Lifestyle Choices

Environment

Finally, anything that you apply to your skin may cause so-called acne cosmetics or pomade acne. If your skin feels irritated by any particular cleanser, makeup, sunscreen, moisturizer, or even shampoo, and especially by hair treatments, it reacts by forming an extra shell of protection. How does it do this? Simply by adhering more dead cells onto the surface! It is therefore not the cosmetic per se that causes acne, but rather the body’s protective reaction that clogs the pores. (more…)

Fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, good quality fats and oils, and plenty of pure water are the basics for good skin health. These foods promote the healthy functioning of the internal organs, which is reflected in the condition of the skin. High- fiber foods move wastes quickly through the large intestine, plenty of water flushes toxins out of the body through the kidneys, and an abundance of fresh, leafy green vegetables keeps the liver working efficiently to detoxify the bloodstream. Glowing, smooth, and blemish-free skin is an indication that all is well internally. (more…)

While drinking plenty of pure water will help to keep your skin hydrated and facilitate the release of toxins, you can also take advantage of the purifying benefits of water externally through the use of saunas, steams, and special cleansing baths. A daily bath or shower removes surface perspiration and toxins. But you don’t want to dry out your skin or upset the natural protective acid mantle. Use gentle vegetable oil soaps and lather up only where you absolutely need to. A thorough scrubbing with warm water and a loofah or rough washcloth is all you need over most of your body to remove dry skin cells and refresh your skin. Be sure to install a water filter on your shower if your tap water is chlorinated. Your skin and your hair will be much softer and you won’t be absorbing chlorine, which is a potent toxin. (more…)

Almost everything can cause an allergy in someone, somewhere! The medical literature is full of reports of strange skin allergies: clarinet players with lip blisters from an allergy to the bamboo reed; drivers with allergic reactions to steering wheels; chefs with allergies to pineapple juice, corn and other moist foods. (more…)

When relaxing at home, at weekends or on holiday, it’s great to give the skin and yourself a break from wearing make-up. But otherwise, all women look and feel better with a little colour, ‘their’ colours, to enhance their skintone, eyes and hair. (more…)

Facial Hair

I know, life isn’t fair. Some of us are darker and fuzzier in places we wish we weren’t, and during our period a female ‘moustache’ can become darker and more noticeable.

If you have noticeable hairs on your face you have three options:

• Bleaching them monthly. This is fine if the hairs aren’t coarse or too long. Apply a special facial hair bleach to lighten the hair. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Always test a patch of hair on your arm first. Some women’s hair turns red, which can be worse than the natural shade.

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Regardless of income, background or lifestyle, modern women have no excuse for being badly groomed. We can all transform our appearance simply by bothering to attend to details — and a little regular care and attention doesn’t take as much time as you might think. Here are some guidelines.

Hair

Clean, conditioned and well-cut. Individual needs obviously vary but, at minimum, have your hair trimmed every 6-8 weeks. (more…)

More than three out of four women shave their underarms, bikini area, and/or legs to remove excess hair, and almost all men shave their beard. The secret of a good shave is closeness with comfort. An understanding of hair growth and a proper shaving technique are important. As a dermatologist, I often see shaving-related problems such as irritation or pseudofolliculitus (pimples). (more…)

As if women don’t have enough worries, many still have to contend with unwanted facial hair. The genetic tendency to downy hair on the cheeks has been admired by many poets and novelists. Usually this soft, fine hair decreases by the age of 30. Women are dismayed, in contrast, by the appearance of thick, dark hairs on the cheeks or chin (stimulated after menopause by the adrenal androgens no longer balanced by higher levels of ovarian estrogens). (more…)

“Skin Bleaching” Medical Surgery Basic Procedure

Before a chemical peel, the doctor may recommend that the face be “pre-treated” with a special exfoliating cleanser, with retinoic acid, or with alpha-hydroxy acids so that the peel procedure can be performed on a more even skin surface. Just before the peel, the doctor may ask the patient to wash his or her face thoroughly. Then he or she will clean the patient’s face extensively with alcohol oracetone, rubbing the superficial oil from the skin. (more…)

The use of chemicals to “peel away” unwanted or dead skin is a practice with a past. Chemical face peeling can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where creams of alabaster particles suspended in milk and honey were applied to the face for “tightening”. The Egyptians also used animal oils mixed with salt and natural minerals, and plant substances to “exfoliate” their faces. Later, poultices containing mustard, sulfur and limestone were used. (more…)

Acne is something we all recognize. It is so common that only one person in three may escape and probably everyone has a little, mild acne at times. It is normal to have a degree of acne while growing up but this does not make it any easier to cope with. No one finds it easy to cope with any disfigurement on the face. (more…)

Acne usually starts as a few blackheads on the nose and forehead and a few inflamed papules also appear often on a greasy skin. Often the spots come in crops so that there are times in between without any spots. Many girls have a bout of acne around the time of their period.

Cosmetics

Very greasy or oily cosmetics are best avoided because they can block up the follicles and make acne worse. This may happen under a fringe when the hair may prevent the grease escaping. Disagreement about the best advice partly stems from the fact that in America they used to have a lot of trouble with greasy make-up causing acne. In Britain most doctors are happy to allow the use of noncomedogenic foundation, moisturizers etc. Some people gain much confidence if they can hide their spots. (more…)

Pigment

The pigment in our skin is called melanin and this same substance gives color to our hair and eyes. Fair -skinned people have only a little melanin while those with dark skins have a lot. The main function of melanin is to protect the skin from ultraviolet in the sun’s rays.

Vitiligo

Intensive research, around the world, has so far failed to reveal the trigger for vitiligo or the mechanism. We know that antibodies against the melanocyte are found in the blood, that antibodies against the thyroid gland are also present but that they seem to do no harm. (more…)

Birthmarks

It would be logical if all birthmarks were present at birth. This is not always the case. Some marks appear in the first few days of life but others can be delayed by months or years. In these cases it is thought that the fault resides in the skin from birth but only reveals itself when some other factor acts as a trigger. An example of this is the unusual problem called Becker’s nevus. It has the appearance, usually on the shoulder, of a large light brown patch, often with some coarse dark hair in it. It is first seen at puberty and is triggered by rising hormone levels. Salmon patches or stork bites derive their name from the old fable about babies being delivered down the chimney by a friendly stork whose beak has clasped the human bundle by the nape of the neck. These marks are seen in about a quarter of the population. Sometimes they are thought to have appeared in adult life but it is only that some new hair style or hair disease has revealed a patch that has really been present since birth. (more…)

Skin cancers

Skin cancer is already a common disease but we are seeing it more and more. There may be several reasons for this but an important one is that more fair-skinned people are being exposed to sunlight, either on holiday or having emigrated to a hot country. The problem is so great in subtropical Australia that almost every adult has at least one skin cancer in their life. Much more will be said about the damaging effect of sunlight on skin but it is such an important subject that there is no harm in mentioning it twice. (more…)

The medical meaning of the word tumor is simply a swelling or lump raised above the skin surface. Although some tumors are cancers, most are not and the word can be applied to something as harmless as a wart.

Harmless skin lumps of one type or another are exceedingly common: in fact everyone has one or more at some time in their life. Although moles, which are raised, could also be considered here they are dealt with in detail in the section on birthmarks and pigment. This section deals with both harmless or benign lumps as well as true cancers or malignant lumps. (more…)

The Aniline or Oxidation Hair Colorants

The most permanent (and the most successful), these dyes are included in a number of products for colouring hair such as tinting shampoos, highlighting shampoos, and the single-step and double-step permanent colourants you can buy in packages at the chemist. They are permanent dyes, because the artificial pigment is made to penetrate into the cortex of the hair shaft. There it stays. How this happens is most interesting. (more…)

There are three kinds of permanent hair colourants: vegetable dyes such as henna, metallic dyes such as those used to gradually cover grey hair, and the aniline dyes or oxidation tints, which include most of the colourants used professionally in salons.

The Vegetable Dyes

Henna is the best-known, since its use dates back thousands of years. Taken from the Lawsonia plant, which is indigenous to Africa and Asia, henna varies in colour depending on which country it comes from. It can be strong orange in colour, as Moroccan henna, or a deep red, as the henna that comes from Iran — the most sought-after in the world. The plant is harvested, dried in the sun, and then crushed into a greenish powder, which is what one puts on the hair. It coats the hair shaft’s cuticle a reddish colour. (more…)

Fungi

Several fungi can infect human skin, nails and hair. Those fungi which normally live in the soil or on animals tend to produce inflammation as well as scaling but those which are specifically human fungi give rise to little reaction on the skin. The term ringworm is used because many fungal infections produce a circular rash.

Ringworm

Ringworm on the foot is also called athlete’s foot and it is the most widespread form of fungal infection. It is easily spread from one person to another and swimming baths and changing rooms are likely sources of infection. The usual changes are redness, scaling and maceration in the space between fourth and fifth toes, and it may be accompanied by small blisters. It may remain like this for years causing no discomfort, however, it may itch and spread to the other web spaces or other body sites. (more…)