Summer and Beyond Skin Care
Face it! Your skin is the biggest and most visible organ of your body. Healthy skin projects overall body health, and improving your skin color and texture can make you look and feel better. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to improve your skin health:
Clear any skin rashes.
There is hardly a skin condition that cannot be improved or cleared with the right medicines or other measures. If your facial rash isn't clear after using the medicines we've prescribed, please let us know!
Protect your skin from sun damage.
The most obvious way to do this is to prevent sunlight from hitting your skin with shade, clothing, including hats and sunglasses, and then of course daily sunscreen. I wear sunscreen on my exposed skin every day, even if I'm not going outside, even on cloudy days, and even in the winter. If you really want to protect your skin from the aging effects of the sun, you will want to use a sunscreen that has good UVA protection. Not all sunscreens are created equal, and zinc oxide based sunscreens are the best! Look for something that is at least SPF 30 with zinc oxide as the main active ingredient. Rockwall Dermatology carries a line of EltaMD® sunscreens with micronized transparent zinc oxide that are non-comedogenic, sensitivity-free, fragrance-free and paraben-free.
If your skin can tolerate it, use a regular topical retinoid.
Second only to sunscreens, these vitamin-A derivatives are the most supported anti-aging creams in existence. Their benefit is multi-faceted and summarily keeps skin static without aging the way it otherwise would.
Top off the protection with daily use of antioxidants.
Even the best sunscreens don't provide 100% protection from environmental aggressors, and antioxidants help consume free radicals generated from the sun, pollution, alcohol consumption, and cigarette smoke. The SkinMedica Vitamin C+E complex is our favorite and gradually delivers high levels of vitamins C and E to the skin to provide antioxidant protection all day long. Antioxidants shouldn't replace sunscreens but are highly complementary to sunscreens for skin health.
Dermatologic cosmetic procedures.
In clinical trials, the satisfaction rates in people who get (Botox® and Dysport®) and dermal fillers range from 80-95%. In my experience, the satisfaction rate is much higher. Not only do these medicines lessen wrinkles, stimulate collagen production, and improve skin contours making people look better, they also improve mood, lessen headaches, and help build self-confidence.