Thursday, May 15, 2014

5 Bad Habits That Damage Your Skin


Like all medical professionals, dermatologists subscribe to the Latin proverb "primum non nocere," or "first, do no harm." But, when it comes to your beauty routine, sometimes derms really, really want to smack you upside the head. "It’s amazing what some people do to their skin," says Doris Day, M.D., dermatologist and clinical associate professor of dermatology at New York University Langone Medical Center.
Habit 1: Picking At Your Skin
Hands off! Look, a zit only lasts a few days—a week, max—but residual redness and hyperpigmentation from picking and scratching can remain for months or even years. "Picking isn't just an issue with acne—it can cause scarring whenever and wherever you pick, whether it starts with keratosis pilaris, a bug bite, or for no reason at all," says Heidi Waldorf, M.D., dermatologist and director of laser and cosmetic dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital. "In fact, if you start scratching a spot of normal skin, after a while it will thicken. And it can become an itchy bump, also called a prurigo nodule."
"Laser hair removal helps for people picking at hairs," she says. "If that hair's not there, there's nothing to pick. Resurfacing lasers like the Pixel or Photofacial can help even out hyperpigmentation."
Habit 2: Licking Your Lips—A Lot
There's a myth out there that claims people can get addicted to lip balm. We checked—it's not real. "These people just have dry skin and miss the feeling of the balm when it's gone," says Day. You know what's really addictive? Lip licking. But when you moisten your lips that way, you actually wind up making things worse. The water in your saliva evaporates, leaving lips withered and cracked. "Saliva can contain bacteria and irritants, so you can end up with a rash around the lips as well," says Day.
An aside: You might be tempted to brush your lips since flakes make lip color look particularly craggy and gross. Day says forget what you've read, and put down the toothbrush—a gentle swipe with a damp washcloth will suffice. "In trying to get a smoother look for a lipstick, brushing just makes them rougher and bumpier," she says. "Lips don't have oil glands, so you don't need to exfoliate them like the rest of your skin." 
To repair damaged, dry and cracking lips, try Vivite Lip Plumper. It brings natural moisture to your lips, plumps and helps rebalance your lips natural moisture for a smooth surface to apply non-damaging lipsticks such as our all natural Mineral Lipstick or all natural Mineral Lip Gloss. For an amazing result, apply Vivite Lip Plumper 5 mins before applying our all natural Lip Luxe lip gloss.  
Habit 3: A One-and-Done SPF Style
Nothing—and we mean nothing—bothers a skin doc like a patient who's blasé about their SPF game. "Caucasian patients who come in the color of red walnut tell me they don't understand how it happened when they applied an SPF 100," says Waldorf. "I show them my spotless skin after spending a week outdoors in Thailand and Brazil using only SPF 30+. What people need to understand is that you need to use enough, often enough."
You'd think derms would be on-board with ultra-high SPF sunscreens, but nope. Turns out, these provide only marginally better protection than an SPF 30 lotion, which filters more than 95 percent of UV rays. Worse, they give a false sense of security. "Just as wearing a safety belt doesn't give you permission to drive 90 miles per hour on black ice while texting, applying a high-SPF sunscreen doesn't give you permission to remain outside otherwise unprotected all day," says Waldorf.

Apply enough broad-spectrum sunscreen to fill a shot glass—and apply it a half-hour before you go outside. (It needs time to soak in.) Then, reapply every two to four hours. For extra credit—and extra sun protection—layer on SPF-infused foundations, concealers, bronzers, blushes, and lip colors. Mineral makeup, such as Beauty Redefined's All Natural Mineral Line have a natural SPF 15 in all foundations, concealers, and blush. Try applying your natural mineral makeup with it's natural SPF, then lightly tap on your SkinMedica SPF30+ over your makeup for a sure-fire coverage. All you will need to do is apply SkinMedica SPF30+ lightly again about every 3 hours, without messing up your makeup! 
For more information about makeup and quality SPF, contact our office at www.beauty-redefined.com
Habit 4: Ignoring Skin Fluctuations
"It’s important to pay attention to your skin and give it what it needs, the way it needs it, when it needs it," says Day. That means using lightweight, mattifying products in the summer; switching to heavier, more emollient ones in the winter; and using acne-fighting products before your period starts. ("If you wait until you're broken out, you're already behind," says Day.)
And don't rely on spot treatments. "Studies show that when you see a pimple, there are more in the surrounding area that haven't come up yet," she says. If your forehead is a problem area, treat the whole forehead. Ditto for the chin. 
For help understanding your skin and its fluctuations, schedule a consultation with Kelly, our skin care specialist. She will ask you the right questions to help you better understand the best skin care regimen to stay ahead of your fluctuations instead of scrambling to constantly repair. 
www.beauty-redefined.com
Habit 5: Exfoliating Your Face Off
Dermatologists understand why people love Clarisonic brushes and the super-clean feeling you get after using them or your favorite exfoliator. But chasing that beauty high has led a lot of patients to overdo it, scrubbing skin into a blotchy, irritated mess. Exfoliating too often breaks down the skin-barrier function, meaning new skin never has a chance to build up. Skin becomes more sensitive to irritation, which leads to inflammation and actually speeds aging.
For oily skin we recommend exfoliating every other day, for dry skin to exfoliate about once to twice a week, and for combination skin to exfoliate once to twice a week as well. Using the Clarisonic is not only for the benefit of exfoliating, but the technology in the Clarisonic helps to rejuvenate your natural collagen when used correctly. For more information on exfoliating and the Clarisonic, schedule a free consultation with Kelly, our skin care specialist. 
www.beauty-redefined.com

No comments:

Post a Comment