Posts filed under ‘The Doctor is In’
The Doctor Is In … There’s a Name for It
By Dr. Katie Rodan
I recently saw a patient in my office who was complaining of tiny, rough, slightly red bumps on the back of her upper arms. She said she’d had this condition since she was a child, and although it was slightly better; it still bothered her and made her self-conscious about baring her arms.
Sound familiar? You may know it as “chicken skin” or “goose flesh,” but this condition, formally called Keratosis Pilaris (KP), is actually estimated to affect between 50-80 percent of adolescents and approximately 40 percent of adults.
But as widespread as it is, most people are too embarrassed to seek treatment. As a derm, I’ve heard every self-treatment idea in the book, from people trying to scratch the bumps off to attempting to exfoliate them away. Unfortunately, neither work and, more often than not, make the situation worse.
For best results treating KP, avoid aggressive exfoliation and make sure to keep the area hydrated with a moisturizer that helps regulate skin cell proliferation. For a more proactive treatment approach, try a moisturizer that contains urea and/or salicylic acid. When used regularly, it can be very effective at improving KP.
So reduce the urge to scratch, and instead, bump up your moisturizer … soon enough you’ll dare to go bare!
The Doctor is In … Skin Talk: Shedding Some Light on Exfoliation
By Dr. Kathy Fields
You don’t need an invite to a red carpet event for your skin to make a new debut. And you don’t have to be a celebrity to get a star-quality complexion. When it comes to flattery, years of experience at photo shoots, video shoots and trips to the Oscars have taught me it’s all about the lighting. Lighting is so important, that on professional shoots, grip trucks filled with thousands of dollars of sophisticated lighting equipment arrive hours before the hair and makeup artists and models ever even set foot in the studio.
But you don’t have to hire a lighting crew to see your skin in a better light. You can illuminate your own incandescence just by increasing the smoothness and evenness of your skin through regular removal of dulling dead skin cell buildup.
Not only does light reflect more evenly off of a smooth surface, freshly exfoliated skin gives you a glow that’s more than skin deep. That’s because when your skin looks better, younger and fresher, you feel better too, and genuine confidence is always an attractive quality.
To get the best results from your exfoliation efforts, know your skin and use products appropriate for your skin type. Contrary to popular belief, bigger, coarser particles have less of a smoothing effect, and in fact, can end up doing more harm than good.
When it comes to your face, neck and décolletage, look for exfoliation products that feature fine, smooth beads. Keep in mind that gentle, regular exfoliation is far more effective than when you make an occasional aggressive attack. If you want to increase results, don’t scrub harder, just rub a little longer and use more often so your skin’s stunning performance will get the rave reviews it deserves.
The Doctor is in … Multi-Med® Therapy Makes a Difference
After trying multiple over-the-counter (OTC) products that fail to deliver on their promises, many of my patients are ready to throw in the towel and take more extreme measures. But the issue isn’t that topical products are incapable of working, it’s that skin conditions have a complex origin. Because many factors contribute to the onset of a problem like acne or sun damage, no single ingredient nor product can provide a fast fix. And the “here today, gone tomorrow” products constantly popping up on the department store shelf perpetuate an approach of reacting to problems instead of preventing them.
Recently, a female patient came to see me to schedule an appointment for a fractionated CO2 laser treatment to address stubborn brown spots that hadn’t responded to any products she’d tried in the past. Two years prior she underwent this treatment with another doctor and found it helpful. Reminding her what a serious, painful and costly treatment this was, I recommended the Rodan + Fields® REVERSE Regimen to her. Assuming “more pain, more gain,” my patient was initially resistant. Luckily for her, I was able to convince her to try REVERSE in the short time between our consultation and her scheduled laser treatment.
A few weeks later, she called apologetically to cancel the appointment. The reason? REVERSE had worked so well, she didn’t feel she needed the procedure anymore.
Apology gladly accepted! That’s what our Multi-Med® Therapy product philosophy is all about: skin transformation, no appointment necessary. When you combine the right medicines, in the right formulations, in the right order and then use them consistently, you can achieve office-like results, at home. Less pain, and a lot more gain.
The Doctor is in … Mind the Gap
By Dr. Kathy Fields
Young urban hipsters have embraced with affectionate irony some of the most unfortunate trends of the seventies and eighties, and of these the moustache is perhaps the most surprising of all. I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for Tom Selleck as the moustachioed Magnum PI, but let’s face it, it’s not really the best look for most guys. And certainly not for us gals!
If you’re one of the many, and I mean MANY women who suffer from extra facial hair above the upper lip, you know all too well how unattractive this trend looks on ladies. And you’ve probably tried lots of methods for minimizing or completely clearing your unwanted “stache” with bleaches, waxing or even laser removal.
Even when they work, these approaches can have residual effects like redness, dryness and even cause increased sun sensitivity and, consequently, hyperpigmentation. And whether as a result of irritation or melasma, a darkening of the skin between the upper lip and bottom of the nose is even harder to hide than a hairy moustache.
The solution? Well, as they say in my husband’s home country, England, when referring to the space between the edge of the subway platform and the train, “mind the gap.” In the case of your face, let this phrase act as a reminder that paying special attention to this little area when it comes to sun protection can make a big difference.
It’s a tough area because whether or not you actually apply sunscreen above your lip, chances are you sweat or wipe it off during the day, especially during flu season when runny noses abound. Make sure to pay careful attention to this gap between your nose and lips and take the time to reapply your SPF there throughout the day.
So, next time you apply your balm and facial SPF, I hope you hear my voice in your head saying to you: “Mind the gap.” And as I walk down the streets of San Francisco and pass the plaid-shirted hipster in the oh-so-skinny jeans, I’ll hear my own voice in my head saying “you may have a moustache, but you’re no Tom Selleck!”
The Doctor is In … The Inside Scoop on Beauty
By Dr. Katie Rodan
In January, bookings in my medical practice reflect a common New Year’s resolution—to improve our overall health and well-being. According to a recent New York Time’s article, as well intentioned as we are, come January’s end, one-third of us break our commitment(s). By July, the majority of us have long abandoned our resolutions altogether.
Why do we fail? The answer is complicated, seeming to stem from a desire for a quick fix coupled with a lack of a realistic strategy to achieve our goals. When it comes to reversing the signs of past skin sins, there is no magic laser chemical peel, or injection, providing a quick fix. A healthy, beautiful complexion requires daily commitment. Devoting a few minutes twice a day to a targeted skincare routine that addresses your specific issues, plus, making a few dietary changes are two steps to set you in the right direction.
So, if you were seeing me for a so-called “vanity visit,” here’s where I’d ask you to start:
First, look in the mirror (3x magnification will do) examining your skin without makeup. Determine your one or two top complexion concerns, i.e. discolorations, enlarged pores, wrinkles, broken capillaries, facial redness or acne. Once identified, we would discuss a straightforward skincare program, most likely containing a low dose OTC medication, to address your issue that would demonstrate visible improvement in a matter of weeks.
Second, I would ask you about your daily habits, including your diet. Our skin is more than just “window dressing” for the rest of our body. It’s a living organ that needs a constant supply of nutrients to do its job. Fortunately, making smart food choices often yields three huge benefits—a pretty complexion, a healthy body and weight loss.
So here are a few clinically-proven tactics to consider:
Subtract pro-inflammatory foods by cutting out high fat, high sugar and overly processed foods that accelerate aging. To help you resist temptation, clean your cupboard of “junk food.”Avoid more than the equivalent of 3 glasses of wine per week and eliminate added salt even if you don’t have high blood pressure (for more on why it may be time to throw away the salt shaker, visit http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2012/sep/salt-blood-pressure-092911.html).
Add foods rich in antioxidants like blueberries, blackberries and raspberries along with foods high in fiber and lean proteins. Not only will they act as skin beautifiers, they’ll fill you up and slim you down and help protect you from environmental aging factors.
Don’t get overwhelmed by making massive changes overnight; just tackle it a day at a time. And instead of thinking about what you’re giving up, just think of every meal or snack as an opportunity to improve your skin’s appearance and your overall health! Wishing you all the best in 2012!
The Doctor is In … the Christmas Crush
By Dr. Kathy Fields
Around the office, we call it the Christmas Crush—people putting off appointments until the last minute and then clamoring to be diagnosed, treated and recovered before the family photo op, the Hawaiian getaway, or the New Year’s bash. Not that I’m judging. I’m as likely as anyone to put off a doctor’s visit. In fact, I’ve come to believe procrastination for most of us is the rule, not the exception.
Ironically, accepting this truth has actually allowed me to change my behavior. Because I know I’ll likely delay or avoid things that are either not urgent (yet) or just plain unpleasant, I’ve learned to plan ahead for my inevitable procrastination by proactively implementing solutions before many of my problems start. For example, I know I tend to break out as life gets busy and stress runs high. So, as events start to ramp up, so do I ramp up my acne regimen, applying twice daily until after the holidays. This helps me keep my skin clear from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.
I share this advice with my patients, because whether you’re battling acne, sensitive skin flare-ups or even melasma, following this advice can help keep your skin clear this holiday season. So, instead of feeling overwhelmed by what we can’t achieve in entirety today and overly optimistic about what we’ll get done at the last minute, make mini commitments daily and keep them.
The Doctor is In … Battling Seasonal Sensitivity
By Dr. Katie Rodan
It seems the effects of the economic crisis know no bounds. Wearing your heart on your sleeve is one thing, but wearing the economy on your epidermis in the form of sallow, dull and dry skin is quite another.
But while we don’t yet have a solution to the debt crisis, real estate bust or Wall Street’s indiscretions, it turns out we can address some of the symptoms … when it comes to skin, that is. Take the following example: A month or so ago, a young man in his late twenties came into my office with a skin condition characterized by itchy patches of red, scaly and flaking skin. A successful investment banker, he had survived three previous layoffs, but was recently let go during a fourth layoff. After leaving New York and returning to his home state of California, the stress and climate change caused his sensitive skin and mild eczema to flare up into a painful and embarrassing condition. With confidence and job prospects low, his stress increased and his conditioned worsened.
I recommended he use the SOOTHE Regimen for sensitive, irritated skin and facial redness twice daily and set an appointment for three weeks later. When he returned, his skin was clear and his outlook was significantly improved. It turns out that although his condition was a symptom of his problem, the solution to solving his problem started with a soothing solution for his symptoms!
The Doctor is In … Turning Back the Hands of Time
By Dr. Kathy Fields
They say a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. And when it comes to preventing the appearance of aging hands, this maxim couldn’t be more true. The reality is, while corrective therapies and treatments are available, results are harder to achieve and less of a sure thing than the proverbial ounce or two of good old-fashioned prevention.
Unlike the dramatic results we see from invasive procedures on our faces and other parts of our bodies, restoring youthfulness to hands through lasers and injectables is a hard sell. Skin on the hands is thinner and there is less fat pad to work with so treatments require multiple visits, are extremely expensive and very uncomfortable. The cost and time commitment scare most people away … so they are left with scary hands.
The most effective method for prevention and correction is consistent, daily adherence to a topical anti-aging regimen. An effective anti-aging hand treatment should include proven ingredients to increase collagen and improve smoothness and thickness, and sunscreens to protect against wrinkles and discolorations caused by the sun.
So not only should you make hand care a part of your daily and nightly routine, you should keep your anti-aging hand products “handy” at the office and in your purse or car so you can make hand care a lasting habit with long-term results.
The Doctor is In … Fall Cleaning
By Dr. Katie Rodan
As cool, crisp mornings of September arrive and I find myself settling into my fall routine, I often feel a moment of nostalgia for the carefree days of summer … until I look in the mirror that is.
Yes, even dermatologists have autumn amends to make for their summer skin sins. Despite all the SPF protection and planning I did last summer, the bike rides, hikes and outdoor lunches have added up to some telltale changes in my skin tone and texture.
I erase the damage of summer days gone by each September with what I call “Fall Cleaning,” my derm version of spring cleaning, and my chance to clean the slate and start the new season with fresh, youthful looking skin. My “skintervention” starts with a hydroquinone-based regimen to clear the dullness and dark marks. I apply it daily for two weeks and then up to twice daily for a month or two, until the days of summer are a mere memory and I’m happy with the results.
Three times a week I also exfoliate to expedite the process by increasing cell turnover. And since the sun is still a serious concern in fall, I continue with sunscreen application every morning.
If you’re dealing with similar summer remnants, start incorporating this simple routine and before you know it, along with the colorful radiance of changing leaves, your skin will have a fresh fall start and a new, even glow of its own.
The Doctor is In … Acne for Two
By Dr. Kathy Fields
Because acne can have such a strong effect on self-esteem, any mom hates to see her child battle breakouts. But for someone who has made a name for herself helping others combat acne and reclaim their sense of self-worth, watching my own son battle acne is especially painful. When the stress of watching him struggle started to show on my own skin, I realized that while battling breakouts usually is all about controlling the acne cycle, in the case of my son’s skin, and mine, I would try a lot less nagging and become more strategic to get him to easily use his meds.
My son is great at homework, sports and finding time for his girlfriend and even the bands on his braces. But the early morning rush out the door and the late night studying leave no energy for his skincare routine. Miraculously, as soon as I surrendered to this realization, I was able to stop forcing a regimen on him and start subtly slipping the regimen into his routine.
Step one: I took his entire regimen out of hiding in the bathroom medicine cabinet and placed things strategically where he was most likely to see them and use them. The acne face wash went in the shower where I knew he’d be likely to use it at least once a day. The toner was placed next to his toothbrush. And the treatment product became un-ignorable when placed next to his computer.
Step two: Knowing he has an easy plan of action, I backed off and watched the transformation. It was a reminder for me to pay attention to my own skin needs and be more consistent with my routine despite all my travel and long days.
Sure he went to school with a zit or two but I had learned to accept it was his choice and not my character defect. And in the end both our skin and our stress cleared. All it took was some consistent compliance to a regimen and giving myself and my son the freedom to fight our own battles – our own way!
Derm RF
Mary Radford, RN
Dr. Katie Rodan
Dr. Kathy Fields
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