The Dry Skin Myth

Dry skin causes wrinkles, right? Right?  That’s what I’ve always been told and that’s what I believed until I took a closer look into this common myth.  Let’s take a look into what makes the skin form wrinkles. The causes of skin aging can be broken down into 5 categories that we will look at individually.

Skeletal Remodeling

Huh?  As we age, our bones go through changes and the bones in our face actually tend to decrease in size.  As you can imagine, if the bones are smaller they don’t “fill in” our faces as well.  This is particularly evident in the jaw and on the forehead, where the skin often starts to sag.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot that we can do at this time to prevent this from happening.  There isn’t a cream in the world that can fix this, but there are non-invasive procedures (fillers) and surgical procedures (face lifts and facial implants) that can help if you want to go that route.

Gravity

Well, we all know about this one.  As we age the cumulative effects of gravity start to take over.  Gravity is constantly working against us and pulling our soft tissues downward.  Now, obviously we can’t take away the gravity effect unless we all move to the moon but we can take steps to make our skin more resilient to gravity.  Collagen and elastin fibers help to hold our skin structures together and as we age these fibers deteriorate.  The goal is to increase the natural formation of these two fibers.  You can do this in several ways- the most important thing to do is feed your body the ingredients that it needs to make them:  soy, dark green vegetables, and beans can all help.  Secondly, treat your skin with glycolic acid or another one of the alpha-hydroxy acids to stimulate production.

Muscular Facial Activity

You know those people that have their feelings written all over their face?  I’m one of those people with a very expressive face- and I pay for it with crow’s feet, the dreaded “11” on the forehead and other expression lines.  The good news is that research has brought us wonderful ingredients that help to decrease these lines.  Argireline (otherwise known as acetyl-hexapeptide 3) is a peptide that decreases the muscle tension that causes these lines.  It doesn’t work to the same extent that an injectable would, but it does offer great non-invasive results on expression lines.  

Soft Tissue Maturation

As we get older, our skin cells and the tissues underneath begin to function differently.  The skin cells become flattened and distorted and the skin itself becomes thinner.  Skin cells are produced at a much slower rate than they were when we were younger.  These factors cause the skin to lose more water- which makes the skin look worse, but I’ll get to that later.  Retinol is one of the greatest ingredients available to mitigate these effects.  Retinol speed up skin cell turnover- it helps you to make new skin cells faster.  The best news is that the new skin cells that are formed tend to function more normally and are not flattened.  After just two weeks of use you can see visible benefits of retinol and there are countless benefits that you can’t see.  There are few ingredients that I would term to be true skin care “superstars” but this is one of them.  There are certainly side effects of retinol use and some people cannot tolerate it (it can cause dry flaky patches, itchiness and redness).  To avoid side effects, try using it every other day until you know how your skin reacts and increase usage as you are able to.  The side effects should subside after two weeks.  If you use retinol make sure you protect your skin from the sun because it will be more sensitive.

Solar Changes

When it comes to damage from the sun, there is good news and bad news.  The bad news is that it wreaks havoc on our skin- causes skin cancer, sun spots, collagen and elastin destruction...need I go any further.  The good news is, you guessed it, it’s preventable!!!  So lather up, get your fake bake on and look young for years to come!

So what about dry skin?  Well, as I said earlier, it just makes wrinkles look worse.  By hydrating the skin we plump up those areas that are wrinkled and sagging and drooping.  Did you know that some companies will use alcohol to clean someone’s face before they take “Before” pictures in skin care product trials.  That’s because alcohol dries out the skin cells and makes the skin look worse than it actually is!  

There are 3 key ways to hydrate the skin:

1. Provide it with water- drink up!
2. Provide it with hyaluronic acid- this ingredient is incorporated in SimplySkin Rx’s Prime and Restore products.  It binds water in the deeper layers of the skin to keep it moisturized from within. (Stay tuned for our new Hydrate mask that contains hyaluronic acid)
3. Provide it with oils- the key moisturizing ingredients in lotions and creams are the oils that help your skin retain moisture.  Sometimes it takes time to find a formulation that works for you and doesn’t clog your pores, but your skin needs moisture so keep looking.

The Paraben Myth

This is probably one of the most controversial topics in skin care.  Many people believe that parabens cause breast cancer.  Lots of companies advertise products that are “paraben-free” and spend their time and money convincing you that you shouldn’t use products with parabens.  Hmmm....let’s take a look at the evidence and then you can make your decision accordingly.

First, what are parabens?  They are chemicals that are used to preserve foods, deodorants, antiperspirants and cosmetics.  They protect the product from a broad range of microorganisms (bacteria AND fungus) that could ruin the product or cause illness or infection in the user.  They are extremely effective, low cost and have a long history of use.  That all sounds sounds pretty reasonable to me.

What evidence exists to show that parabens cause breast cancer (as many people claim)?  I found this article from the National Cancer Institute that is pretty helpful in discussing what research has shown.  Basically, a 2004 study found parabens in 18 of 20 breast cancer tissue samples.  The study did not look at healthy breast tissue samples to determine if parabens were present there.  There have also been other studies that specifically looked at breast cancer patients who used antiperspirants and deodorants and shaved.  All of the research was inconclusive and there is no research available that proves that parabens cause breast cancer.  More research is needed and I’m sure that we will hear more on this topic in the next few years due to the controversy (and the large amount of funding that is available for breast cancer research).

What do the “powers that be” say about parabens?  Check out this information from the FDA.  The Cosmetic Ingredient Review board concluded that parabens were safe for use in cosmetics at levels of up to 25%.  WOW!  Did you know that it only takes a concentration of 0.01% to 0.3% to properly preserve a product.  The next time you look at the ingredients on your product, notice that parabens are usually listed last or next to last.  That is because the ingredients are listed in order of concentration from high to low and parabens are used in extremely low concentrations.  

So, my take on parabens is that they are safe for use and very effective.  We use them in very low amounts at SimplySkin Rx and will continue to do so until one of two things happen.  If we find a preservative that is more effective or if parabens are ever proven to be harmful we would immediately remove them.  I know this is a sensitive subject because breast cancer has touched so many of us and those around us.  If you’ve looked at all of the research and you STILL think that you want to go paraben free there are definitely products that are available to you.  

I hope that this was helpful in sorting out the facts vs. the hype.  Leave your comments below!

The Tanning Myth

How many times have you heard someone say: “I’m going to go to the tanning bed and get a base tan so that I don’t get sunburned when I go to the beach.”  How many times have you said this yourself?  Maybe I hear this more often than the average person because, as a pharmacist and an advocate of healthy skin practices, I’m constantly wagging my finger at patients that tan.

The truth is that tanning your skin does provide an SPF of only about 2-3.  You would never (I hope!) use a sunscreen with such a low SPF, and you had to damage your skin to even gain that small amount of “protection” from future sunburn.  Tan skin is damaged skin and there is no longer a need to tan with all of the great products that are available to add some color to your skin.

To help further convince you that you shouldn’t tan anymore I’ve prepared some pro’s and con’s of tanning and I’m going to share the best products that are out there to get your fake-bake on!

Tanning Pros: 

It looks good (while you are young)

It gives you a time to relax

It helps curb depression in some people during the winter months

Tanning Cons:

It causes skin cancers (Melanoma is the #1 cause of cancer deaths in women aged 25-30)

It causes wrinkles

It causes skin discolorations (ever heard of sunspots?)

It causes dry skin

It has been proven to be addictive

It makes your skin smell bad

It has been linked to ocular cancers

Great sunless tanning products:

I have long been a fan of L’Oreal Sublime Bronze products.  They work well, don’t streak when applied correctly and they are relatively inexpensive.  I use these products when it is spring or summer and I need a great tan.

In the wintertime, I like to have a faint glow.  For this, I use and recommend Neutrogena Build-A-Tan.  What I like about this product is that you can gradually increase your shade without fear of turning orange or too dark.  It is easy to apply and, because it is gradual, it is much more forgiving if you don’t get it applied just right.

If you need a tan and you need it now (as in, you just tried on that new spring dress and WOW your legs are white!) you should try either- Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs or Scott Barnes Body Bling lotion.  These are products that give you an instant tan without a self-tanner odor and both produce amazing results.  I prefer to use the Sally Hansen just on my legs and the Scott Barnes on my upper body.  The only con to these products is that they can be messy- I stand in the bathtub to use the spray so that I can just wash away the overspray.  Both products wash away with soap and water so be prepared to clean up after yourself.  I like to think of these products as “special event” products because I don’t want to deal with the mess from day to day, but it is well worth it for an event or night out.

Did you know?

There are LOTS of sunless tanning products out there, but they all use the same active ingredient: dihydroxyacetone (DHA)

Every sunless tanning product in every price range uses this ingredient.  Of course, the other ingredients that are incorporated will influence how well the product covers, spreads, feels on the skin, etc.

DHA is also what causes that characteristic sunless tanning smell.  The only way to get a sunless tan without this smell is to use one of the body makeup products (like Sally Hansen or Scott Barnes).

BTW- You should know that I haven't been asked to feature these products, I haven't been sent free product, I haven't been solicited by anyone in regards to these products.  These are all products that I honestly use and have chosen and purchased myself.  If you have any other products or advice that you would like to share in regards to sunless tanning feel free to comment below!

The Blackhead Myth

Blackheads are a nuisance, plain and simple.  They are one of the most difficult things to get rid of and they come back much too easily.  One of the reasons for this is that they are often misunderstood by the vast majority of people and apparently by marketers of beauty products as well.


The myth about blackheads is that they are caused by dirt and improper skin cleansing.  Many believe that blackheads are a result of dirt from the surface of the skin "seeping" down into the pores- hence the reason for so many "pore shrinking" products.  Actually, blackheads are a result of sebum and cellular debris that cannot properly escape the pore because the opening of the pore is being blocked by dead, flattened skin cells.  This buildup oxidizes and turns black, in the case of a blackhead (a whitehead is the same thing except that oxygen is not able to get to the buildup so it stays white).


So, what can be done about this?  Well, for starters we can all stop over cleansing and scrubbing our faces. This just causes excess inflammation and does not do anything to remove or prevent blackheads.  The gold standard for blackhead removal and prevention is chemical exfoliation.  By exfoliating the skin with chemicals such as salicylic acid, glycolic acid or lactic acid, you remove the dead skin cells that are blocking the pore and allow the buildup to naturally flow out.  Depending on the strength of acid you choose, this process can take a couple of weeks to fully work and you have to be diligent to maintain the exfoliation, or else those blackheads will quickly return.  Try our Renew-An Exfoliating Mask to begin exfoliating your skin safely and effectively.

Renew-An Exfoliating Mask