In case you ever had any doubt, celebrities sell skincare products.

Case in point:  about 8 years ago People magazine reported that Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt  ”slathered Kinerase all over their beautiful bodies.”   Sales of Kinerase soared.

Now, no one knows whether Jennifer and Brad actually used Kinerase  (and they are not talking to each other, let alone the media!).  But after packages of Kinerase were given away at a big celebrity event, Jenn and Brad took them home.  A good PR firm did the rest!

(one thing to note about Jennifer Aniston–she’s one of the few celebrities in Hollywood that refuses to endorse any product–no matter how much $$ is offered!)

Hey, even though they make $$$ millions, celebs are like the rest of us; they like free stuff.  They just get a lot more free stuff than the rest of us do. And at these award shows, the give-aways are pretty lavish–expensive watches, trips, and jewelry, all valued at about $30,000 per gift bag.

The give-aways at celebrity events (like the Academy Awards, the CMA Awards) aren’t as lavish as they used to be though. That’s because the IRS sent out letters saying that the recipients would be responsible for paying income taxes on the freebies.  So many of the celebrities graciously said, “uh, thanks, but no thanks”.

So is it wrong or unethical to give away free products to celebrities?  In our opinion, no. We just thought you might like to know that that’s the way the game is played.  What brought all of this to mind was an infomercial that said that “many of the celebrities who went to the Academy Awards already have it”.

The next time you see that a celebrity has a particular skincare product, you have to wonder–did they get it for free?

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Eggs are bad for you; no, eggs are good for you.

Carbs are bad for you; no, carbs are an important part of a healthy diet.

Coffee is bad for you; no, frappuccinos with double whip are bad for you, coffee is actually good for you; it reduces the risk of diabetes and Parkinson’s.

You need to apply sunscreen every day.  No, sunscreen limits your body’s exposure to Vitamin D, which is important for strong bones and auto-immune functions.

Wait a second.  Which way is the wind blowing today?

Here’s my opinion.  UV rays are an important—and very efficient—source of Vitamin D which helps prevent osteoporosis, high blood pressure and cancer.  But you can still apply sunscreen every day, and get all of the Vitamin D that you need.

• You only need about 10-15 minutes of exposure per day, and that can come through any part of your body—your hands, your arms, etc.  If you’re going to be outdoors, you still need sunscreen on your face!
• That UV exposure doesn’t have to be between the hours of 10-2.  Go outside during off-peak hours.
• You can get vitamin D from a variety of sources—including salmon and eggs.  Milk, OJ, yogurts and cheese are also frequently fortified with Vitamin D.  You can get Vitamin D from vitamin supplements.
• Looking for a good facial sunscreen?  I like ZO Skin Health’s Oclipse SPF 30.  For body, dermatologists like Neutrogena sunscreens.

There are things that we all need to be concerned about.  Getting sufficient amounts of Vitamin D doesn’t need to be one of them.

Stick with the sunscreen!

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Total Beauty, the online beauty authority, gets its 13 million readers to submit product reviews on their most favorite (and least favorite!) skincare products.  And guess which sunscreen was voted the #2 favorite??

Oclipse Sunscreen  SPF30.  You can read their editorial at:

http://www.totalbeauty.com/content/gallery/best-facial-sunscreens/p60442/page11

Let’s party!  No, let’s wait.  Look out next week, we’ll have a special Gift with Purchase, so you can celebrate too!!

If you want a free sample of Oclipse, contact our Customer Service department at Sue Munz–smunz@zoskinhealth.com.

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Dr. Obagi doing one-on-one consultations at one of his Personal Appearances

I learned something new on Saturday; in fact, I learned a lot.

There were 600+ women who began lining up outside a Nordstrom store at 7 am to see Dr. Obagi and a few other celebrities like Kate Somerville and Deborah Lippman.  It’s a big show, but that’s not what impressed me.

Sitting next to Dr. Obagi, while he visited with people was a great experience.     Even for me, and  I’ve known and worked with him for a while.  What made it most interesting was not what he said, but the people with whom he met—some of whom had traveled thousands of miles to see him. A few of the surprises:

• Many people told him that he had changed their life—given them self-confidence and happiness, because he treated difficult skincare problems that other dermatologists refused. We’re not talking  lines and wrinkles here—we’re talking very serious and debilitating skin diseases.
• The mother who brought her son, who had severe nodular acne.  Dr. Obagi asked this woman why she had not taken her son to a doctor before this. She said that she wouldn’t let anyone else treat him, because she herself had the same condition 25 years ago, and only Dr. Obagi was able to correct her skin.  So she waited—and waited—until she could see Dr. Obagi.  He gave her his card, and asked her to bring her son to his clinic right away.
• The number of different races and ethnicities that were represented.   Part of the reason is because Dr. Obagi led the dermatology profession in the treatment of different skin colors.  Only about 25 years ago, many dermatologists treated skin like it came in only two different colors:  fair-skinned and slightly tan.  They were color blind; they didn’t understand anything other than Caucasians.  Dr. Obagi changed  all of that.  Now he’s a hero to people with skincare problems, all over the world.
• The number of different languages that they spoke.  And he talked right back–in four different languages.
• There were some women whom he admitted that he couldn’t help—they had diseases for which there was no treatment.  One woman left in tears, because he said, “I don’t want to mislead you.  My products won’t help you.” Understandably and unfortunately, she was desperate for a solution. But at least he was honest.
• His 18-year old daughter, who sat and listened, so very proud of her father.  She has heard it all before, I’m sure, but she wanted to hear it again.
• The number of people who came to him because they were disillusioned with skincare products that didn’t work.  They left feeling stronger and optimistic, that this time will be different.  They left with hope; but more than that, they left with solutions.
• Scores of women who use the Obagi® Nu-Derm® products that Dr. Obagi developed, and just wanted to thank him, personally.

It’s not very often that Dr. Obagi makes a personal appearance, but if you have the opportunity, join him some time.

For me, it was a day that I’ll never forget.  For him, it was just another day.

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The top two graduates of the 2010 class of US Military Academy at West Point are both tough as nails, and both women. Considering there was a class of 1,002 top-notch students, that’s an enormous accomplishment. They trained in rain and mud, with more inspections and drills than any previous class. Many of those new grads will soon be deployed to Afghanistan.

True, while at ZO Skin Health, we believe in “fighting aging, and fighting hard”, we realize that these cadets are fighting for something much more important. We toss our hats up in the air for Second Lt. Elizabeth Betterbed and Second Lt. Alexandra P. Rosenberg — with appreciation and respect.

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It was Mediha, my mother, who taught me that I needed to study, work hard, and get a good education.  One of the last things she told me was, “Zein, you won’t be the tallest, and you won’t be the best looking.  But you’ll be the smartest.”

My father, on the other hand, didn’t think education was important.  He wanted me to drop out of school and work in a leather shop.  My mother was the reason that I got a good education, and the reason I taught my own kids to study hard.

Unfortunately my mother died at a young age–she died before I graduated from medical school.

I still miss her today.  I would like to show her how my passion, intelligence and stubborn determination–that she taught me–have defined my life.  She was my role model–she became a lawyer in the 1940’s–which was practically unheard of in those days.

Thanks to Mediha, and mothers everywhere, for having confidence in your kids, for believing in them, and inspiring them to be the very best that they can be–no matter what it takes.  Happy Mother’s Day.

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If you’re thinking, “it’s just not fair”–you’re probably right.   It’s a double-whammy.

We already suspected that men find it easier, and quicker, to lose unwanted pounds.  But now we know women also age faster than men–meaning their skin loses collagen and elastin at a faster rate, and at an earlier age, than men.  That helps explain why women spend more time and more money on cosmetic products, injections, and procedures.  It’s not just vanity–it’s reality.

Lasers can now image the deeper layers of the skin–where collagen and elastin are produced.  Studies conducted at the National Taiwan University in Taipei showed that collagen degenerates in women faster–causing more wrinkles, more skin laxity, and more uneven texture.

Women’s best revenge?  Use topical products high in active Vitamin A (retinol or retinoids) and active Vitamin C.  Build up your skin’s natural defense mechanisms to restore skin strength and resiliency–ZO Skin Health’s Radical Night Repair Plus is a good choice.

Life still won’t be fair, but at least your skin will be firm.

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A Danish study which was recently published in the British medical journal BMJ concluded that people who look younger also live longer. The authors thought that the length of telomeres (which are a component of DNA, and protect the chromosome from destruction) affect lifespan:  the longer the telomere, the younger the appearance, the longer the lifespan.  That’s interesting; but there’s nothing I can do about the length of my (or anybody else’s) telomeres.

So let’s talk about what we can do to look younger and live longer–like environmental factors and diet and exercise.

Why is this so important? Because the condition of your skin is the most important factor which influences your appearance—more important than hair, posture, blood pressure,  you name it.  If you take good care of your skin, you’ll look younger.  So let’s face the facts.

UV protection not only is important for your appearance, it’s important for your health.  Wearing sunscreen (I like SPF of 30 or 35)every day will help you live longer.  So is ZO Skin Health’s Oclipse SPF 30 Sunscreen a luxury or a necessity?  I think it’s both.   It’s possibly the first sunscreen that people actually enjoy wearing every day.

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