sugar food & drinks that increase oil production which blocks pores
• Hormones from dairy products, pregnancy or menstrual cycle
• Certain medications, such as corticosteroids
• Smoking
• Stress, which can trigger cortisol that may result in pore-clogging oil

(Source: How To Get Rid of Acne: 6 Treatments You Haven’t Tried! – Future Derm)

If I see a client who has tried everything to get rid of their acne I always ask them about their diet and suggest trying a low-dairy, low-glycemic diet.  For some people changing their diet is really what helps their acne.  I also truly do believe in a strong link between what is going on with our skin and our stress levels.  Though I know it can be very, very difficult finding a way to relax can be very helpful for your skin.  But let me emphasize again, as I have done in the past in this blog, that everyone is very different and what could trigger your acne could be something completely different than what triggers your best friend’s acne.  I love Chapter 3: Targeting Your Acne Triggers from the book Healing Adult Acne by Richard G. Fried, MD, PhD because it helps you really track and figure out what is happening with your skin so that you are no longer playing a guessing game about what is causing your acne.

Treatment Options 

First and foremost, I would never recommend reaching for the same anti-acne products that are marketed to teenagers in order to treat your adult acne.  For many adults milder anti-acne products work best.  Having said that the one prescription topical skincare product that is both anti-aging and anti-acne is Retin-A (or tretinoin, its generic name).  There are many different forms of Retin-A available so I suggest seeing a doctor for a run down of your best options if this is the way you want to treat your skin.  Doctors also have available to them in-office light and laser therapies that can effectively treat acne with little or no downtime.  Going to an esthetician for an evaluation of your skin can help you as well since estheticians can also recommend a good home care routine for you.  If your acne is really severe you may have to take medication, but this is a decision that you and your doctor can make together.

According to Bethanee Jean Schlosser, MD, PhD as quoted in Skin Inc.‘s article Hormonal Factors Key to Understanding Acne in Women here are some steps you can take to prevent and treat acne:

• Schlosser advises patients to use noncomedogenic and sensitive skin products in order to reduce the formation of new acne lesions and to minimize skin irritation.
• Mild cleansers should be used twice a day.
• Avoid cleansers or other skin care products with scrubbing particles or a gritty texture, because they can irritate the skin.
• Use a noncomedogenic moisturizer daily.
• Apply the appropriate amount of topical acne medications (enough for a very thin layer, generally a pea-sized amount for the face) to the skin. Using more medication than is recommended will not produce better results, but may cause more irritation or dryness.
• When starting treatment with topical retinoids, Schlosser advises that the therapy should initially be applied three times a week in order for the skin to get accustomed to it. Over time, the frequency of the medication should be gradually increased with the goal of using a topical retinoid every night.
• Avoid picking, squeezing, popping, or otherwise manipulating acne lesions to minimize trauma to the skin and help reduce the risk of scarring and secondary bacterial infections.

“With acne, it’s important for patients to understand that there are no quick fixes, and none of the therapies used to treat acne work overnight,” said Schlosser. “Clients need to be consistent when using their acne medications and realize that they may not see the full effects of their treatment regimen for eight to 10 weeks—and in many cases, some type of maintenance therapy is required for long-term clearance of acne. ”

Bottom Line: Do not give up hope if you suffer from adult acne!  There are numerous treatment options available and lifestyle changes that you can make in order to control your breakouts.

Further Reading

If you have the time I recommend reading the articles I quoted from above.  Here are some more interesting articles about adult acne:

• Targeting Adult Acne – MedEsthetics March/April 2012
• Is Birth Control the Cure for Acne? – Daily Beauty
• What Your Adult Acne Breakouts Really Mean – Daily Beauty

My Related Posts:

• All About Retinol
• Hidden Acne Causes
• Back in Vogue – Retin-A

Image from clearogen.com

My Least Favorite Skincare Products April 30, 2012

Recently I came across an article on WebMD that got me thinking.  Entitled A Few of My Least Favorite Things by Dr. Debra Jaliman the article lists eight of Dr. Jaliman’s least favorite skincare products, practices, and ingredients.  There were a few things on the list that I definitely agreed with like peel off strips, abrasive facial puffs, and highly fraganced products.

I decided that if I were to make up my own list of my least favorite skincare products, practices, and ingredients it would look like this:

• Facial scrubs – I really am not a fan of facial scrubs for exfoliating.  I don’t mind them for the body, but I prefer that people use something different on their faces.  Facial scrubs are generally ineffective and yet simultaneously too harsh for a lot of people.  Since they only remove surface dead skin cells facial scrubs cannot get rid of blackheads or whiteheads or truly prevent acne.  Facial scrubs are not anti-aging products.  In order to prevent skin aging you need gentle acids and some version of retinol – either prescription or OTC.
• Facial exercises – my husband sent me a link to a Japanese facial exercise mask which has to be one of the silliest things I have seen in a long time.  I dislike the idea that people think they can stop the aging process with 10 minutes of facial exercises a day.  See my post Stop Doing Those Facial Exercises!  Give Yourself a Facial Massage Instead in order to learn more about why facial exercises are a waste of time.
• Skincare products that make false claims – there are so many examples of this phenomena that I can’t even begin to name them.  Suffice it to say – buyer beware when it comes to skincare products and claims.

My Related Posts:

• Pore Strips – Ok to Use?
• Truth in Advertising – There Isn’t Much Out There
• Buyer Beware: Skincare Claims to Look Out For

Image from digitalprotalk.blogspot.com

How to Treat Dry Winter Skin January 16, 2012

 

As soon as the humidity and temperature drops almost everyone feels like they need a moisturizer for their skin.  With winter really upon us it’s probably time to change-up your skin routine a bit, if you haven’t already.  Treating dry and sensitized winter skin isn’t that hard.  Tweak your home skincare routine a little in order to restore moisture and balance to your skin.

Why Your Skin Becomes So Dry in the Winter

For a technical explanation on why our skin feels so dry and irritated during the winter, for those who like that, I’ll turn to the Skin Inc. article Understanding and Fighting Winter Itch by Dr. Ahmed Abdullah (if you want a less scientific explanation skip ahead):

Physiology of the stratum corneum

To understand skin hydration, it’s necessary to look at key components of the stratum corneum—the outermost layer of the epidermis that makes skin impermeable, and protects deeper skin tissue and the body at large from bacterial invasion and other environmental aggressors.

The stratum corneum is comprised of corneocytes, which are flattened, dead skin cells; desmosomes, the proteins that hold the corneocytes together; and intercellular lipids. Under a microscope, these components appear to be arranged in a brick-and-mortar manner, with corneocytes serving as the bricks, connected by desmosomes, and lipids playing the role of mortar that surrounds and protects the corneocytes. Collectively, these components create a physical wall intended to prevent moisture loss. However, the individual roles of corneocytes and lipids are equally important.

Corneocytes are mainly composed of keratin, which holds water and gives skin its strength, along with various other compounds called natural moisturizing factors (NMFs). As humectants, NMFs not only hold water, but also attract it; thus, they are essential to the skin’s flexibility and water-holding capabilities. However, they’re water-soluble, which is why skin dries out upon extended water contact from showering, bathing, swimming and hand-washing.

intercellular lipids are comprised of ceramides, free fatty acids and cholesterol. In the stratum corneum, their role is to prevent the loss of NMFs from within the corneocytes. On the topmost layer of skin, they combine with sweat to form the thin acid mantle—the chemical barrier that kills bacteria and regulates moisture loss. What’s more, lipids lubricate the skin and, as such, are a major factor in ensuring smooth texture.

Environmental impact on the stratum corneum

For the stratum corneum to properly protect the body, it must be elastic and flexible, which is only possible when the skin is properly hydrated. Normal, healthy skin is 20–35% water. Each day, it loses approximately a pint of water through transepidermal water loss (TEWL), the continuous process by which water leaves the body and enters the atmosphere via evaporation and diffusion. However, when humidity drops, as it does in cold-weather months, there’s a dramatic increase in TEWL as the dry air pulls moisture from the skin. When the skin’s water content drops below 10%, it begins drying and brings discomfort characterized by redness, itchiness and flakiness. With less water in the skin, the production of NMFs becomes impaired and lipid levels fall, setting in motion a vicious cycle that is hard to remedy.

Add to the mix ongoing or prolonged exposure to irritants, such as soap and even water, and you have a far worse situation. This exposure causes the skin’s acid mantle to disintegrate, which further increases the rate of TEWL and decreases lipid levels. The result is even drier skin that may crack and even become infected.

With less water and fewer lipids to lubricate and protect it, skin no longer exfoliates properly. This is what results in the excessive buildup of dead cells on the skin’s surface, giving it an ashy appearance. It also results in an overall degradation of skin health; skin can no longer properly heal itself.

The short, and very easy to understand, explanation about the cause of dry skin during winter?  I’ll quote Barney Kenet, MD, a dermatologist from New York Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical Center, from the WebMD article What’s Causing Your Dry Skin?:

“Dry air is probably the most common cause of dry skin, especially during the winter,” says Kenet, “It draws the moisture right out of the skin.” Dry skin during winter even gets its own name: winter itch.

While cold, harsh weather does dry your skin, another big problem in the winter lies indoors — the dry heat churned out by your furnace. (During the summer, air conditioning can have a similar effect.)

Tips to Fix Dry Winter Skin

First and foremost, if your skin is feeling dry, tight, and even itchy – simply moisturize.  Start off moisturizing twice a day, in the morning and the evening.  If you feel like you need to moisturize more than do that.  Be sure to apply your moisturizer to damp skin.  Once again according to Dr. Kenet in the WebMD article:

“You have to put on moisturizer when your skin is still damp,” says Kenet, author of How to Wash Your Face. “That way, the moisturizer is trapping the moisture still on your skin.” Your skin shouldn’t be sopping wet — just pat yourself dry with a towel and put it on. Let it soak in for a few minutes, and then towel off the excess, Kenet says.

It is especially important to moisturize your hands multiple times during the day.  If you use hand sanitizer get one that is a moisturizing formulation.

Don’t take long, hot showers or baths.  Limit your time in the shower so that the warm water doesn’t further dry out your skin.  Don’t use drying bar soaps when you shower.  Switch to milder and thicker shower washes during the winter.

Invest in a humidifier for your home and even for your office.

Bundle up when you go outside so that your skin isn’t directly exposed to the air.

Eat Omega-3 rich foods like cold water fish, walnuts, and flax in order to fortify the skin’s natural oil retaining barriers.

Don’t put away your sunscreen!  Sun protection is as important in the winter as it is in the summer.

Finding the Right Moisturizer

I’ve been using Trader Joe’s Midsummer’s Night Cream moisturizer for years on my body after the shower and find it to be a very cost-effective and great body moisturizer.  When I need an extra boost of moisture for my face I like to use a B5 serum.  GloTherapeutics and Skinceuticals make good ones.   You could also use a moisturizing mask once or twice a week to add moisture back to the skin.  For more product ideas check out this post by FutureDerm about her favorite winter skincare products.

You actually don’t need to spend a lot of money on a moisturizer in order to find an effective one.  Once you settle on one use it often for the best results.

 

Sources and Further Reading:

• Prevent and Soothe Chapped Winter Hands – WebMD
• What’s Causing Your Dry Skin? – WebMD
• Understanding and Fighting Winter Itch – Skin Inc.
• Forecast: Dry and Flaky – DaySpa Magazine
• Fighting Back Against Dry Skin – WebMD
• 7 Tips to Soothe Your Dry, Itchy Skin – WebMD

Related Posts:

• Have I Finally Found My Cure For Chapped Hands?
• Winter Sun Care
• Dos and Don’ts for Winter Skincare
• Winter Skincare Tips

Image from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

How Make-up Savvy Are You? September 1, 2011

 

 

Think you know everything there is to know about make-up?  It turns out that there is always something new to learn.  I learned some new things when I took the following WebMD quiz:  The Truth About Your Make-up.  For instance, who knew that the most common injury resulting from cosmetic use is scratching one’s eye with a mascara wand?

The quiz covers numerous topics including when to replace cosmetic products, the FDA’s jurisdiction over cosmetics, and if you should sleep with your eye make-up on.  So take a few minutes to do the quiz and let me know what you learned!

Mineral Make-up: The Best Make-up Out There? August 8, 2011

Is mineral make-up the best make-up out there or is mineral make-up just a lot of hype?  In my opinion, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

The Case Against Mineral Make-up

In the August, 2011 issue of Allure five cosmetic chemists were interviewed for their opinions on which beauty products they admire, which products they think are overrated, beauty dilemmas they would like to solve, and what they think will be the next big beauty breakthrough.  Ni’Kita Wilson, vice president of research and innovation at Englewood Lab, listed mineral make-up as the beauty product she thought was the most overrated.  According to Wilson:

It seems strange to me to label colored cosmetics as ‘mineral’ when really they all contain minerals.  It makes it seem as if the product is made entirely of minerals, when many actually have the same mineral content as traditional makeup.

Paula Begoun has the following to say against mineral make-up:

When all is said and done, after you’ve cut through the hype, misleading information, and lies, mineral makeup is truly nothing more then powder (though now most companies are calling every product they make “mineral” regardless of what it is). It is not revolutionary, safe, or unique in any way. By any name, technically speaking, mineral makeup is simply a type of powder foundation. If you apply a light layer it serves as a finishing powder. Apply a little more and it works more like a layer of foundation providing light to medium (and, depending on the product, nearly full) coverage. In essence, mineral makeup is merely loose or pressed powder created from a blend of “powdery” substances. The hype behind it being different or special for skin is just that: hype.

Another thing to watch out for is the claim or misunderstanding that mineral make-up is “natural” and thus better for your skin.  Be sure to check out the make-up’s ingredients before falling for that claim.  As Paula Begoun explains:

Ironically the original lines to launch “mineral” makeup were about as natural as polyester. Companies like Youngblood, Bare Escentuals,and Jane Iredale used bismuth oxychloride as the main “mineral” ingredient, yet bismuth oxychloride is not found in nature! Bismuth oxychloride is manufactured by combining bismuth, a by-product of lead and copper metal refining (dregs of smelting if you will) mixed with chloride (a compound from chlorine), and water. Its use in cosmetics is due to its distinct shimmery, pearlescent appearance and its fine white powder texture that adheres well to skin. That doesn’t make it bad for skin, it just makes the marketing claims utterly false and ludicrous.

On the downside, bismuth oxychloride is heavier than talc and can look cakey on skin. For some people, the bismuth and chloride combination can be irritating. All the claims revolving around how mineral makeups are better for skin or are somehow equivalent to skin care is nothing more than clever marketing.

Ironically, mineral make-up got its start as a natural alternative to conventional cosmetics.  According to the WebMD article, What’s Up with Mineral Makeup?, the use of natural ingredients to create cosmetics is an ancient tradition – think Egyptian kohl or prehistoric warrior decked out in body paint.  The modern development of mineral make-up came in the 1970s:

So who first successfully marketed the concept? One pioneer was Diane Ranger, the cosmetic chemist who founded Bare Escentuals in 1976 and later started Colorescience Pro, another mineral line. She developed her first mineral cosmetics because she felt there was a need and market for natural ingredients and a natural look and feel.

“In 1976, cosmetics firms were required to list ingredients on their products for the first time, and I was shocked at what we were putting on our skin,” says Ranger, who had grown up wearing heavy, traditional makeup.

Then I went through my ‘hippy girl’ phase and discarded makeup along with my bra,” she says.

So while the initial desire was to create a natural and safe alternative to traditional make-up the present collection of mineral products can be anything but.  As mineral make-up took off every cosmetic company, large and small, high-end or drugstore, added mineral products to their inventory.  This phenomenon is a product of marketing and consumer demand as opposed to an endorsement of mineral make-up as a superior cosmetic product.

Is There Something Special in Mineral Make-up?

According to the WebMD article mentioned above:

To make your makeup, minerals such as iron oxides, talc, zinc oxide, and titanium dioxide are micronized, or ground and milled, into increasingly tiny particles. “Different products micronize to different levels,” says Ranger. “A product micronized to six times leaves minerals larger so they go on the skin with light to medium coverage. Products micronized 12 times create fine-size particles that sit closer together and offer more coverage.”

Are pulverized pebbles all that are in your mineral makeup, really? The true difference from conventional makeup is what’s not in mineral makeup.

“It generally does not contain the emollient oils and waxes, fragrance, and preservative ingredients found in conventional formulations,” Hammer says. “Mineral products are usually preservative-free, and since they have very low odor, they are often also fragrance-free,” he says, noting that preservatives and fragrance are frequently what cause irritation.

To ensure you’re buying a quality mineral makeup product, he says, read the label. You are probably getting more than just ground-up rocks if the label reads “mineral-enriched” or if the formulation is liquid or mousse; these products may contain ingredients such as paraben preservatives or dimethicone added for a smooth texture. Nonpowders might also contain moisturizers, antioxidant vitamins, or other ingredients that your skin can use, so it’s up to you to weigh the benefits against your needs.

Mineral Make-up Pros

So what are the pros about mineral make-up?  In my opinion there are quite a few:

1. Mineral make-up powders give sheer coverage that is buidable and blendable.  You do not feel as if you are wearing a lot of make-up and you don’t look like you are either.  The powders can give you skin perfecting coverage.
2. Mineral make-up powders will not clog your pores so they are a good option for those who have acne or who are acne-prone.  Apparently there is a belief that mineral make-up can clear up acne and this is false, but it certainly will not contribute to acne.
3. Mineral make-up has a high concentration of zinc oxide and titanium oxide which means it is anti-inflammatory and good for sensitive skin.  Though both of these ingredients are anti-sun ingredients, aka they are physical sunscreen ingredients, if your mineral make-up does not have an actual spf rating do not assume that your make-up will give you sun protection.  Mineral make-up can contribute to sun protection, but if it does not have a spf rating be sure to apply a sunscreen first before applying your make-up.  (I always advocate having a separate sunscreen and not relying on your make-up to give you sun protection)
4. Mineral make-up naturally has antioxidants in it so that means you are getting protection from free radicals with every make-up application.  Our skin only benefits from the topical use of antioxidants so that is an added bonus when you use mineral make-up.
5. Minerals are inert so true mineral make-up cannot hold bacteria which means your mineral pressed powder can be safe to use for years after you first open the package.  Keep in mind though if an outside substance like water mixes with your make-up bacteria most certainly has gotten into your make-up.

Mineral Make-up Tip:

All powder foundations can sink into wrinkles and fine lines so if you like using a mineral make-up be sure to apply a primer first so that won’t happen.

Conclusion

While there is plenty to like about mineral make-up be sure not to be caught up in the hype that comes along with this make-up.  If your favorite brand of make-up happens to be mineral make-up then keep using it.  If you have acne, rosacea, or have sensitive skin and have not tried mineral make-up consider giving it a try.

Sources and Further Reading:

• What’s Up with Mineral Makeup?  – WebMD
• Mineral Makeup – Paula Begoun
• Does Mineral Makeup Have Any Special Benefits?  –  The Beauty Brains: real women share their opinions on mineral make-up.
• Move Over, Estée Lauder – The New York Times:  this is an article about Leslie Blodgett, the CEO of Bare Escentuals, who can really be credited with launching mineral make-up mania. 
• The Merits of Mineral Makeup – Skin Type Solutions Tips

Lip Balm Lessons August 1, 2011

Can’t live without your lip balm?  Turns out there is a scientific reason for that.  And what exactly is lip balm made of that makes it do what it does?  This post will attempt to answer those questions.

 

Lip Balm Basics

 

First created at the turn of the 20th century by Dr. Charles Fleet, all lip balms share the same purpose – to moisturize and protect the lips.  Lip balms vary in formulation but typical ingredients include petroleum, shea butter, lanolin, and natural oils in order to prevent water loss from the lips.  Some lip balms contain ingredients like menthol and camphor which feel tingly when applied; these ingredients are actually mildly antiseptic and help soothe chapped and irritated lips.

One little tip – according to Dr. Amy Wechsler in her book The Mind-Beauty Connection (page 116) you should avoid lip balms with the ingredient phenol (Blistex, for example, has that ingredient) since phenol strips the top layer off your lips which then just dries your lips out instead of protecting them.

Lastly, during the day you want to make sure that your lip balm has spf in it.  Our lips do not naturally have any sun protection in them so you always need to protect your lips from the sun with spf protection.

Two of my favorite lip balms are:  Glo Mint Balm (with spf 15) and Dermalogica’s Renewal Lip Complex.  My go to nighttime lip moisturizer is Aquaphor Healing Ointment – it’s cheap and really works.

 

Is Lip Balm Really Addictive?

 

Ever feel like you can’t live without your lip product?  Do you feel the overwhelming need to reapply your lip balm continually throughout the day?  It turns out that there is a scientific reason behind this feeling.  The website The Beauty Brains does a great job at explaining this issue:

Skin signals for new cells

Skin is a very complicated organ with multiple layers. The top layer, the stratum corneum, consists mainly of dead, dried up cells. As those cells die and flake off, they send a signal to a deeper layer skin (called the basal layer) to produce fresh skin cells. This is a very simplified description of the process called cellular turnover. (Contrary to what you might have thought, “cellular turnover” does NOT refer to switching your mobile phone plan.)

Lip balm slows down the signal

When you apply lip balm, you’re creating a barrier layer that prevents, or at least retards, the evaporation of moisture from the inner layers of skin. Since the top layer isn’t drying and flaking off as much, the basal layer never gets the signal to produce new cells.

Your skin has to catch up

But when you stop using the lip balm, all of a sudden your lips dry out and your basal layer has to hurry up and start producing new cells. But since your lips already feel dry again, you add more lip balm which once again tells the basal layer “hey, everything’s fine up here on the surface – we don’t need any more new skin cells.”

The cycle repeats

But of course, once that application of lip balm has worn off and there are no new plump, moist skin cells to replace the ones that are drying out, your lips feel dry again and you have to add more lip balm. Etc. etc. etc. Get the picture? That’s why you feel addicted to lip balm – you’ve “trained” you body to rely on it!

 

Sources and Further Reading:

• The Make-up of Make-up: Decoding Lip Balm – WebMD
• Are You Addicted to Lip Balm?  – The Beauty Brains
• And check out my older posts on this subject:  Not Just Lip Service: Your Lips Need Spf Too and Sun Protection for Your Lips – Part II

 

 

Test Your Sun Safety Knowledge June 27, 2011

The other day I took a sun safety quiz on WebMD and was surprised to find that I didn’t get every question correct.  Just goes to show you – you can always learn something new even if you are an esthetician obsessed with sun protection.  For example now I know that any color lenses in sunglasses are good for providing sun protection; I always thought that you needed dark lenses to get the most protection.

I urge everyone to click on the link above and take the sun safety quiz.  I promise it will be interesting, you’ll learn something new, and it will be well worth your time.

AND help support The Skin Cancer Foundation by taking a 5 question quiz on Facebook:

Throughout the summer, every person who takes the short “Sun Certification” quiz on www.Facebook.com/BananaBoatBrand will receive a “Sun Certified” badge to display on their own Facebook wall, and $1 will be donated to The Skin Cancer Foundation’s sun education initiative. Take the quiz and share the link with your friends and family!

Here’s to a sun safe summer!

Sun Protection 101 June 21, 2011

 

Today is June 21st, officially the first day of summer, so it is only appropriate that I write about proper sun protection today.  Over the past few months I’ve actually been gathering online articles and information about sun protection to share with my readers so that everyone can have a sun safe summer.

Below is a list of great resources (online articles and videos) to teach you everything you need to know about proper sun protection:

• The Today Show had a great segment on sun protection called Sun and Skin Myths Debunked.
• Check out The Skin Cancer Foundation Channel on YouTube for sun protection and skin cancer information.
• The Skin Cancer Foundation also has an online school to teach you everything you need to know about sun safety.
• WebMD has published helpful and informative articles about sunscreen:  Shedding Light on 7 Sunscreen Myths and Sunscreen: Are You Really Covered?
• And Allure offers up 11 Sun Protection Tips From the Country’s Best Dermatologists

 

Here’s to sun safe summer everyone!

In Your Face: See What Skin Cancer Looks Like May 9, 2011

 

Since May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month I wanted to devote another post to the subject of skin cancer.  I urge everyone, especially those who have never had one, to go get a skin cancer check.  You can even get one for free.  And if there isn’t a free screening in your area you can certainly do a self-examination.

Remember that being aware of what is going on with your skin involves much more than paying attention to if you need a moisturizer or not or if your skincare products are doing what they should.  Though those things are important being aware of what is going on with your skin also means being very aware of any changes that might be going with your skin and/or  appearance of new growths and spots on your skin.

I’ll explain using an example.  The other day a regular client came to see me for a chemical peel.  Before we got started she asked if I could look at a small, white dot that had appeared seemingly overnight by the side of her nose.  I told her truthfully that I wasn’t sure what it was and that perhaps it was a clogged pore.  Since I work for a doctor we were able to get the doctor to come in and give it a look as well.  Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, the doctor disagreed with my assessment and thought that it could be a precancerous lesion.  My client, on the advice of the doctor, agreed to monitor the area for about a month.  If it hadn’t disappeared in a month she would come back to have it biopsied.

Though I am, of course, hoping for the best for my client and keeping my fingers crossed that this white lesion is nothing, I did tell her that it was great that she was so aware of what was going on with her skin.  If the mark turns out to be something serious we will be able to take care of it before it turns into something even more scary.  Paying attention to your skin could be life saving.

Now if you are wondering what sorts of things to look out for when it comes to your skin here is a slide show of photos of suspicious lesions.  The photos aren’t gross.  Believe me – I get very squeamish very easily so I wouldn’t recommend that people look at photos that would make me cringe or feel sick.

So give this slide show from WebMD a look.  A little knowledge could be lifesaving:

• Precancerous Skin Lesions and Skin Cancer Slideshow

Online Sources for Skincare Information April 25, 2011

Knowledge is power and though I would love my readers to look to my blog first for all their skincare concerns and questions even I have to admit that sometimes you might find the information you are looking for via another online source.  Lately I’ve been noticing a lot of good online resources for information about skin and skincare.  So in no particular order here are some online resources:

• As I have mentioned too many times to count in my blog, Allure magazine is one of my favorite glossy magazines.  The magazine recently retooled their website and the “skin” section is definitely worth checking out.  Allure always has lots of up-to-date skincare and beauty information which they convey in a very easy to understand way.
• WebMD has quite a few resources for information about skincare and skin issues.  One section is all about skin conditions and another is all about skincare concerns, skincare products, cosmetic surgery, anti-aging, etc.  They even have a whole video channel for information about skincare.
• If you are interested and concerned about the ingredients and safety of your cosmetics you might want to check out the EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database which contains tons and tons of information about product safety.  Just be aware that not all experts agree with the EWG’s findings and advice.
• Paula Begoun’s Beautypedia is now free.  You’ll find all of Begoun’s product reviews on this site. 
• Check out Dr. Leslie Baumann’s online Skin Type Solution Library which is collection of her articles about skincare, ingredients, skin science, and skin typing.

If you have a favorite online resource for skincare information please let everyone know by posting a comment below.