Newsletter #8 / Fall 2014

“Welcome to the Fall 2014 issue of our quarterly newsletter, filled with all the news that will help you keep your skin looking and feeling healthy and beautiful on an ongoing basis.” --Dr. Michele Grodberg

5 BEAUTY HABITS THAT NEED BREAKING

Sure you can get away with not removing your eye makeup before bed one time, but do it all the time and you’re headed for trouble (to say nothing of how unattractive you’ll look in the morning with shadow and mascara smeared all over your face). Using dirty brushes….noooooo. Yes, some beauty habits are meant to be broken…like the five that follow. They are keeping your skin from looking fresh and glowing and in some cases they can cause clogged pores, acne and worse.

1. SLEEPING WITH YOUR MAKE UP ON: Makeup can clog your pores while you sleep, leading to material building up in your pores resulting in acne. Foundations and thick, oil-based primers are the worst offenders, but eye makeup can also cause problems by ending up in your eyes irritating them. Also, if the tiny hair follicles and oil glands on your eyelids become clogged, bacteria builds up and small bumps can form.

Best practice: Cleanse your face before sleeping with a mild cleanser and use an eye makeup remover to sweep off eye shadow and mascara.

2. EXFOLIATING YOUR SKIN TOO OFTEN AND/OR TOO HARSHLY: Skin cells naturally turn over weekly with new cells moving from the deeper layers of the skin to the surface. Exfoliation involves sloughing off the oldest dead skin cells on the top of the skin’s outermost layer that can dull the skin. But no matter what your skin type, exfoliation should be performed gently or you risk drying out your skin and irritating it. For most complexions, once or twice a week is optimum, depending on the products you use and your skin type. Oilier skin benefits from more frequent exfoliation because the oils can trap the dead skin layers deeper in the pores.

Best practice: Use a brush, like a Clarisonic with a gentle cleanser to manually exfoliate your complexion. More sensitive skin may react better to non-abrasive exfoliation with products that dissolve the bonds between the cells like glycolic acid cleansers or toners. Follow with moisturizer.

3. SQUEEZING PIMPLES: Squeezing a pimple does not make it go away. In fact, it can make it worse, causing an infection and/or scars. Pimples form when your skin’s natural oil (or sebum) gels trapped under the surface and mixes with dead skin cells to form a plug. Bacteria in the hair follicles proliferate beneath the plug and cause inflammation. When you squeeze the pimple, you can force the junk inside the pimple out so hard that it rips skin but it also can travel deeper under the skin, enlarging the affected area of inflammation – and making the situation worse.

Best practice: Consult with me to see if I can extract the clogged pore and its contents followed by the administration of anti-inflammatory medication. I can also advise you on those acne spot treatments and other dermatologic procedures that help solve your problem.

4. USING MAKEUP-CAKED BRUSHES AND SPONGES: Bacteria, dirt, dead skin cells and other gunk gets trapped in brush bristles and on the surfaces of sponges leading to blackheads, blemishes and breakouts. They also leave a film on your tools that dulls your complexion and makes application more difficult.

Best practice: Clean tools as often as possible, daily if you can, but certainly weekly, using baby shampoo, which is very mild. Lather brush bristles, but do not soak them and be sure rinse them thoroughly and blot them with paper toweling, allowing them to try completely before using them again.

5. MOISTURIZING BONE-DRY SKIN: Ideally you should moisturize your skin immediately after showering, while your skin is still damp. Waiting for your skin to dry actually parches it because when water evaporates, it takes some of the natural skin oils with it.

Best practice: Apply lotion after your shower while skin is still damp so it traps the water inside and rehydrates your skin. Select a moisturizer with hyaluronic acid that attracts water and holds onto it and with ceramides, which repair and protect the barrier function of the skin.

For more information or to set up a consultation, please call 201.567.8884.

THE BIG DEAL: REPLENISH NIGHT REPAIR CREAM

As the weather turns cooler and less humid, your skin loses moisture faster. This moisture-boosting night cream is formulated to attract, hold and distribute moisture through a system of ceramides, humectants and emollients, so your skin appears firmer, suppler and softer. Infused with powerful ingredients including Antioxidants, Stem Cells and Peptides, it also reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and is ideal for all skin types including sensitive. 

FALL CHECKLIST

√ Have a full skin body check.

√ Get microdemabrasion to remove top dead skin layer.

√ Exfoliate your body skin.

√ Restart Retinol.

√ Start laser hair removal on an unwanted hairy area.

√ Consider a Fraxel Dual treatment to rid skin of brown spots and discoloration.

Also in THE RX: MGMD'S BLOG