Derm RF

Dermatology 911

May 19, 2010 at 8:00 pm Dr. Katie Rodan 1 comment

By Dr. Katie Rodan

Patient Name: Laura*

Gender: Female

Age: 35 years old

Concern: Skin is looking dull and aged; it has lost its glow and is starting to look old

Doctor’s Notes:

Laura booked an appointment at my office last week. At 39 years old, she looked much older and more tired than her years. Longing for the clear, radiant complexion of her 20s, she felt that in recent years her skin had lost its “glow.” As she sat down on the exam table, she inquired about Botox, fillers, micro-dermabrasion, and lasers—all of which she had discovered in her on-line research.  She was ready to try anything!

Laura is like so many of my patients who are prepared to spend hundreds of dollars on unnecessary treatments which are unlikely to help her pigmentation problem and potentially could even make it worse. I explained to her that most of her concerns could be treated with a simple hydroquinone-based topical regimen that exfoliated dead skin cells, lightened brown spots from the sun and protected against further UVA/UVB damage. Laura was thrilled that the solution was so easy. Her reaction was not uncommon. Most people attribute everything they hate about their skin to the passage of time, when in reality, it’s from environmental damage from the sun which can be reversed.

Find out if sun damage is at the root of your skincare woes using a wood’s lamp (black light). Wash off your makeup, sunscreen and moisturizer. Then, go into a dark room and look at your skin under the wood’s lamp. If you are seeing dark brown spots, far more than meets the naked eye, the diagnosis is SUN DAMAGE. These discolorations lurking under the skin’s surface are responsible for making your skin look dull and aged … just as sediment clouds a muddy lake. Reverse the damage, remove the “muddy” particles and your skin will look as radiant and clear as a freshwater stream.

*Patient name has been changed to protect privacy

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