skin care tips - Rao Dermatology

Skin Reactivity and the perfect solution

Skin reactivity is a common factor among skin conditions. Stemming from different resources, it can shape how your skin reacts to certain stimulus and how it is completed unaffected by others. Understanding skin reactivity can be very useful to finding the right tool to defend against its downfalls.

Three primary causes of skin reactivity

Vascular: In this instance, reactivity develop when factors such external temperature (the weather) and internal factors like eating something spicy or consuming alcohol weakens the walls of the blood vessels. These changes can induce reactivity in the form of redness or flushed skin or a heating discomfort.

Environmental: The temperatures outdoors, especially when inconsistent and sudden can lead to burning sensations in the skin. Atmospheric pollution can also have the same effect.

Contact: the application of products with intolerable ingredients, fabrics, or even certain kinds of water can create a tightness or discolouration that results in an overall discomfort.

Understanding the aforementioned categories of skin reactivity is crucial to the implementation of proactive and preventive measures to minimize outcomes.

Skin reactivity solution – Skinceuticals Phyto Corrective Masque

Skinceuticals recognizes how agonizing skin reactivity can be. The Phyto Corrective Masque is created to alleviate the discomfort that persists from reactive skin. The masque consists of highly concentrated botanical extracts, a calming dipeptide, and hyaluronic acid to intensively soothe and replenish temporary skin reactivity. The ingredients aim to calm what is otherwise irritable skin and restores the skin to its natural radiance and smoothness.

One of the major benefits of this skinceuticals product is its multidimensional nature. The masque can be used daily for post workout and a hot bath. During travel, it also restores your skin following swimming (chlorine and salt water) adventures.

The Phyto Corrective Masque is effective on all skin types and materializes in visible results.

If you want to learn more about Skinceuticals products and how they can enhance your skin in a healthy way, visit, www.skinceuticals.com

Healthy Skin Obsessed

These days, trends only last as long as it takes the development of another product, theme, or idea to grab your attention. Despite this, healthy skin is one trend that manages to stay afloat and continue to remain a hot topic as others fizzle out. Pop culture has become skin care obsessed and we’re excited about it. We don’t want you to fall behind, so we’re sharing our healthy skin tips so you can ride the wave.

The Inside Job

Avoid alcohol, smoking, and caffeine consumption

These three substances, especially when consumed in a frequent and simultaneous manner, are capable of aging your skin rapidly and significantly. According to research from the British Skin Foundation, “smoking reduces the skin’s natural elasticity through the breakdown and reduction of collagen.” This lack of collagen is important to your skin’s health because it is a protein responsible for the strength of the skin. Consequently, the reduction and removal of collagen also results in the formation of wrinkles.

Be intentional about your food consumption

Healthy skin is the summary of what you put on the inside and outside of your skin. However, it is fair to say that the internal aspect holds a little more weight to the process and yields long-term effects. Consume foods that are high in antioxidants such as berries, carrots, beet, and squash. These foods will prevent free-radical damage. You should also include foods that contain vitamin A, such as green leafy vegetables and oranges, to help promote skin repair. Finally, drink lots and lots of water (eight glasses, daily). Water is the ultimate internal key to healthy-looking skin.

The Outside Job

Have a Skin Care Routine

Sadly, most people simply wash their faces with the body wash that is conveniently placed in the shower and that’s the end of their skincare routine. Using a little more effort, invest in a good cleanser, toner, moisturizer, and exfoliant that compliments your skin type and get in the habit of using these products daily. Your skin reacts well to consistency.

Protect Your Skin from the Sun

Invest in products that contain UVA and UVB protection to prevent sunburn or skin diseases. A little sun is certainly healthy as well, but you must be moderate.

Rest

Spend more time getting acquainted with your pillow and your dreams. Sleep is essential to healthy skin. Try going to your bed at the same hour every night, keep your bedroom cool, and apply a pea size amount of natural coconut oil over your eyes.

Try these tips to get the best out of your skin.

The Dos and Don’ts of Tanning!

The summer days are thriving and you should be soaking up every bit, literally. We’re not talking about running through the sprinklers at your local park or diving into a welcoming pool in the sweltering heat. We’re talking about tanning! You should be soaking up some sun and getting the best of it before the winter comes to terrorize you with dry skin. Tanning is a welcomed practice, however, we at Rao Dermatology believe everything should be done in a safe and moderate way. The sun, as lovely as it is, is packed with UV Rays that can cause skin cancer and other skin diseases. These tips below will help you practice safe tanning so you can feel comfortable and look radiant while you enjoy your summer.

Always wear Sunscreen

Whether you’re a naturalist or you subscribe to using pre-packaged store-bought brands, using sunscreen is a must. Protection from UVA and UVB radiation is imperative due to the stammering and grave harm, primarily skin cancer, which can result from exposure. Use sunscreen that is combative and states explicitly that it contains UVA/UVB protection, and most importantly, ensure it contains other health benefits such as replenishing and nourishing your skin.

Use other skin products with UVA/UVB protection

It’s easy to think that you have the ultimate protection once you have drowned your body in sunscreen. However, other parts of your body also need adequate coverage. If you are wearing make-up, it should be able to defend you from the sun. Skinceuticals has a highly effective line of sunscreen-based lip and eye protection to give you maximum coverage for your tanning excursions.

Limit your “Face time”

Your face is much more sensitive than the rest of your body. At no point should they both be exposed to the sun for equal amounts of time. Dermatologists recommend a maximum of 10 minutes face-tanning time. Anything longer than the allotted time can result in premature aging, dark spots, wrinkles, and discolouration. Also aim to exfoliate prior to sun tanning; it will kill dead cells and cleanse your pores.

Don’t Bake Your Skin

First –time tanners can tan for about 20 minutes and increase each time by five to ten minutes. However, monitor your skin. Do not stay in the sun for more than 1.5 – 2 hours.

Loving Your Skin

Mirrors: so personal, yet so impersonal. They have no voice yet the speak in ways that continually shape and reshape, not so much who you are, but rather, how you perceive yourself. At Rao Dermatology we encourage our clients to embrace their skin. It is your unique birthright—the covering to the anatomical mechanisms that allow you to function. We want you to love your skin, which will in turn, allow you to treat it with care, comfort, and respect.

Our catalogue of services provides you with myriad ways to embrace your skin’s versatility. Whether you want to combat wrinkles or aging, enhance the appearance of your skin, boost your skin’s radiance, or simply, develop a routine of care dedicated towards a holistic approach to dermatology, we work with you to help you achieve skin you deserve, skin you love.

One of the ways our company works to promote skin-love is in the products we use and endorse. We use products that have been dermatology tested and approved in both content and effectiveness. Further, we aim to use natural products to maximize the beauty in your skin. We consider your health history to best advise you on treatments, products, and programs that derive healthy and radiant-looking skin.

Loving your skin is a lot more than showing up to your scheduled appointment or purchasing the right preventative and restorative products. It is about being intentional, daily, in a way that allows you to know and understand when to be delicate and when to be rough, when to sleep and when to give it air. It’s being cognitive about what things will impact your skin’s health. More than anything, loving your skin is accepting its beauty, be it perfection and imperfection. Don’t let a mirror define when, why, and how to love your skin, make that your decision in practice.

If you want to understand more about loving your skin, give us a call and we’ll schedule you in for an appointment.

Skin Care Trends for summer ’16

Fashion shouldn’t be your only trend shifting as summer approaches; skincare trends are equally important and exciting. Here are some trends we endorse for the upcoming season!

All-in with SPF

We cannot stress enough how important it is to protect your skin from sun damage. Whether you are using facial sunscreens, hand and body creams, makeup or moisturizer, ensure that your product has ingredients with SPF properties to keep you guarded from UV exposure.

Facial Cleansing brushes

Washcloths are still reliable resources for facial cleansing, but you can expand your hygienic pallet and include a face cleansing brush to your routine. Beyond their obvious massaging techniques, face-cleansing brushes remove makeup at faster and more effective rates than traditional methods. Further, they tackle pores in a manner that reduces bacterial build up and promote proper product absorption. When used consistently, facial cleansing brushes create healthier looking skin.

Natural Products

Going natural is one trend that might be here for the long hull and we think that’s a great thing. This summer, get acquainted with natural oils such as coconut oil and argon oil, among others for noticeable skin maintenance. Implement or replace your products with natural remedies. For example, add a little coconut oil to your facemask or use honey as a cleanser. You can also opt to purchase products that contain natural ingredients. If you are unsure about their benefits, consult your dermatologist.

Go Green- Anti-Pollution products

There is an increased concern for the way in which the movement of people and products are affecting the environment. You may not have a university degree in environmentalism or sit on panels with persuasive rhetoric for donating to fix the global disaster, but you can contribute to the alleviation of the environmental crisis. Purchase anti-pollution products. Pollutants can destroy the skin’s most protective layer and catalyze premature aging. Check the labels to avoid making poor decisions for the earth and your skin.

Make these products your summer habit and watch your face work!

What is alcohol really doing to your skin?

Are you itching to take a break from your daily work-filled routine and let loose? We’ve all had stories of the odd random wild or crazy night—we welcome that. However, if alcohol consumption has a frequent slot in your week’s endeavors you might want to rethink your decision after considering the impact it has on your skin.

Alcohol is a toxin, simply put. After enough bodily exposure, it is destined to onset a series of negative effects, most prominently harming the liver. Scientifically classified a hepatotoxin, it functions as a blockage to cells that are responsible for detoxification. If the cells are inhibited from performing their natural purification process your skin suffers. Overtime, your skin begins to appear dull and may resemble characteristics synonymous with an individual with liver disease.

Alcohol consumption also prompts dehydration. Vasopressin, a hormone that promotes water retention, is a necessary process for successful hydration. When you consume alcohol, it delays vasopressin production, which causes your kidneys to do twice as much work to remove excess water from your body. As a result, your organs experience thirst. This internal dryness triggers wrinkles at a much faster rate than external dry skin. Your skin may also begin to look pale due to the body’s lack of vitamin A (cell renewal).

Finally, alcohol contains congeners, which are produced during fermentation. The greater the congeners in your beverage, the greater the hangover the next morning. Consequently, this positive correlation extends to your appearance. The more severe your hangovers the less appealing you look the following day. If you have more and more hangovers, your skin’s radiance will fade and you will trigger early aging.

Don’t be discouraged, you can still have a little wine, but do all things in moderation. Have a little gin, but don’t jeopardize your skin.

Don’t Be So Sensitive?

Have you been burdened with the task of having to go deep diving to find products that that won’t irritate your skin? Sensitive skin is far more common that you may want to believe, and though it may be a high-maintenance and time-consuming disposition, there are a few factors that may be contributing to your skin’s sensitivity.

Critique the Atmosphere

The air, as refreshing as it may be, can contain high volumes of contaminants. If you are in an environment saturated with dirt and pollution, which includes but is not limited to smoke, exhaust fumes, dust, and industrial waste, your skin can become irritable and pasty as a result. This type of pollution is almost unavoidable and can clog your pores and be absorbed by the skin’s natural barrier. Consequently, your skin fails to perform its natural purification processes resulting in sensitive skin. If you’re aware of excessive pollution in your surroundings try covering your skin on a consistent basis and drink lots of water.

Another atmospheric change that has a negative effect on your skin’s sensitivity is the weather. Extreme dry weather causes dehydration and by extension, sensitive skin. This most commonly occurs in the winter when you rotate between cold air and central heating. One of the best ways to combat this type of skin sensitivity is to moisturize your skin multiple times per day and be intentional about your hydration routine.

Stress

The environment may play a huge role in skin care, but stress is an internal mechanism that alters your skin’s sensitivity. Stress that derives from challenges such as a lack of sleep, bad eating habits, and conflict can slow down the hormones responsible for skin regulation. Over time, your skin will be defective in repair and maintenance and your skin may become sensitive. Try engaging in stress-free activities to defend stress-related skin inconsistencies.

Ingredients in Skincare Products

Finally, sensitive skin can be a direct result of the ingredients in skincare products. Take an active role in reading the ingredients of the products you apply to your skin. If you are uncertain about certain compounds, consult your dermatologist because you may be allergic.

If you think you’ve got sensitive skin, contact our office and book an appointment so we can initiate a recovery regimen that suits your needs.

Over-using products on your face

The saying “less is more” can be misleading when trying to decipher which products to use on your face. Sometimes too little can misinform a product’s effectiveness. On the other hand, overusing a product in the hope that the results will occur sooner or in a greater way is just as dangerous. At Rao Dermatology, we believe that moderation is the best medicine—never too little and never too much. The following products and/or routines have dominated our list of overuse. Take note!

We celebrate exfoliating and it is one of the leading methods for skin purification. However, if you are exfoliating your skin too often you will destroy and ultimately remove your skin’s top layer. By removing this protective barrier you do more harm to your skin than good and while you believe that you should be seeing positive results, quite the opposite occurs. Our dermatologists recommend exfoliating two or three times a week, maximum.

Products such as cleansers and scrubs can also be overused. You can definitely wash your face too much. The outcome: you remove the natural oils from your skin. The best way to mitigate this downfall is to cleanse or scrub your skin in the evenings so you can remove the makeup, dust, and dirt from the day’s adventures. In the mornings, use a wet washcloth to cleanse your face.

Makeup, Makeup, Makeup. This is the obvious culprit of product overusing. Too much will clog your pores, reduce your skin’s natural radiance, and overtime, cause aging. To avoid these side effects, apply natural primers and concealers that protect your skin. Further, try to limit your makeup use to work and special occasions. The more opportunity your skin has to breathe, the better.

Take this list to heart and monitor what products you’re overusing. The change will only be for the better and your skin will thank you for it.

Sleep: The easiest skincare remedy

When your day typically consists of getting the kids ready for school, making a big presentation at work for the promotion you’ve been dreaming of since college, being on time for your child’s soccer kick-off, and cooking dinner, sleep looks like just another chore on your to-do list. The following tips on adequate sleep however, will persuade you to make sleep a priority.

WHEN YOU ARE SLEEP-DEPRIVED, YOU AGE MUCH FASTER

When you miss out on the 7-8 hours of sleep that you should receive on a nightly basis, you tamper with your body’s regenerative process. More specifically, when you achieve deep sleep, your growth hormones rise and this, in turn, triggers cell reparation. If you are not sleeping enough, you progressively deter this system; rather than repairing damaged cells, your body will experience small breakdowns that, overtime, will materialize as signs of aging.

A LACK OF SLEEP HAS A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON PRE-EXISTING SKIN CONDITIONS

When an individual has a pre-existing skin condition (hereditary or otherwise), a lack of sleep will likely worsen the symptoms. When you have missed out too much rest you may experience an increase in skin sensitivity or you may have severe acne breakouts—just to provide a few examples. It’s important to monitor any changes you observe as it relates to your pre-existing skin condition when you’ve haven’t had enough sleep in a significant time frame.

SLEEP MAINTAINS AND ENHANCES YOUR NATURAL BEAUTY

Finally, depriving yourself of proper rest is one of the most subconscious ways to sever your natural beauty. For example, during sleep your body undergoes a hydration process that promotes moisture for your skin. If you do not get enough sleep your body will retain a poor water balance that ultimately leads to wrinkles, bags, and eye puffiness.

Ultimately, you get from your body what you put in. if you want to maintain your beauty, be good to your skin.

Everyday Facial Practices You should toss from your Skin Care Routine

Practice becomes normal; consequently, it is unsurprising that you may have normalized some bad skin care habits that developed from imitation and imposition. Some of these practices may have become so innate that you are either unaware or desensitized to the harm they exude. Well, now its time to break bad habits and embrace a new normal.

Hot Showers

After a long day of work it is easy to be hypnotized by a hot shower. However, getting right in and allowing the hot water to beat down on your face is one habit that is sucking more life out of you. Hot water strips your skin of its moisture leaving you with overwhelming dryness. If you have oily skin, this dryness promotes further oil production. Dermatologists recommend using lukewarm water to allow your skin to retain its natural oils and maintain a healthy balance of your skin’s properties.

Removing Makeup

The process of makeup removal is daunting, but the reality is, you should be just as invested in removing your makeup as you are in applying it. It is bad enough that individuals fall asleep or choose not to remove makeup at all. Simply washing your face is not the most effective way either. These practices usually result in clogged pores, breakouts/acne and the spreading of bacteria. Our dermatologists at Rao Dermatology suggest using makeup removal products such as wipes, cleansing oils, and cleaning water. These products are specifically designed to ensure that you clean your face properly. It is worth investing in a routine that will ultimately promote your best face.

Body Lotion

Convenience is surely the enabler of a lot of your bad habits. Body lotion is no exception. Applying body lotion to your face does not promote healthy facial care. They are designed with the body in mind, which tends to have much thicker skin than your face. Further body lotions are curated with a greater composition of fragrances and resilient ingredients. Your face demands gentleness. Aim to invest in facial moisturizers, especially ones made with natural ingredients. Your skin is sensitive so treat it accordingly.

A little effort goes a long way. If you make a conscious effort to break your bad habits you might be surprised by the results.