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Tips for Healthy Skin
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Work From the Inside Out
A balanced life including adequate sleep, proper nutrition and exercise reduces stress. Stress releases hormones like Cortisol that act directly on chemical messengers near nerve endings in the skin. Those messengers alter the skin’s immune system called SALT. They also lead to changes in the skin as a barrier to the outside world. As a result the skin becomes dehydrated, cracked and inflamed. Fissures become permanent, lines deepen, tumors and growths form as infections such as wart virus take hold. Strengthen your immune system with sleep, nutrition and exercise and see the effects of healthy living on your face. Photo: Getty Images
Stress Expressed
A balanced life needs a holiday. Work must cease for the chance to give the subconscious creative problem solving mechanisms to work. After a long Holiday, after a night’s sleep, after a short mid-day break, on a break from the electronic devices can consume the mind, the refreshed capacity to problem solved, expressed in the body as lower Cortisol, reduced tension in the neck, back and facial muscles diminishes. When the knitted, furrowed brow, the look of consternation that results in the constant creasing activity of the eyebrow muscles the result is a parallel creases known as the dreaded “elevens” or “railroad tracks” that make muscle relaxants like Dysport and Botox so popular. Muscle activation of the brow is an ingrained biological habit and “frowniesTM” during sleep may help as well.
Hydration of the Skin
While hydration of the body keeps functions optimal, the skin does not receive that moisture. Like the Rocky Mountains, it is in the constant state of weathered erosion from wind, sun, evaporated moisture and chemical elements in the atmosphere. Moisturizing regularly maintains water in the Epidermis and Dermis; preventing fissuring and cracking, the immune response to that damage and to the bacteria yeast and viruses that take hold in the fissures like trees growing from a crevice in the mountains. Restoring and maintaning that balance keeps the barriers to infection and further water loss intact. The inflammation, so destructive to the skin, which is from the immune system’s natural response to cracks and fissures is halted. There are many good moisturizers with non-toxic natural and non-toxic synthetic ingredients. Many have added anti-oxidants to stop damage after trauma from sun and chemical exposure. The book “No More Dirty Looks” (DaCapo Press) contains many suggestions on good and on avoiding carcinogens and allergy-producing chemicals as you strive to find effective skin saving moisture!
Photoprotection
Vitamin D is absorbed and processed through the skin. Fifteen minutes of daily are sufficient to produce adequate Vitamin D. The remainder of your time under the sun causes skin spots, growths, skin cancer, wrinkles and old unhealthy appearing looks. There are creams, lotions and sprays with SPF values and sun-protective clothing. Pros and cons of the health benefits and controversies about different ingredients may be found in many places such as “No More Dirty Looks,” mentioned above. Oral and topical antioxidants may prevent skin cells from being damaged by free radical and are present, to name only a few, in soy, Genistein, green tea, vitamin C, herbs such as Polypodium Leucotomos (HeliocareTM) and Mexoryl additives. There are many more and they have been tested for benefit and toxicity by variable amounts of scientific studies. Sun protective clothing comes in many forms. One stylish set of designs for children may be found at Cabana Life. Overall, they are worth considering. Remember to get adequate Vitamin D from natural food sources and supplements under supervision to avoid the negative effects of photoprotection.
Retinoids
Though Retin-A was once the one and only, dating back to the seventies, many forms of retinoic acid and many forms of this vitamin A-derived chemical are now available that acts on the skin’s genetic code to create both healthy appearance and healthy skin. Chemicals and trade names that are used for both acne and anti-aging include Tazorac (Tazarotene), Refissa and Renova (containing moisturizers blended with Retinoic Acid), retinol in commercially available moisturizers, Adapalene and many others. These compounds have been shown to improve the cosmetic appearance of spots and wrinkles and to assist in skin cancer prevention. They must be used at different times of the day from Vitamin C containing creams and all may make the skin drier or light sensitive and so should be used under the watchful eye of your Dermatologist.
Sun Exposure Common “Forgets”
The Sun is present even when you cannot feel it. You need sun protection everyday. The more horizontal the skin area, the more sun exposure it gets. Picture a light bulb above a mirror. It highlights, the exposed scalp. The brow ridge, the nose bridge the tops of the ears and the bottom of the ear bowl, the lower lip the skin of the upper lip and the chin. It also hits the shoulders, upper back in a summer dress and when you bend your knees while walking barelegged in skirts and shorts it strikes the calf-A Danger Zone for Melanoma. Helpful Hint-Screen the horizontals first and then the in-betweeens!
Sunglasses
One of the safest style statements you can make is to protect not only the “periorbital skin” around the eyes, the eyelids and the cheekbones from the aging and cancer producing rays but also the eyes themselves. As we age, vision declines from cataracts and macular degeneration due to sun exposure. Melanoma can even occur in the back of the eye.
What’s Dangerous?
If you cannot remember ABCDE, Asymmetry, Border Irregularity, Color variation, Diameter greater than a pencil eraser and Edges that are irregular-then try this- New or Changing! When in doubt seek a Dermatologist for evaluation of the spot that is New or Changing. There is now an FDA approved laser, the VivaScope, that allows Dermatologist’s to review a spot without the need for a biopsy.
Keep It Simple
With so many appealing creams, packages and ideas of promising vitamins, herbs, antioxidants and renewing perfection, why not stay with something you like until the bottle is empty? If you are a creature of habit, then stay with a product. If you want the experience of trying something new, create a regimen of a few topical potions and use them until they are empty. Then try a new promising set of creams and get the benefits of all of the technologies. You can always keep a favorite in the mix, if like a pet, it gives unconditional love.
Allergic reactions
Allergic reactions to products are hard to sort out. The most obvious and dramatic are the allergic contact dermatitis reactions of the eyelids. Less obvious are redness scale, and acne type reactions. Ancient wrinkles, fissures, scale, redness and burning and itching happens to many women as the sources of allergy are many and the ingredients, even natural ones contain many chemicals not native to the body. Try the process of elimination first. Remove everything-yes, everything. Then add one thing back at a time, painful and laborious as it is, there is no magic bullet cure to finding answers. Failing this disciplined approach seek a Dermatologist expert in patch testing. Be prepared for a lot of technical chemical names and the need to check each one in all of it’s differently named disguises from each manufacturer.
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