4 Skin Care Tips Just Right for You
Posted on June 15, 2010 by Kate
- Banish Those Bumps
- Love Your Lips
- Get Rid of Wrinkles
- Smooth Away Scars
One common problem exercise cause is folliculitis, the medical name for the blemishes that crop up when hair follicles on the chest, back and buttocks become infected. The cause: the bacteria that thrive on soggy exercise clothes. To keep inflamed bumps at bay, always work out in fresh gear, look for specialized clothing that wicks moisture away from the skin, and avoid cotton, which is very absorbent. Changing as soon as possible after exercising is also helpful. Other strategies include washing with antibacterial soaps and dusting on powder before your owrkout to help absorb wetness. If a post workout shower isn’t possible, swab skin with astringents laced with alpha- or beta-hydroxy acids. To treat mild cases, use topical products containing salicylic acid (a.k.a. beta-hydroxy acid) or benzoyl peroxide. If the condition becomes more severe, check with a dermatologist, who can treat it with antibiotics.
Because lips contain little melanin, it’s impossible for them to tan and extremely easy for them to burn – and skin cancers that occur around the mouth are the most aggressive. So be sure to slick lips with an SPF-rated balm or lipstick frequently throughout the day. Dermatologists believe that the sunblock present in many lipsticks is the reason they don’t see many skin cancers on women’s lips.
The evidence of a link between our diet and the appearance of our skin is mounting. Study shows women and men ages 70 and up revealed that those who ate more vegetables, legumes, fish, olive oil, multigrain breads and low-fat dairy products had fewer wrinkles on sun-exposed areas than people who ate more fatty, sugary foods. Scientists have also shown that the antioxidants found naturally in fruits and vegetables can protect skin from free radicals. And studies conducted recently suggest that consuming a low-fat diet significantly reduces your chances of developing some forms of premalignant lesions. Even choosing tea over coffee can have a positive effect. Researchers found that people who regularly drink hot black tea with a twist of lemon had an almost 80 percent lower risk of developing squamous cell skin cancer.
You can improve the looks of that appendectomy scar, even if it’s decades old. Silicone sheeting and scar-reducing bandages have been shown in studies both prevent raised scars from forming and flatten them once they’ve set in. While these products produce the best results on newer scars (those up to eight weeks old), older ones also show improvement after several months. Other, faster and more expensive options include laser therapy, microdermabrasion and steroid injections. To help heal a wound with a far less visible scar, keep it moist and covered. Letting a wound “breathe” encourages the formation of a scab, which actually acts as a barrier to the development of new tissue. Keep wounds covered until a flat, shiny layer of skin appears, usually in 5 to 10 days. After that, be sure to apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen. Exposing a new scar to the sun could cause it to heal with dark discoloration.
