A recent TotalBeauty.com-conducted study sought out the worst cities in the United States — for your skin. Findings were based on several factors including smoking rates, climate and pollution, to name a few. (And you thought it all came down to genes and Botox.) Did your city make the list? Here’s hoping a move isn’t in order.
#13 Portland Maine: This city has a penchant for tanning beds, which explains why its skin cancer rates are so high. You know how dangerous the sun’s rays are, but did you know the UVA rays in a tanning bed are two to three times stronger? Hey, folks in Portland, Maine, meet the spray tan.
#12 Tacoma, Washington: This city, largely populated with blue collar workers and military servicemen and women, grabbed a spot on the list for its stress levels. When your life has tension, your body recognizes it and answers with stress hormones, like cortisol. Cortisol is a green light for oil production, which leads to blemishes. Put. The Blackberry. Down.
#11 Macon, Georgia: The state may be known for its peaches, but there’s nothing peachy keen for your skin with 88 percent average humidity. All that moisture in the air leads to more sebum in the sebaceous glands, which increases your chances of acne. ZO Skin Health’s creator, Zein Obagi MD, recommends cleansing skin one full minute to rid of sebum, but Macon residents might want to go longer.
Could you help me make the best selection of products for my skin type. I am very fair with sensitive skin, but it is somewhat oily with large pores. I have some rosacea, and am concerned about lines and wrinkles and loss of elasticity.
Hello Mary,
The fact that you have sensitive skin should not preclude you from using an effective program on your skin such as, the ZO Skin Health line. Yes, this program is effective and contains high concentrations of active ingredients such as retinol. However, the fact that it stimulates the growth of healthy skin cells means that it will activate new and healthy skin cells that will make you less sensitive.
Using the wrong products can induce skin sensitivity. Also, the fact that you are no longer growing healthy skin cells can also induce sensitivity.
The program recommended below will help to reduce your oiliness, acne, and stimulate healthy skin cells. Because you have described your skin to be more sensitive, 3 of the products ( Exfoliating Polish, Growth Factor Serum, and Daily Power Defense) should be used 3 times a week. The rest of the products Exfoliating Cleanser, Tepads, Oclipse Sunscreen, and Daily Renewal Crème will be used daily.
It is best to use the ZO Skin Health products as a system. This will allow you to correct large pores and address your anti-aging concerns.
The four products for large pores are the Exfoliating Cleanser, Te pads, Exfoliating Polish, and the Oclipse. The anti-aging products are the Daily Power Defense and Ossential Growth Factor Serum. The DNA kit has the Exfoliating Cleanser, Daily Power Defense, Ossential Growth Factor Serum, and Oclipse. You would then only be missing the Tepads, Ommerse Daily Renewal Cream and Exfoliating Polish.
Exfoliation Polish
The polish is used daily (one time), whenever you are in the shower (AM or PM) PRIOR to washing your face. You wet your skin and gently massage with your fingertips for ONE minute. The polish has smooth magnesium crystals, a key element especially for oily skin. If polishing agents (as in most scrubs) are NOT smooth, then you will overly irritate the skin and get microscopic nicks all over your face. The polish features potent ingredients including the polishing crystals to slough away dead, damaged skin cells, and to begin stimulation of healthy skin cells. You need to shed the damaged cells in order to regenerate new cells.
Since you are sensitive, you can use 3 days a week. Increase as you are able to up to daily.
Exfoliating Cleanser
The Exfoliating Cleanser, is a pH balanced cleanser that has several features beneficial to your skin type. It contains salicylic acid, an effective agent to reduce oiliness, blackheads, and white heads. The blue beads in the cleanser dissolve and deliver Vitamin-E to the skin after about 1 minute of use. The white beads do not dissolve. The white beads are round and smooth working to further help to stimulate the growth of healthy skin cells and provide deeper cleaning.
The cleanser is used 2x’s a day for one minute minimum. Use only your finger-tips to cleanse skin. I would recommend using the cleanser after the polish.
Tepads
The Tepads are by far our most popular item in Dr. Obagi’s clinics. They are VERY effective at killing the p-acnes bacteria, the bacterial source of acne, reducing sebum for approximately 5 hours after use, shrinking pores, and preventing NEW breakouts. They are used after the cleanser. You remove ONE pad and swipe your entire face until the pad is dry.
Use twice a day after cleansing
Oclipse SPF 30
The Oclipse hides redness well, reduces oil and is by far our patient’s favorite item. It is a physical block that will not leave the white film conventional sunscreens leave behind. The natural melanin in the Oclipse (the primer effect) will help to cover up any acne lesions or damage, hydrate skin, and even skin tone.
Use Oclipse last before going out-doors during the day
The Daily Power Defense is an anti-oxidant and retinol based cream that hydrates, repairs damaged DNA and stimulates collagen. This product encourages the skin’s DNA repair mechanism to self-correct. It speeds up correction from past UV damage and prevents new UV damage. It has both L-Ascorbic acid and C-Esters for maximum benefit to skin in terms of removing free radicals. The Retinol will reduce fine lines and wrinkles and even skin tone.
Apply 3 days a week.
Growth Factor Serum
The Growth Factor Serum is the most effective advanced lipopeptides serum I’ve experienced in 17 years as an esthetician. Two proprietary lipopeptides help boost collagen production and increase epidermal thickness. Also, Ossential stimulates cellular function and evens tone as a result of the Retinol.
Apply this product as your LAST step at night. You use about 1 pump every night as your last step 3 days a week BEFORE Ommerse.
After 1-2 months of daily use, you can determine whether you want to increase to daily use, OR if you want to remain on the system the same way.
I am quite fond of the ZO Skin Health Ommerse Daily Renewal Crème as these are “functional” moisturizers – providing simulative benefits to the skin, while hydrating skin. These can be incorporated into your current program, without any reservations.
Ommerse will calm and nourish skin. There is Retinol in both of these products. Retinol, allows skin to stimulate healthy skin cells, such as collagen, without making skin sensitive to the sun.
The soothing Oat and Canadian Willowherb complex reduce inflammation and redness – making either one of these an excellent choice to apply on top of Tretinoin/Blender (to reduce the reaction – but enhance results) OR for use with any prescription oral or topical medication your doctor may have you on to treat your skin.
The Daily Renewal Crème is lighter than the Recovery Night Crème. You can use these in the morning before applying sunscreen OR as your last step at night. They are interchangeable, meaning you can apply the Daily Renewal Crème both morning and night, if you only wanted to use on AM and or PM.
Once you reach your desired body image goals, you don’t stop exercising. You have to maintain. The same goes with skin, as long as potent retinols and active ingredients that stimulate collagen are being applied, skin will continue to regenerate healthy cells. If you completely stop, your skin cells will go back to sleep. You are doing yourself and your skin a great favor by taking preventative action now to keep your skin young and healthy and to correct any fine lines and wrinkles that may be present now.
SUMMARY of PROGRAM:
AM: * 1) Exfoliating Cleanser 2) Tepads 3) Ommerse Daily Renewal Cream 4) Oclipse
* Daily Power Defense – 3 days a week prior to Ommerse Daily Renewal Cream
** Exfoliating Polish (1 minute min) You may increase beyond 3 days a week once you have built more tolerance. For now use 3 days a week prior to Exfoliating Cleanser when taking a shower.
PM 1) Exfoliating Cleanser 2) Tepads 3) ***Ommerse Daily Renewal Cream
***Growth Factor Serum: 3 days a week prior to the Ommerse Daily Rewal Cream. At night only.
Hope that helps.
Sandra Obagi