Lifestyle Choices

The Cause

These so-called liver spots are changes in pigmentation in the skin as a result of the aging process coupled with exposure to the sun’s rays. Their proper name is lentigines. They usually mar hands and faces most, and in truth they have little to do with the liver, from which they have borrowed their name. Women deficient in some B vitamins—particularly folic acid and niacin—or women who have a particularly high personal requirement for them thanks to their genetic inheritance or their taking of oral contraceptives, are particularly prone to developing liver spots in areas of the body that are regularly exposed to the sun’s light or artificial ultraviolet rays from a sun lamp.

Prevention and Cure

Many dermatologists claim there is nothing internal that one can do either to prevent or to eliminate liver spots. However, some nutritionists— and I have seen personal evidence of this—say that a good B-complex vitamin supplement which is particularly rich in folic acid and niacin (5 milligrams of folic acid and 100 milligrams of nicotinamides taken with each meal) will clear them up—provided of course that the rest of your diet is adequate.

There are also bleaching creams, which, used regularly three times a day, will gradually fade them. But if your skin is particularly sensitive to allergic reaction, you should do a patch test (as one does to test for allergens) before trying any of them, as they contain strong chemicals which may cause irritation.

Professionally, liver spots can be removed by using liquid nitrogen, frozen carbon dioxide, or electrocoagulation, or more simply by skin- peeling with the help of small fraises to sand down the epidermis. One thing is certain: At the first sign of any kind of irregular pigmentation like this, you need to shield yourself from the sun at all times on the area where it is developing, using a high-protection sun product. If you are prone to brown spots, stay away from sun products that contain oil of bergamot or any of its derivatives, and never put scent on before going out into the sun.

What if everything goes bad?

The Cause

A tendency to broken veins and reddish skin is something that is inherited. The veins of some people tend easily to dilate, resulting in congestion under the surface of the skin, which shows itself in red blotches, particularly on the cheeks and nose, where skin is especially thin. It can occur in any type of skin—young or old, dry or oily—but it usually gets worse as you get older. The capillaries in the skin become increasingly fragile and often rupture, which leads to the true broken veins many women are troubled with, particularly on the nose and cheeks. Two things make the condition worse: extremes of temperature on the skin and general inactivity. The more immobile the muscles of the face are, the more the blood tends to collect instead of flowing through the area efficiently.

Prevention and Cure

They are impossible to prevent completely—at least so far as I know— because you can’t choose your parents. But once you realize you have the tendency, there is a lot you can do. First make sure you get adequate quantities of zinc and vitamin C plus the bioflavonoids in your diet. Always eat some of the white flesh of grapefruit skins, for instance, as well as the fruit itself. Vitamin B2 is also helpful sometimes, because it plays an important part in the oxygenation of the cells, and vitamin B₁ is essential for good circulation.

Smoking is about the worst thing you can do for the problem, short of lying for long hours in the sun. Vitamin E is generally helpful in circulation troubles, and some claim that it will help the broken-vein problem when taken internally and also applied to the surface of the skin, although there is no scientific proof to support this. Redness in the skin without broken veins can be treated professionally with frozen carbon dioxide. Once a network of broken veins is visible, they have to be cauterized with an electric needle one by one. The blood in them then coagulates and is gradually reabsorbed, so that they disappear. The face usually has to be treated three or four times before they are completely gone. Preferably treatment should take place with intervals of a couple of weeks between sessions. Always avoid extremes of temperature and always protect your skin from the sun with a high-protection sunscreen if you have a tendency to broken veins.

What if you bruise easily?

The Cause

Bruises happen when the tiny blood vessels under the skin rupture and blood seeps into the tissue, which is what gives a bruise its bluish color. This gradually fades and changes to a greenish yellow as the blood released is broken down and reabsorbed. They are particularly frequent in women who appear to have a high requirement of vitamin C or who smoke and therefore use up the vitamin, rapidly putting themselves into a mild scorbutic state.

Prevention and Cure

If you tend to bruise easily, increase your intake of zinc and vitamin C, both nutrients essential for the strength and health of capillaries. Carl Pfeiffer, of the Brain Bio Centre, recommends that in addition to natural foods, adults usually need 12 to 30 milligrams of zinc twice a day as well as at least 2 grams of vitamin C. If you bruise very easily, you may even need more vitamin C. It is important to take the bioflavonoids as well, since vitamin C on its own sometimes doesn’t clear up the problem, but with the bioflavonoids it does. Immediate treatment for a bruise can be had by applying cold wet compresses.

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