Articles About Skincare

When I was a medical student, Linus Pauling visited our medical school and gave a lecture.  Dr. Pauling had won a Nobel Prize for a vast body of work in chemistry including the elucidation of the chemical structure of proteins.  His talk, however, had nothing to do with any of the topics for which he was famous.  Instead, he spoke of the benefits of massive daily intake of Vitamin C, most notably its ability to influence aging, slowing the whole process. His conclusions were without scientific merit.  The talk was really nonsense, in the end.  There was simply no scientific evidence [...]

It should surprise no one that patients want to do whatever they can to improve their scars after surgery. Many patients ask me when they should start massaging scars, how often, and for how long. The answer is “don’t massage the scar." I have not read anything in the scientific literature that convinces me that massage does anything to help the final outcome of a scar. There is much in the scientific literature to support gentle treatment of the wound for the best and quickest result. Massaging a scar causes the release of histamine which increases inflammation and the amount of [...]

Patients often miscategorize their own scars most often labeling anything they don’t like as a keloid.  In this blog post I will try to clarify some of the confusion about what is a keloid and what are other types of scars. The ideal scar after any skin repair is flat, narrow, and white.  Scars are never completely invisible but they can come quite close Between the skin injury and the final scar, a process called “remodeling” occurs.  Over varying periods of time, a scar will go through morphologic changes as the body manages the healing process.  Scars are not categorized during [...]

First of all, anti-aging creams do not reverse aging.  At best, they can only camouflage some of the stigmata of aging.  The question is whether they even do that.  Much money is spent on these products.  Are they worth the money? All of the ingredients that supposedly combat aging are placed in emollients as a vehicle for delivery to the surface of the skin. By themselves, emollients hold in skin moisture and protect a bit against mechanical trauma.  So that’s good. Beyond the emollients, let’s look at the ingredients that are offered in the vast array of available products. Acids are added to some [...]

Until some genetic breakthrough occurs, the best treatment for aging skin is prophylactic care. Since the biological clock ticks inexorably, one can only avoid the acceleration of aging brought on by external factors. The most significant of these factors is ultraviolet light. Most people receive some exposure to sunlight, but the recent popularity of tanning beds adds another source of skin damaging UV radiation. Those who think that UV light from a tanning bed is not harmful are badly mistaken. All ultraviolet light should be avoided as much as possible. Because sun damage is only partially reversible, and because it accelerates [...]

As summer draws to a close it may be time to consider erasing some of the unwanted blemishes produced or exacerbated by sun exposure.  Specific treatment is dependent upon the magnitude of the problem and the skin type involved.  There are a number of approaches to consider. Topical creams are modest improvement if any.  Hydroquinone is a bleaching agent that sometimes works. Chemical peels have different formulations which allow for different levels of treatment.  In our office, we offer the Vipeel and the Vipeel precision.  These are painless treatments that can be used on any skin type. Laser and other light treatments (IPL) [...]