When it comes to skincare, it can be difficult to know which products work best for you. Whether you are searching for a brightening serum or an anti-aging moisturizer, there is one ingredient that could do both and more: growth factors.
Growth factors have been used for decades in research, but are making a bigger breakthrough in the skincare field. Kim Chang, a licensed medical aesthetician with Baylor College of Medicine, explains why incorporating growth factors into your daily routine can help support your skincare needs.
“Research has been substantial on growth factors when it comes to reducing lines and wrinkles,” Chang said. “They also work by adding hydration and decreasing tactile roughness in the skin.”
As dermatologists, we are the only true experts in all conditions affecting the skin. We offer various over the counter recommendations, as well as prescription creams, pills, injections, and treatments both medical & cosmetic (e.g. Botox, fillers, lasers, chemical peels, microdermabrasion, fat reduction etc).
At the same time, our patients often ask us which natural things (including food, vitamins, etc) they can try to improve their medical conditions. Based on reviewing the scientific medical literature, the following is presently known to be worth trying or not worth trying:
Acne is complicated, to say the least. There’s seemingly no limit to the different ways it can manifest, or the various hard-to-diagnose causes. There’s also the aftermath of a breakout, which can result in hyperpigmentation and acne scars. The two are often confused, but dermatologists say that’s nowhere near the truth. “Many of my patients come in and refer to their dark spots as acne scars when it’s post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation,” says dermatologist Corey L. Hartman, M.D. “The difference is in texture.”
Dr. Hartman explains that acne scarring occurs when nodulocystic acne — the big, often painful kind — creates scar tissue that pulls down the skin. “We usually call these icepick scars,” says Hartman. “You can tell the difference if there is a noticeable texture when you rub your skin. That is true scarring.” Hyperpigmentation, on the other hand, is discoloration of the skin that generally remains smooth to the touch without raised texture.
Hyperpigmentation and acne scarring can coexist, however, which is why those with dark complexions should be extra careful when treating scars to avoid unwanted pigmentation. Ahead, we spoke to dermatologists who specialize in dark skin about the best methods for treating your acne scars. Continue to read.
If age spots, wrinkly skin, or other signs of aging bother you, you can have more youthful-looking hands. Thanks to advances in dermatology, it’s possible to diminish these signs of aging safely and with little or no downtime.
Age spots
Many adults develop age spots on their hands. These spots tend to gradually increase in size with age and time spent in the sun.
Treatment: You have options. A board-certified dermatologist can effectively lighten or remove age spots on your hands with:
Cryotherapy (freezing)
Laser therapy
Chemical peeling
Microdermabrasion
Skin-lightening creams and lotions
The creams and lotions take the longest to deliver results, but they cost less.
Rough, scaly patches (AKs)
If you have fair skin and spent quite a bit of time in the sun without sun protection, you may notice rough patches on your skin. Rough patches frequently develop on our hands because the hands get lots of sun.
These rough patches may be actinic keratoses (AKs), which are precancerous growths. AKs usually develop in fair-skinned people who are 40 years of age or older.
AKs can develop earlier if you used tanning beds or live in a state that gets lots of sunshine, such as Florida or California.
Do you feel a rough patch on your hand or elsewhere on your skin? If so, see a dermatologist to find out if it’s an AK. Some AKs turn into skin cancer.
Loss of youthful fullness
When hands lose their youthful fullness, skin becomes lax and starts to develop a crepe-paper-like texture. With less fullness, the veins in your hands also become more noticeable.
Treatment: To restore lost fullness, your dermatologist can inject:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved one filler, calcium hydroxylapatite (hi-drox-e-lap-ah-tight), to treat the hands. With this filler, you’ll see more fullness immediately. The results last 6 months to 1 year.
Other fillers are also used to restore youthful fullness to the hands. Sometimes a person’s own fat may be the most effective option.
A board-certified dermatologist who has experience rejuvenating hands with fillers (or fat) can tell you what will work best for you.
Visible veins
While a filler or fat transfer can restore youthful fullness, some veins are just too big to hide with a filler or fat transfer.
If a large vein bothers you, a dermatologist can treat it safely.
Treatment: Laser treatment is often the go-to treatment today. During this procedure, your dermatologist inserts a laser fiber into the vein and then fires the laser. This destroys the vein, which will gradually disappear.
Sclerotherapy (sclare-oh-ther-a-pee) may be another option. During this procedure, your dermatologist injects a substance into the vein to destroy it. This causes the vein to disappear slowly.
Wrinkly skin (looks like crepe paper)
Applying sunscreen to your hands every day can prevent wrinkly skin on your hands. If you haven’t been doing this and now have wrinkly skin, treatment can help.
Treatment: Your dermatologist may recommend one or more of the following:
Lotion containing a retinol or glycolic acid (apply before bedtime)
Light chemical peel, every 1 to 3 months
Laser treatment
When treating wrinkling, the lotion and light chemical peel are often used together.
If laser treatment is an option, it can also help diminish age spots.
Loose skin
As we age, our skin loses collagen and elastin, substances that keep our skin firm and plump.
Treatment: Radiofrequency, a procedure that sends heat deep into the skin, can tighten loose skin. Most people need only one treatment on their hands.
A filler or laser treatment can also tighten loose skin.
Roughness
As we age our skin holds less water, so our skin becomes drier. This can cause your skin to feel rough.
Treatment: To smooth rough skin on your hands, your dermatologist can apply a mild chemical peel.
To maintain the results you get from treatment, it helps to apply a moisturizer every day. Your dermatologist can recommend an effective moisturizer.
Brittle nails
About 20% of us have brittle nails. You’re more likely to have brittle nails if you are a woman over 60, but anyone can develop this condition.
If you have brittle nails, you’ll likely see lines running lengthwise on your nails (ridges), as shown in this picture. You may also notice that your nails peel or break easily.
Treatment: To treat brittle nails successfully, you must stop doing everything that could be causing your brittle nails. Spending lots of time with wet hands or using harsh chemicals without wearing protective gloves can cause brittle nails.
Your dermatologist can help you figure out what’s causing your brittle nails.
After you stop doing what’s causing your brittle nails, you’ll want to rehydrate your nails, cuticles, and the surrounding skin. Your dermatologist will recommend a moisturizer, such as urea cream or mineral oil.
Most people apply the moisturizer before bedtime. After moisturizing, you may need to wear a light cotton glove. This helps your skin and nails absorb the moisturizer. You’ll wear this while you sleep.
For many patients, the above helps diminish brittle nails. Some patients need more help, such as using a special nail enamel. Your dermatologist can tell you what can help treat your brittle nails.
Making your results from hand rejuvenation last
While you cannot stop aging, there are things you can do to make your results last longer. Here’s what dermatologists recommend:
Protect your hands from the sun. This is essential if you want to maintain the results you see after treatment. Many dermatologists also recommend wearing a thin, sun-protective glove while driving.
Wear gloves while cleaning and gardening. Hot water, detergents, and yard work can dry your skin, which can age your hands.
Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. Applying a lotion or cream after washing your hands and bathing helps to trap water in your skin, which can plump up your skin.
Keep appointments for maintenance treatments. If your dermatologist treated you in the office, getting follow-up treatments as recommended can help you maintain your results. For example, if you had a filler, you may need another injection in 8 to 12 months.
To protect your hands from the sun, apply a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher to your hands every day before going outdoors.
A Sacramento woman has been hospitalized after using a facial cream tainted with methylmercury, the Sacramento County Department of Health Services said in a news release.
The woman is currently in a semicomatose state after using a Pond’s-labeled skin cream she obtained through an informal network that imported the cream from Mexico, the health services department said.
“The mercury was not added by the Pond’s manufacturer, but by a third party after purchase,” the news release said.
Methylmercury can cause symptoms such as memory loss, anxiety, depression, headaches and tremors, the statement said.
The tainted product was used as a skin lightener and to remove spots and wrinkles, according to the statement.
Pond’s said in a statement that the company does not use mercury in its products and is working closely with authorized retailers to ensure available products are safe.
“The product in question is not sold in the U.S. We are concerned about the woman who had this experience and are working with authorities to investigate the matter,” the company’s statement said. “We strongly recommend only purchasing POND’S products from trusted retailers.”
This is the first reported case of methylmercury poisoning of this type linked to skin cream in the US. But in California over the last nine years, there have been more than 60 poisonings linked to foreign brand, unlabeled and homemade skin creams that contained mercurous chloride or calomel, the less toxic form of mercury, the health services department’s statement said.
Skin cancer can be very serious – if you develop a new lesion or an existing lesion is changing (e.g. growing, bleeding, hurting, itching), get it checked out!
The compulsive urge to shower is a distinctly modern obsession. Bathing frequently is widely considered to be a necessary and non-negotiable task (read: duty), just as much as it’s a testament to good personal hygiene. In some ways, it’s even been rebranded, as manymundane thingshave, under the contemporary guise of self-care: a metaphor for washing off the world’s grimy, clinging crises.
But, what if we’re all wrong? What if we’re bathing too much? What if bathing (wait for it) doesn’t even require soap? Have we all been completely … brainwashed?
Maybe. At least, some seem to think so. An increasing number of people have decided to opt out of the whole daily bathing convention entirely, arguing that our skin is better off with less soap, and that our bodily bacteria — the good kind — will naturally do the job of cleaning and eliminating odour.
This is at least partially true: Dr. Ben Barankin, a Toronto dermatologist and the medical director at the Toronto Dermatology Centre, said going soapless wouldn’t be an assault on your personal hygiene.
“As far as germs and bacteria and those other things that might cause odours, 80 per cent of that will be cleaned off just by water itself,” Barankin told HuffPost Canada.
But, that remaining 20 per cent probably isn’t going anywhere — your body won’t kill it off naturally. “Most bacteria will stay in stable numbers,” Barankin said. “Although those in dark, warm, humid areas — like groin, under [the] breasts, and armpits — can proliferate more and be more likely to cause odour, itch, or even rash.”
This margin of error doesn’t seem to be halting the trend. And to be clear, it’s not that people are going completely shower-free, just that they’re simplifying their process, and only rinsing the areas they think are in need of it.
“I use my hands to scrub myself and get any grime off, but I’m sitting in court or at my desk most days, so it’s not like I’m getting bombarded with filth,” Jackie Hong, a reporter in the Yukon, told The Guardian. She still showers every day — she just doesn’t use soap.
Hong’s perspective isn’t wrong. Barankin said the rule of thumb on how and how often you should be washing is not a fixed thing. “It’s more of a personal choice, and it depends on different factors, like what you wear, and your genetics, and your age.”
For example: cotton is a more breathable fabric than polyester, and wearing it will allow moisture to escape so you won’t smell as bad. Some people have more active sweat glands than others, and are therefore more prone to body odour.
Kids, before puberty, don’t even need to shower every day, Barankin said, other than washing their armpits and groins — areas that some adults who wash less will still decide to use soap on.
“If you’re just sitting at home, or not running around all day and breaking a sweat, and not wearing tight or polyester clothing,” Barankin said, “then you can go days without showering, and that’s fine.”
The question here, though, is why. What makes someone trade the privileges conferred by modern plumbing for … well, abandoning them?
The answer, it seems, is that it solves a current dermal problem.
Soap is great for stripping away germs, but it can also strip away the skin’s protective oils, which are there to maintain a healthy balance in the skin and stave off dryness, breakouts, fine lines, wrinkles, weird pH levels, and susceptibility to environmental damage. Also, many dermatologists agree that we’re showering too often.
There is, as with anything, a historical context. “We don’t need to wash the way we did when we were farmers,” Katherine Ashenburg, the Canadian author of “The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History,” told the New York Times back in 2010. Given the presence of cars — less walking — and other labour-conserving technology — less moving — Ashenburg argues that “we have never needed to wash less, and we have never done it more.”
But like with the use of soap being viewed as “bad,” there are no studies proving the negative effects of “overwashing” — most of it, Barankin said, is experience-based. “There are people who can shower twice a day, for example, because they’re doing sports,” he says. “And as long as they aren’t using scalding hot water,” which strips oils from the skin, “and they’re moisturizing after, they will be fine.”
If the primary force behind going soapless is a bodily one, though, Barankin noted there are plenty of gentle soaps, cleansers (like micellar water), creams and moisturizers that can eliminate the risk of drying out the skin, and can stave off the likelihood of eczema.
Deciding to wash less, to make your bathing routine less complicated, is a funny affront to an age of what Amanda Hess, at the New York Times, called “spiritual consumerism.” A rigorous hygienic routine, performed with a sort of religious severity, is supposed to be like self-care. But, showering less, or eschewing soap entirely, is, for some, the ultimate form of self-preservation.
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We held our first #beautydecodedlive at Toronto Dermatology Centre on October 24th. It was an educational evening where the attendants could get up close to learn about the different types of Juvederm product and have their questions answered by one of our dermatologist in regards to cosmetic injectables.
Dr. Anatoli Freiman & Dr. Benjamin Barankin also invited 2 patients to share their experience with being treated with BOTOX & fillers at Toronto Dermatology Centre.
Increase remissions (periods with little or no psoriasis)
Nicotine patch warning Before using a nicotine patch, ask your dermatologist if the patch is the right choice for you. The nicotine patch may cause your psoriasis to flare.
Limit alcohol
Researchers have also found several benefits to limiting alcohol if you have psoriasis. These include:
Less psoriasis because treatment becomes more effective
Increased remissions
Reduced risk of developing psoriatic arthritis (for women) and fatty liver disease
Decreased risk of liver damage from psoriasis medications
Alcohol impact Men who have more than 2 drinks per day and women who have more than 1 may see the following effects from drinking:
• Psoriasis treatment stops working — or doesn’t work as well
• Fewer (or no) remissions (periods without psoriasis)
Maintain a healthy weight
If you are overweight, losing weight can:
Reduce your psoriasis flares
Decrease the need for psoriasis medications
Improve how well your psoriasis treatment works
Decrease your risk of developing diseases associated with psoriasis, including heart disease, high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol levels, fatty liver disease, and diabetes.
Losing weight helps After losing weight, many patients discover that their psoriasis medicine, which previously failed, begins to work.
Eat a healthy, balanced diet
Eating a healthy and balanced diet has benefits for everyone. If you have psoriasis, the benefits include:
Improve your health and help you feel better
Reduce your risk of developing diseases linked to psoriasis, including diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.
Exercise
While exercise may seem impractical if you have psoriasis, working out can reduce some of psoriasis’s negative effects by helping you:
Lose weight or maintain a healthy weight
Reduce your risk of developing diseases linked to psoriasis, including fatty liver disease and heart disease
Reduce stress, depression, and anxiety
Reduce exercise pain If you have pain while exercising, tell your dermatologist. You may be able to make some changes that can help prevent the pain while working out.
Get screened for related diseases
Getting screened can help you:
Find a disease early, when it can often be cured or managed successfully
Take steps to reduce the effects that the related disease has on your life
Allow you to use a psoriasis treatment that may help reduce the effects of a related disease (for example, some biologics that treat psoriasis may also reduce the risk for a heart attack)
Check your eyes If you have severe psoriasis, your dermatologist may recommend that you see an eye doctor once or twice a year. This can find eye problems early.
See a dermatologist and keep your appointments
Psoriasis tends to be a lifelong condition. Dermatologists understand this disease and know how to treat it appropriately. A dermatologist can help you:
Find psoriasis treatment that’s right for you
Control psoriasis, which can prevent psoriasis from worsening and improve your quality of life
Assess your risk of developing related diseases and tell you when to get screenings for these diseases
Find early symptoms of psoriatic arthritis so that you can begin treatment
The impact that psoriasis has on your life can be significant. Making healthy lifestyle choices may reduce this impact.
Diseases more common in people who have psoriasis
If you have psoriasis, research shows that you may have a higher risk of developing the following:
Addiction to alcohol or tobacco
Crohn’s disease
Diabetes
High blood pressure
Eye problems
Gum disease
Heart and blood vessel diseases (heart attack, stroke)
Kidney disease
Liver disease
Mood disorder (anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide)
Obesity
Psoriatic arthritis
Unhealthy cholesterol levels
The longer you have psoriasis, the greater your risk of developing related diseases. A healthy lifestyle, however, can reduce your risk.
