Pigmentation

It is that time of the year again, “resolution time” when you make promises to yourself and others. Some are easy to fulfill and others fall by the wayside or are forgotten altogether. Since this is the case with many of our New Year’s Resolutions, why not then make a resolution that is easier to keep? Something as easy as starting a new skin care regimen can make a difference in your whole outlook this year. With thousands of skin care options available today, it is hard to know how to best take care of your skin. The good news is, when it comes to skin, there are 3 basic steps to taking care of it: Exfoliation, Hydration, and Protection.
Whether you have oily skin with breakout/acne problems or aging skin with hyperpigmentation issues, applying the right exfoliator to your skin rejuvenates its underlying structure by stimulating collagen, and cuts through sebum dissolving black heads and killing bacteria. An exfoliating regimen can include ingredients such as Salicylic Acid, Glycolic Acid, and Phytic Acid.
No matter what skin type you are you almost always need a good hydrating topical. A basic law of beauty is that everyone, no matter her skin type, should moisturize. Even if your skin is oily, it will benefit from moisturizers. A good hydrating or moisturizing regimen would include ingredients such as Hyaluronic Acid, Glycerin, and Lactic Acid. So how much should you hydrate? Your skin will tell you. When your skin is tight, it’s crying out for moisture. Be careful not to over moisturize — this can clog pores.
For many people summer is the most critical time for protecting the skin. Unfortunately this is a misconception as we often put away our sunscreen and forget about protecting our skin during the cold season. We stop worrying about UV rays and concentrate on keeping warm. In reality, winter conditions can do more damage to your skin than the summer sun. You should continue to protect your skin against UV rays and also against winter’s ever present dry air and cold wind. Using a sunscreen that combines high UVB absorption and dynamic UVA blockage with a combination of zinc oxide is ideal.
There are many skin care lines out in the market that are full of claims and promises. A word of advice is to use a medical grade skin care and to stick to your basic needs. It is also important to understand what active ingredients are in the topical and how they address your skin problems given your skin type and condition. Consulting with an experienced medical professional is always advantageous since they can recommend the appropriate regimen given your health history and medication you may be taking.

Laser skin resurfacing treatments help reduce acne scars, wrinkles and the effects of sun damage on almost any skin type. They are a popular treatment choice in skin rejuvenation and the SmartXide Dot Therapy is a more advanced technique of skin rejuvenation that treats one area of skin at a time. SmartXide Dot Therapy is a fractional resurfacing treatment that will cause fewer side effects and presents fewer risks than traditional CO2 laser treatments. The SmartXide DOT Therapy system utilizes a ‘dot’ pattern to create thousands of microscopic perforations in the skin and leaves the areas around each ‘dot’ intact. The procedure is versatile, as it may reduce wrinkling, age spots, scars or acne; at the same time, the CO2 laser beams will tighten the skin by stimulating the formation of collagen. A single treatment of SmartXide Dot Therapy can visibly rejuvenate the skin. The recovery time after SmartXide Dot Therapy depends on how deep/strong the treatment settings were. In general recovery time takes anywhere between 2 to 5 days, which is minimal compared to the 6 months recovery time required by the traditional CO2 treatments.

Obesity in both men and women can cause multiple illnesses including heart disease and cancer. Few people, however, think of skin problems when it comes to obesity. Obesity results in extra folds of skin that may be difficult to disinfect and keep clean. That in turn can make the skin an ideal host for bacteria and fungi. Resistances to insulin as well as vein problems are two other issues that result from obesity which can affect the skin negatively.

Obese people tend to develop a skin condition called Acanthosis Nigricans, a skin disorder that results in brown and black spots. This is mainly due to the increased insulin levels. The discoloration normally appears under the arms, on the neck and sometimes in the groin area.

Another skin condition related to obesity is folliculitis. It is normally due to small whiteheads around one or more of the hair follicles on the skin. Obese people are at risk for folliculitis because the extra weight puts added pressure on the hair follicles, which can damage them and allow infection to occur.

Skin tags are yet another skin problem resulting from obesity. Skin can grow and stick out and may be connected with a narrow stock. Skin tags are benign and usually do not cause any pain. They are, however, more common in overweight people because the extra weight causes friction between the affected areas of skin.

One obvious and major issue of the skin related to being overweight is cellulite. Cellulitis is not only a cosmetic issue that causes undesirable stretch marks. It also causes infection of the skin that is caused by bacteria. Cellulitis can cause chronic pain and tenderness in the affected area, as well as excessive sweating and muscle aches.

Few people know that Obesity can be the cause of enlarged varicose veins. These veins will be raised above the skin’s surface. They are more common on the inside of the legs and backs of the calves. If the valves of a vein are weak due to obesity, blood leaks back into the vein and collects in a pool. The pooling of blood in the vein causes the vein to become enlarged. Not only varicose veins are aesthetically undesirable, they can also cause other vascular health problems.

In summary, if you are suffering from weight problems, you most likely have skin problems as well. While major health concerns such as cardio and heart problems should top your agenda, it is highly recommended that you also seek help from your local dermatologist or skin clinic to address any skin issues. A healthy lifestyle comprised of a balanced diet and exercise should lead to weight loss and in turn reverse some of the skin problems.

Katy Issa

People living in the Pacific Northwest tend to forget that the summer sun can still have a damaging effect on the skin especially when during the rest of the year we live in an overcast rainy weather that causes our skin to be more photosensitive. The summer of 2009 we had here in Seattle was a prime example of an unforgiving hot summer. The face is a very important part of our everyday appearance and is the most exposed, so it is very important to keep it looking young and healthy. If we forget to wear adequate sun protection we will most likely end up with sun spots, wrinkles and lines or red complexion which will make the faces look older.

A new and effective skin treatment technique called IPL FotoFacial combines intense pulsed light (IPL) with bi-polar radio frequency to provide non-ablative treatment for any of the mentioned skin conditions above. Using IPL FotoFacial does not damage the surface of the skin, and uses high intensity pulses of broadband light different from the narrow band light of lasers. IPL FotoFacial does not damage the surface of the skin as it works on the deeper dermal layer. This means that there is no recovery time after undergoing this treatment that takes between 30-45 minutes on average. IPL FotoFacial treatments are progressive in nature and hence multiple sessions spread 3 to 4 weeks apart are recommended. The end result is radiant skin improved with tone and texture.

A common misconception about IPL FotoFacial treatments is the assumption that they fix scarring. For acne scarring and other deeper wrinkles lasers such as Erbium Yag and Diode can be used for skin resurfacing as well as skin tightening. The one thing to remember with IPL FotoFacial is that it is safest and works best with skin types 1 through 4. So IPL FotoFacial produces great results for Caucasian, Middle Eastern Olive, and Asian Skin. It is however inadvisable to use IPL FotoFacial on darker East Indian or African American skin due to the pigment in the skin and the risk of burning and scarring.

Katy Issa
Clinic Manager