The Dermatologists' Prescription For a New You!

Introducing A New You! Now, more than ever, we strive to regain our youth. Today’s consumers need guidance as to which products to choose and which procedures you should seek out. We will educate you on factors that contribute to aging and advise you on how you can prevent and reverse the physical signs caused by these factors. This book will empower you with the ability to sort through the products available for purchase and to help you understand and interpret advice received from websites, magazines, and other sources of information. After reading this book, you will understand the skin and how it functions, and you also will understand the aging process and what you can do to slow it down! You will also learn about antioxidant ingredients, and using our customized quiz, you will be able to determine your antioxidant repair needs. This knowledge will help you choose the products that are right for you. Care for your Skin: How do you Measure Up! We believe there are a few basic rules to follow to improve or maintain your skin health. Here are 10 easy tips on what you can do TODAY to start taking better care of your skin. 1. Do you eat a balanced, healthy diet? Maintaining a healthy and varied diet is important for skin health. Some nutritional deficiencies such as rickets (vitamin D deficiency) pellagra (niacin deficiency), and scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) are diagnosed by the appearance of typical skin rashes. There are other deficiencies that can affect the skin, nails and hair (essential fatty acids, zinc, vitamin A, and vitamin E). 2. How much water do you drink every day? Drinking 3-4 eight oz glasses of water each day helps maintain good body hydration and is an important contributor to maintaining good skin tone and texture. 3. Are you regularly exposed to smog, cigarette smoke and other environmental pollutants? Environmental factors including cigarette smoke, pollution, sun exposure, and tanning booths can lead to skin wrinkling, sagging, brown spots, and skin cancer. Avoiding them as much as possible will promote skin health. Daily antioxidant use can help prevent damage if exposure does occur. 4. Did you spend most of your teens and 20s perfecting your tan and damaging your skin? Skin damage from exposure to the sun is cumulative, that is it adds up over the years. It is important for you to care for sun damaged skin today even if it was damaged years ago. Apply a topical antioxidant once or twice daily. Antioxidants help to prevent and reverse the damage caused by the sun. A diet rich in antioxidants can also add to the benefits of topically applied antioxidants. 5. Does your beauty regimen include a sunscreen or a product with a sunscreen ingredient? UV light from the sun, both UVB, which primarily affects the upper layers of the skin, and UVA, which penetrates more deeply into the skin layers, is important to avoid and block. You should apply a daily sunblock of SPF 30 or higher. This block should protect against both UVA and UVB. There are many effective over-the-counter sunblock products available in your local pharmacy and your dermatologist’s office. 6. Do you moisturize? Those with normal to dry skin should include a moisturizer in your daily skin health regimen. These products replenish the moisture lost from the surface of our skin and help the skin to maintain its very important barrier function, which serves to protect us against disease. Moisturizers also help temporarily fill in fine lines, giving you a younger, healthier appearance. 7. In the last six months, have you regularly had seven to eight hours of sleep a night? Getting enough sleep is of vital importance to your overall health, including the body’s largest organ, the skin. Sleep deprivation can lead to dark under-eye circles, dryness, and a sallow dulled appearance of the skin. Sleep deprivation can also weaken the immune system, of which the skin is a very important part. 8. Do you exercise regularly? Exercise is important for the entire body. Exercise, in addition to improving cardiovascular health, keeps the immune system functioning at its best. A compromised immune system can lead to bacterial, viral, and fungal infections. Exercise, however, causes an increase in free radical production. Because of this, it is important to consume a high antioxidant diet and to apply potent antioxidant proucts on your skin, while following your exercise regimen. 9. Are fine lines and wrinkles noticeable even when you're not smiling or talking? Topical retinoids, such as those prescribed by your dermatologist, are another way you can reverse skin damage. Retinoids, such as Retin –A and Retrinal, help to fade brown spots, reduce fine lines, reverse UV damage from the sun and tanning booths, and bring back a youthful glow to your skin. These creams can be used in combination with a topical antioxidant. 10. Is your skin tone dull? Regular skin exfoliation brightens your complexion. Fruit acids, such as glycolic acid, can be used on the skin to treat fine lines, sun damage, brown spots, acne, dullness and uneven skin pigmentation. They also help stimulate the skin to produce new healthy skin cells, which ultimately helps brighten up its appearance.