Not in the Pink? Think of Zinc!

  If your skin doesn't have that healthy pink glow, could it be that you are lacking zinc? Zinc is potent micronutrient that we need for general as well as gyno health. Health effects on the fetus of being deficient in zinc has been known for over 50 years and some famous studies of dwarfism in Iran had been traced to zinc deficiencies. It is a trace mineral, also called trace elements, widely available in meat and plant sources. Because the zinc is harder for us to chemically extract from vegetarian food sources so there is lower bioavailability in plant sources. In otherwords, having lower bioavaibility means, its there in your food, but you just can't extract it. Vegetarians and vegans are urged to get approximately 50% more zinc than those who do eat meat. In fact your zinc blood levels will vary depending upon how much meat you do eat. Fish sources have zinc too, and oysters are among the best way to get zinc into your diet.

Zinc is necessary for the function of dozens of our body's metabolic enzyme systems; it is important for our immune system, the repair of DNA and for wound healing. Over 70 enzyme systems need zinc for proper function. It is linked to skin disease, poor sense of smell, inability to taste as well, infertility, and poor resistance to infection. It may be a cause of hair growth cycle disturbances. For those getting cosmetic treatments getting the right amount of zinc in your diet will help you heal more quickly and help enhance the way your products are working for your skin’s protection. Sun screens and cosmetics with zinc can help your skin be less irritated and less dry or flaky. If you have had diarrhea your skin can be listless for a variety of reasons: low fluid levels, too little magnesium and potassium in your system due to the loss during diarrhea, but low zinc can be responsible for the symptoms of being pale as well.

Remember there are hidden ways doing things you think of as beneficial for your health, that actually can be detrimental. Since zinc is absorbed in the small intestine too much fiber can oddly bind up your zinc and you can suddenly have a zinc deficiency you did not have before. For instance too much zinc can be both toxic and compromise the amount of copper, another trace mineral, in your body. Too much iron can also affect how we absorb zinc from our intestinal track.  Discussing these issues with your gyno, boils down to a basic diet analysis. There is no approved blood level tests for zinc, and hair analysis is inconsistent, so you just have to rely on the content of our diet to get enough zinc in!

Dark Circles Under the Eyes

Dark circles might just be temporary from a poor night sleep, but those with the deepest dark circles know it's not a quick fix in them. But there's no reason to dispair! First fix would be to get a cover-up mineral make up that has anti-oxidant treatment power as well as making you look and feel good. One recommended at Hada Cosmetic Medicine is Colorescience, and you can check their Facebook Store if you can't run right in downtown and get color matched. The next fix is sun screen. If you have your coverup on, it's sun screen as well, but double protection, and ideally every 2 hour application! The next fix is a quick trip to your physician. Several nutritional deficiencies can lead to dark skin pigmentation, and if your undereye area is one of your problem areas it will show this the worst! For instance, poor Vitamin D levels will manifest as dark pigmentation, and this can be simply corrected with the approprate supplements and medical monitoring. Lighteners do work, some are more chemically based, others just have botanical lighteners such as the Revale, or Skin Sceuticals pigment correctors which are safer and we recommend as your first line! Intense Pulsed light as well as laser treatment can treat pigmentation of various depths. To minimize the accentuation of the pigmentation appropriate use of fillers and botox can help, but in and of themselves won't likely make a dramatic effect on the pigment. The point is, a lot can be done, an there's no reason not to evaluate the options!

What is this Rash?

There are no two snowflakes alike, and sometimes we think there are no two rashes alike! Getting a diagnosis may be as simple as having your doc take a peek, it might take a biopsy if it keeps going. Rashes that last under a few days, they don't need a diagnosis, rashes that accompany fevers need checking right away. It's possibly worth a phone call, it's too soon to just Skype in a photo, the resolution is not that good. But before lasers, peels and deep treatments, do get a diagnosis if the rash is on your face.

Red Nose In Summer: The Fix

Treating your skin may mean treating the blood vessels close to the surface that are making your skin look cherry red. When the cherry red color occurs on your face it's most annoying. The first step is getting seen and getting a diagnosis. Sometimes this may mean a short diversion over to your primary care physician or your dermatologist. But if you just have bright red skin due to superficial vessels then an aesthetic treatment can be dramatically effective.  The advent of the use of lasers, intense pulsed light (IPL), and radio-frequency treatments are the best. These have been successfully used for the treatment of a variety of vascular lesions including telangiectasias (small blood vessels near the surface of your skin), port wine stains (PWS), and even hemangiomas. This may take one treatment for those with minor vessels, or a series of treatments. Depending on skin type and how your skin reacts to treatments an advanced treatment medical aesthetician can design an optimal program.

Summer Sweating A Challenge?

If summer sweat is a challenge then you need to think cool, or at least "cool" as in "calm!" All of us will perspire under the right conditions,...you know candid camera shows up just after you had an all weekend party, you can imagine! And for those who sweat heavily in the summer controlling the wet can be a challenge as we have discussed in some of our other posts on the topic of sweating, we all have differning amounts of sweat glands. .Add stress, the wrong diet, being overweight,  the blood flow in an area of the skin, or inappropriate clothing and suddenly that perfect up-do becomes limp and clothes are sticking, and you can't figure out just how you are going to actually shake the President's hand when you meet! Overly sweating is medically called hyperhidrosis. If it's in a particular area when there is no thermal need to be cooled off. it's called primary focal hyperhidrosis. Having to put up with excessively sweating forehead, underarms, palms, soles, can be challenging when in fact the heat and humidity of the summer weather can make it very difficult to put up with. Physicians define this condition as one that occurs on each side, that has been ongoing for over 6 months, and usually began at a fairly young age, such as under 25. We have three sets of sweat glands that control perspiration:  eccrine and apocrine, and apoeccrine glands.These glands vary in their physiology and their control factors. Some will function when you are nervous, and some function to regulate your temperature. There is no such thing as being nervous in your sleep, so your palms and soles won't sweat when you're asleep, but heat regulation goes on. So paying attention to your sweating patterns at night will begin to give a clue as to what is going on and help your physician help you get this under control. If showering and drinking fluids, and spritzing with your mineral spray is not enough to control the sweat the simple use of  over-the-counter antiperspirants is of course the next step. They function as simple sweat gland plugs by the main ingredient that is usually some sort of metallic salt like aluminum which literally blocks the pore of the sweat gland and obstructs the escape of fluid. Some medications are very effective at stopping sweat, but the side effects have been problematic. And beyond these therapies some prescription antiperspirants and Botox therapy.

AK Treatments that Beautify

It is possible to get a successful treatment of actinic keratosis (AK) due to sun exposure on the face and other  body parts.These spots develop on the face, but can be found on the scalp (especially in men), on ears, and in the decolletage and forearms preferentially, because these areas get the most sun exposure and are often sites forgotten by your sunscreen touch ups! If not treated they can progress, after further sun exposure, to squamous cell cancer of the skin.  They look like areas of abnormal pigmentation (could be brown, often red), which is patchy and often flaky. Treatments include watching: if you are young, they might go away; freezing with liquid nitrogen, surgically scraping, Some topical therapies actually do show promise, from creams used to treat warts to the anti-inflammatory medicine called diclofenac cream (one brand is Voltaran).Using a fractional laser non-ablative treatment also works. Devices called 1540 or 1550 wave length lasers are these types of treatments. Interestingly the skin is significantly improved in terms of texture and wrinkles while treating the precancerous condition.  Other FDA approved non-ablative fractional laser treatments include  laser include skin resurfacing procedures and the treatment of  wrinkles around the eyes, the treatment of acne scars, improvement and treatment of surgical scars,treatments to even out abnormal skin coloration  and pigmented lesions, such as age spots, sun spots, the AK, and deeper, more difficult to treat melasma. As with other laser treatments, your medical treatment provider can evaluate your skin and decide if these are AKs to be treated, or other conditions. Once you have a diagnosis, you can decide what treatment best suits you. Considerations such as location, your skin type, your tendency to hyperpigment, any recurrences, the amount of time you are outdoors will all factor into what she or he will recommend. But once all factors are weighed, the laser treatments both treat the AK, and are significant anti-aging treatments.

Your Nose and Your Hormones

Hippocrates him self noted that in menstruation or pregnancy the mucosa (lining) of the nose would be swelling and any nose bleeds would be worse during a period as well as during pregnancy. Your nose skin thus has special hormonal considerations as well! We now have a study from Brasil and the Otorhinolaryngology Department at Santa Casa de Sao Paulo that has looked into the nose, and the way it responds to hormones. We have estrogen receptors in the nose! And the type of receptors and their numbers vary during our cycle. In the nose we have more beta receptors than alpha receptors. And beta receptors do relate to local arterial pressures though vasodilatation or opening up of blood vessels. And the numbers of cells can vary if you are on birth control pills, and when you cross over into menopause these tissues can thin. So that you may have noticed that at the same time this affects break outs, the amount you flush, sweating, and how dry or moist your skin is. Right now we don't have tests that can determine how each individual can best use this information. At Hada Cosmetic Medicine we suggest you discuss changes you notice during your cycle with us so that we can help you adjust to these changes.

Do you Have a Photosenitivity Reaction?

Rashes! So common, so annoying, and so, well, vague! Often one looks like the other, and if you actually consulted a physician as often as not you get the 'you are allergic.' to.... 'something.' Of course we recognize that is not necessarily very helpful for diagnosis or cure! The days are bright and the heat can cause us to flush! But if you have too much red flush of the day it is possible you have developed a photosensitivity reaction. First off, the distribution of this reaction is typically in areas exposed to light, so our neckline. Face, neck and hands are most likely to suffer the reaction. Staying protected from the sun does help prevent this condition. For those who are the most sensitive actually fairly dramatic effects can occur. Within a few minutes of sun exposure the most allergic will have more than just redness, but small bumps may appear, thickened and scaling patches can develop if chronic and itching is common. If too great an area of skin is exposed the reaction can be much more than skin deep and can cause dizziness, being faint or wheezing. If this occurs it can be serious and you should consult the MD consultant for your spa for an accurate diagnosis and a treatment plan.

Kobner's Phenomenon Is Not Serious After a Cosmetic Treatment

Some women are very sensitive to any manipulation of the skin. You can wake up with funny red lines, maybe your swim goggles show red marks for a long time, or perhaps you even get a line that lasts from a bandaid or from a skin treatment. Estheticians are taught to be very gentile, and the correct amount of pressure from any device used on the skin will minimize any temporary effects of the treatments themselves. Some women will have noticeable lines along the treatment area. This effect is called the Kobner's Phenomenon. Usually the area may appear as a red streak, or some bumps along the area, or even just an extra area of swelling. regularly getting these side effects from any treatment it may be time to have a discussion with the supervising physician so that you can craft a more gentle treatment plan. And for those that are getting these lines more commonly during the activities mentioned above: better skin care will minimize those effects as well. At Hada Cosmetic Medicine we will have suggestions!

The Colors of Epoch Glamour

It's true that we all have a bit of a comfort zone when it comes to colors, and to some extent it's because those colors do harmonize with our skin tone, or or hair color, or our wardrobe, or that festive new hat we happened to grab! But there its a place to think out side the ordinary and it's just that sort of thing that a colorist can help you with! In fact colorists have been doing that for, literally millennium! The 'original' color was reported to be red ocher, it was used to advertise fertility. In the far east, the ocher stayed the color of choice, but for the Mehndi pain of hands and feet it was more for luck, and protection in one's marriage and fertility while enhancing beauty. Although we think it was only for beauty that the Egyptian women 5000 years ago used the inert mineral kohl thickened into a paste with animal fat to paint eye liner on their eyes, the modern studies of the scientists behind mineral make up have discovered it prevented eye diseases as well, and is the basic concept behind the minerals still used in the main eye definers today. The crystal white of QE I's skin was achieved with actual white lead paint, we cherish sun protected skin, no matter what our natural color, in a nod to the classic look. So, some looks, are just classic, and likely here to stay!