ZO Skin Health
So you don’t need sunscreen on a cloudy day, huh?
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY WRONG! When your mother told you that you need to wear sunscreen every day, she was right!
UV radiation from the sun comes right through the clouds, not to mention directly through an office or car window…. The odds of getting a sunburn are slight, as the UVB rays are short and will not have a direct affect on the skin. However, the UVA rays are very long and penetrate deep into the lower layers of the skin, where new skin cells, collagen and elastin are formed.
Here’s an easy way to remember the difference. With UVB rays (the B “stands” for Burning)– will burn or tan your skin. With UVA (the A “stands” for Aging)– skin color won’t change, but the rays will cause premature aging. And that’s not all.
When the DNA in the skin cell is damaged by UVA radiation, you have the potential for many types of skin cancer and advanced photo-aging. Within each skin cell, on the DNA helix, there is a “damage receptor”. When the cell is struck by UVA radiation from the sun, the receptor tells the cell it is damaged, and the cell self-destructs and goes away. When the receptor itself is struck, there is no message back to the cell that something is wrong. The damaged cell now duplicates itself, and starts a chain reaction, producing many more damaged cells. This is when the signs of skin aging begin.
70% of all UV damage is from casual exposure, getting unintended sun on your skin.
UVA radiation can penetrate directly through the clouds, and a window, so if you have the “primo office” with a view, (depending on which direction it faces), you can catch the morning UVA rays or the late day UVA rays, right at your desk. The same goes for your trip to and from the office, in the morning the sun will get you from the easterly direction on your way into work, and the westerly direction as you head home. This is why wearing a sunscreen daily, even on a cloudy day, or if you plan on being indoors all day, is so important.
Be sure to use an SPF 30, which is considered maximum protection. Choosing a sunscreen that uses physical blocks (like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide) are excellent ways to protect your skin from UV damage. ZO Skin Health by Zein Obagi, M.D. uses not only zinc and titanium, but also adds melanin, a natural, photo-protective agent with antioxidant properties.
ZO Skin Health
The Ten Most Vain Places to Live in the US
Where would you expect that the most vain people –the ones who believe in better living through surgery– live??
Forbes and Total Beauty found out what ten cities have the most plastic surgeons, tanning salons and spas/salons per capita. Here’s the countdown:
#10 Louisville, Kentucky. Go figure. People there spend more on hair/skin/nail care. Louisville also has more than its fair share of plastic surgeons.
#9 Minneapolis, Minnesota. The winter cold there is brutal, and wreaks havoc on the hair and skin. It’s understandable that they have so many spas and salons. They need a little extra pampering.
#8 Charleston, West Virginia. No kidding! Charleston has more tanning salons per capita than NYC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Miami—combined!!
#7 San Diego, California. Sure, Californians are consumed with their appearances. But they also spend too much time outdoors during beautiful sunny weather. So they have more wrinkles and skin laxity! Advice from Dr. Obagi: wear Oclipse SPF 30 Sunscreen!!
#6 Dallas, Texas. Don’t mess with Texas! People there spend more time and money in salons so that their hair and nails look good.
#5 Los Angeles, California. This one was a no-brainer. The folks who live in Lalaland have more cosmetic plastic surgery procedures. All of the nose jobs, lip plumping and breast enhancements add up.
#4 Salt Lake City, Utah. There are more plastic surgeons here (per 100,000 people) than anywhere in the US. Who knew?? One theory is that because Mormons have large families, women there opt for tummy tucks and liposuction—also dubbed “Mommy Makeovers”.
#3 San Francisco, California. It’s a city best known for herbal and homeopathic supplements. So they probably like to go au-naturel on their skincare, haircare and nails as well. And they pay more than most anywhere else, too!
#2 Miami, Florida. People who live in Miami are rumored to eat too much, drink too much and smoke too much. Now we know that they spend too much on manicures, pedicures, facials and hair color, too!
#1 New York, New York. Everything there just costs more. Facials, haircuts and massages help to relieve stress in the Big Apple. Until they see their credit card bills… Then they need to start all over again.
How about in your hometown? Where do you think people are particularly vain?
ZO Skin Health
Stay Cool!
If you live in an area where the temperature is soaring, your skin is under stress and duress. Dry skin, eczema, acne-prone and sensitive skin are all especially problematic. Here’s what Dr. Obagi recommends to get through the summer heat:
- Sweating is your body’s way of regulating temperature. Wear fabrics that allow your skin to breathe properly—like linen and cotton. Spandex, lycra, etc. are comfortable, but they may trap sweat, congest pores and cause breakouts on your back or neck.
- Hold off on facial waxing, glycolic peels, microdermabrasion, etc. Avoid or reduce the use of products that contain high concentrations of glycolic acid, salicylic acid, retinoic acid or retinol. They all work to expose new, younger, healthier skin cells, but in so doing, shed the dull, dry skin cells that have been blanketing your skin.
- Drink plenty of water or a sports drink. When your skin is not properly hydrated, it will appear more wrinkled, dry and damaged.
- Apply a good sunscreen (like ZO Skin Health’s Oclipse SPF30) about 30 minutes before going outside—it can take that long for it to be fully absorbed by your skin, and reapply it throughout the day. Sunscreens with physical blocks (like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide) are better than chemical sunscreens.
- Avoid the use of products that are fragranced.
- Wear a broad-brimmed hat. Not only will it shelter you from the UV rays, it will provide some welcome shade (and protect your hair color!)
- Opt for a treadmill instead of your favorite jogging path. Now is the time to enjoy an air-conditioned fitness center.
ZO Skin Health
Tattoos (and Tattoo Removal)
One of the leading online news-magazines (www.msnbc.com, to be exact), had a story yesterday about Hollywood celebrities who have tattoos. What’s especially interesting though, is that that story got more hits than any other story on the homepage—generating more visitors than stories about Iran nuclear weapons, Haitian refuges, and gubernatorial primaries. I guess we all need a break from reality now and then.
So why do people like Penelope Cruz (she has the number 883 tattooed on her leg), Angelina Jolie (she had her Billy Bob tattoo lasered off, and later replaced with a map of the birthplaces of her adopted children) and Pink (too many tattoos to enumerate!) get tattoos?
I live and work in Beverly Hills, but I have no idea.
Some people have tattoos for cosmetic reasons (aka permanent cosmetics), for eyebrows, eyeliner, lips, lipliners. Also, some women have tattoos as part of post-surgical breast reconstruction.
Then again, there are Elvis tattoos, dragons, butterflies, leopards and lizards. For all of those crazy varmints and witchcraft tattoos, 50% of the people who get them later regret it. Luckily, there are several ways of removing them, and which technique a dermatologist uses will depend on the size, position and age of the tattoo.
In my practice I use a QS laser, which breaks up the pigmentation. The body’s scavenger cells then remove the pigmentation, over a period of about 30 days. The lasers cause bleeding, oozing and then crusting, so healing takes about 7 days. Generally, multiple treatments are required—but there’s no way of telling in advance.
After treatments are completed, there will be no residual pigmentation, but a flesh-toned outline of the tattoo will remain. Just a little tint—like in ZO Skin Health’s Oclipse sunscreen—will help even the tone and conceal the outline.
Whereas tattoo parlors are sometimes suspect and of questionable quality, it’s important to work with skilled and trained medical specialists for tattoo removal. Before you get a tattoo, just think about Halle Berry. She had the name of her first husband, David Justice, tattooed on her derriere. After she divorced, she had his name lasered off, and a sunflower tattooed in its place. As she said, “I wish I never had the tattoo in the first place. Clean, clear skin is always better.”
Good point, Halle.
