Welcome to DermTV viewer question week for March 2012. Today’s episode will feature questions from youtube viewers and don’t forget- as part of viewer question week I’ll be answering questions over live streaming video at BeautyRxLive.com, so if you have a question tune in this Wednesday at 2PM EST. So lets get started.
Actually the first one really isn’t a question, it’s a comment but it’s a real important one. YunaPeach20 said, “I’ve been watching these videos for a while and it seems like all you talk about is exfoliation and sunscreen.” Well, that’s not all we talk about but that’s a very, very accurate observation because so many episodes are about either sunscreen or exfoliation and there’s a very good reason for that. Sun protection is the single most important preventative thing you can do for healthier, more beautiful and younger looking skin and exfoliation is the single most important therapeutic treatment you can do for younger, healthier and better looking skin so there’s a reason that we talk so much about sunscreen or sun protection and exfoliation because they are so pivotal in having the beautiful skin that you want. Now, of course in addition there are specific targeted problems that we discuss but there is an underlying current of yes- you do need to use sunscreen every day and exfoliation is so very important for almost everything that we’re doing and telling you, whether its about making your skin look younger for facial rejuvenation, helping prevent and control acne breakouts or even helping to prevent skin cancers. So please, keep watching and keep in mind how important sun protection and exfoliation are.
The next question is from Memories321, “Dr. Schultz, after I shower I apply my nighttime skin care, do I have to go to sleep right afterwards or can I wait a few hours?” I actually think that’s rather cute and very touching and the reason I think it’s very touching is because Memories321 evidentially, is hanging on my words and taking what I’m saying so literally and I just think that’s wonderful. I’m happy to tell you Memories, that no you don’t have to go to bed right after you’ve put on your skin care that I tell you to put on at bedtime, that’s just my way of telling you put it on at the other end of the day, after the day, when it’s nighttime but of course whenever it’s convenient for you after you’ve put on your nighttime skin care products that’s when it’s time to go to sleep.
Jureen37 says, “Dr. Schultz I’m 41, have pale skin which is in pretty good shape but what frustrates me is the white fuzz I'm growing on my lower cheeks and near my mouth which in the last 8 months is becoming an issue. Make-up makes this more visible so I’m having to basically shave that area which in return gives me bumps and doesn’t feel smooth. My face is sensitive, I’m not sure I want to slap hair dissolving creams all over my face, are they safe to apply? Any other recommendations?” Jureen what your describing is a very common situation in women in their 40’s and 50’s and it’s this very fine peach fuzz hair, which is called vellus hair, it is not capable of being removed by laser hair removal which is my favorite way and the most effective way of removing hair permanently and the reason you cant do it is because the color of the hair is just too light. So you’re describing something, which is actually very important. When you put your skincare products or make-up on it actually coats those little white hairs and makes them look more conspicuous, more obvious. It’s the same thing that happens and the same reason that you use mascara. Mascara coating on your lashes makes them fuller or thicker or wider or more prominent and the same phenomenon happens with those vellus hairs. And by the way, that’s why we exfoliate our skin, to take off the dead cells that stick up and would otherwise be coated by make-up and other skincare products and be made to look more prominent. So your options are, for removing that very fine white vellus hair, shaving which as you’ve indicated actually makes you breakout a little bit and that’s not uncommon or you can also wax but you know how I feel about waxing because when your pulling those hairs out it sets you up for some ingrowns so what were down to is the depilatory creams that you’ve mentioned and depilatory creams when used as directed are quite safe and probably in terms of aesthetics and femininity probably are a better solution than shaving. So you really have summed it all up, the reason that it makes it look worse, that your skincare products and make-up make it look worse is simply because your coating those hairs so you do have to remove them, you cant use a laser and I think that using chemical depilatories to actually dissolve off the hair probably is going to be the best solution for you.
Shangrila628 asks, “Hi Doc, how can we get rid of dark underarms? A lot of women of color have this issue (by the way its not just women of color other women, Caucasian women have this problem also) where the underarm area is a darker shade than the rest of the skin. Thanks so much for your great videos”. Shangri-La, thank you for that very nice comment. In women of color, when the underarm area is darker and this also happens sometimes on the upper inner thighs, it happens as a result of dead cells that accumulates have just too much pigment in them. Now because your skin naturally has more pigment the extra layers one on top of another of cells then carries even more pigment. So this isn’t going to come as a surprise to you but were back to exfoliation to remove those extra layers of dead cells and bleaching to stop the new cells from making all that extra pigment which your darker skin is so capable of making. Because this area is really not an area that’s being exposed to the sun, sunscreen is not important here as part of the solution for your problem but its going to be regular use of a gentle chemical exfoliant like glycolic and because these areas are areas of more sensitive skin and an area where the skin actually folds against the skin as your arm comes down and compresses against the side of your body, you need to use a more gentle or a lower strength exfoliant so I would start with a 5 or an 8% glycolic product and the bleaches that you use can either be peptide based which are the bleaches that I like in preference to hydroquinone or they can be over the counter 2% hydroquinone bleaches. The exfoliant should be used once a day and the bleach twice a day. Give it a month and you’ll see really good results.
Deege876, “Hi Dr. Schultz, I was wondering, does heavy make-up cause wrinkles or any other problem for your skin? I wear a lot of make-up to cover freckles, scarring and redness. I have very pale skin so these show up quite a bit. Thank you, I love these videos”. And thank you. So the question is, will heavy make-up cause wrinkles? No heavy make-up won’t cause wrinkles, what you have to make sure of is that the make-up is appropriate for your oil and water skin type. So if you have oily skin you need to use a water based or oil free or non-comedogenic make-up and if you have dry skin than you certainly want to use a neutral make-up and just make sure that even f you have mature skin that doesn’t have any oil, make sure that the oil and water composition of your make-up is appropriate for your skin type and don’t be afraid to put on a little extra in areas that require more coverage, but keep in mind that there are certain colors, particularly red colors on your skin that are very easy to neutralize with a complimentary colored make-up that’s on the opposite side of the color wheel. So green is opposite to red, so if your trying to cover red spots use a green tinted foundation and you’ll find its really easy to hide those spots without putting your make-up on so very thick.
So, that’s it for today and don’t forget the subjects from so many DermTV episodes come from your questions which are great so please keep sending them in and I’ll keep answering as many of them as I can.
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