Skincare/Hair/Make-Up/Beauty Thread • Page 77

Sometimes i hate having bangs. Today they're doing a weird thing. The right side is sticking up a little bit and the left side isn't rly blending where my bangs meet the rest of my hair so there's like a random longer chunk in the mix. I hate hair.

 

I also have bangs and I also hate them but I also love them

 

I’m staying at a relative’s house bc of Easter and I realized I packed all my makeup except forgot lipstick. Howwwww??? I wear lipstick everywhere. It’s basically my signature and I’m gonna feel so weird not wearing any tomorrow. I do have a cream blush with me so idk hopefully that works out. I was all excited bc I’m getting to like dress up for once and boo now I’m gonna feel like my whole look is incomplete! It’s dumb bc it’s just a family dinner but I was all excited to get all dolled up. Always gotta forget to pack something!

 

I feel you! The other day i tried to go lipstick free and caved and had to put some on. Luckily I usually have a few shades shoved in my purse. My nautral lip color looks undead to me lol. Like some ppl want a "my lip color but better" shade, but I don't even want that! My natural lips are really pale and almost have a blueish purple hue sometimes. I can go without lipstick if I have no makeup on, but if I have makeup and no lipstick it looks weird and incomplete to me.

 

I'm a dermatologist so feel free to ask me anything and I'll see what I can do. I'm pretty up to speed with what works over the counter, even with a budget.

From experience diet is hit or miss and varies on the individual. Some of my patients swear that doing off with chocolate and dairy cured their acne. The data isn't there to prove it on a population scale but that doesn't mean it won't work for you. If acne is part of the issue, you have to remember that acne comes in various scales. The most common type is comedonal acne...that's pimples (whiteheads/blackheads). What is a comedone? It is what we commonly refer to as "blocked pores". Really what it is is that you have a sweat/hair duct and a process known as hyperkeratinazation occurs which leads to occlusion of the pore, resulting in blockage of the pore. That is the first step of any acne process. Most scientists agree that the issue is occurring at the level of the skin so you can't really fix it much by changing diet alone or with pills.

So what can you do for comedonal acne on a budget and over the counter? PLENTY
1. A benzoyl peroxide containing product. The percentages range from 2.5-10%. I would start around 5% then move up. Benzoyl peroxide is similar to the active ingredient in stridex pads and so on. I suggest the wash from Panoxyl: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008TY9BOK/?tag=absolutepunk-20 . Use the wash once daily but you can go up to twice. It WILL dry out your skin and it may even irritate. You do not want irritation, if the irritation is an issue go down in frequency or percent benzoyl peroxide. Warning, this stuff will bleach your towels/clothes so after using it use a WHITE wash cloth to dry your face.

2. SUNSCREEN: I cannot emphasize the importance of sunblock enough. SPF30 or higher, I prefer zinc or titanium based blockers but use what works for you...just please use a lotion or cream form, do not use the spray it's only about 50% efficacious. Apply it before you head out in the morning and once again at lunch time. Honestly, this should be in every person's routine regardless of skin health...it prevents skin cancer, aging spots, and wrinkles.

3. Finacea/adapalene: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XZWF6R3/?tag=absolutepunk-20
This product is very similar to the prescription strength stuff we give for acne (retinoids) and I often will use finacea if retin-A is not doing the trick. This goes on once nightly, use a small amount for the entire face...literally no bigger than a peasize amount is good for the whole face.

As an aside, I'm a big fan of the website the ordinary (The Ordinary | Clinical Formulations with Integrity | A DECIEM Brand) they have a ton of great products for very very good prices.

4. Avoid excessive topical oils/gels for the face. Some oils (including cocoa butter!!) have colloquially been known to cause pore blockage leading to worse acne.

5. A non comedogenic line of make up...There's a brand my wife uses but I'm blanking on the name. Most of the brands at sephora are really good actually.

There's another form of acne which is a bit more intense, these are the larger, red, painful bumps you may get along the jawline/cheeks/forehead. This type of acne is known as papulopustular acne. This form of acne often requires antibiotics (clindamycin topical gel or systemic doxycycline) so you would need a script from a doctor...I will say that if you can, a $20 doc in the box visit would be able to get you a prescription for it...but don't break the bank for it.

What causes papulopustular acne? Again you have the blocked pore but now, for whatever reason, there is a bacteria on your skin known as P. acnes (everyone has this bacteria on the skin, don't worry it's not just you) and it goes into the blocked pore and starts to grow. Much like any skin infection, this leads to an immune response from your body trying to kill off the infection. This is what leads to the redness and tenderness.

What can you do about it? As I said above, the gold standard is antibiotics but if you can't get access to that it is ok. What you need to do then is avoid aggravating the skin...no harsh scrubs, no harsh soaps. No pimple popping. Be very gentle with your skin. I'm a big fan of free and clear cleanser: Free & Clear Liquid Cleanser, For Sensitive Skin . I would also suggest dove bar soap (NOT THE FOAMING WASH) for the face if you want something more. That's it.

For women, they may have inflammatory acne that lines up with their periods. We highly suggest an oral contraceptive but be aware that not all oral contraceptives are the same. Lo-loestrin tends to give us the best results. I would avoid mirena IUD though.

For rosacea...there's a huge genetic component...if you can't think of at least one other relative who has it you likely don't. There are tons of triggers: foods (spicy, alcohol, caffeine, soda), sunlight, stress...list goes on. There are a ton of different forms of rosacea with the most common being erythemotelangiectactic which is redness (erythmo) plus little veins (telangiectatic). The most obvious fix is to identify your triggers and avoid them. Let's say you still have some redness, a surprisingly easy fix is to use some mild green colored foundation, it mixes with the red to give you your normal skin tone. You'll need to do some trial and error to see what shade works for you. If you have the little veins (and honestly even if you don't...the main cause of rosacea is swollen blood vessels), a new medication we're using for that is essentially a topical form of afrin spray. Afrin, for those who don't know, is something you use for clogged/stuffy noses to bring down the swelling and let you breath. The chemical in there works on blood vessels everywhere. So I've been telling patients that every morning and any time they have a flare, get some afrin, spray it on a napkin, then dab on the areas where it's most red and it should bring it down in minutes. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MSE7LS/?tag=absolutepunk-20

Good luck!

 

With regards to skin/diet: I've had Acne for many years now, since I was like 13. If I eat little to no meat for long stretches of time, it's A LOT better. Same goes for greasy food, but to a lesser extent. I've had it long enough and tried this approach often enough to be confident that it works for me. That's just me though.

 

I would say that a lot of people may have a sub-clinical gluten insensitivity so I would give that a shot as well.

There's no science to this but I will say my vegan/vegetarian patients tend to have less acne.

 

I use sunscreen daily but do certain brands/types make a noticable difference? Right now I use a Neutrogena thick cream broad spectrum SPF 55 one but I know a lot of people like La Roche-Posay. I'm tempted to try it but it's pricier and idk if it's worth it? I have rly pale skin and a lot of moles so I'm basically convinced I will die of skin cancer lol.

Also yas at u liking The Ordinary! Incorporating a few of their products has really helped my skin out and the price is unbeatable.

 

Neutrogena is my go-to. They tend to use less additives in their products. I would avoid LaRoche in general, I tend to see a lot of negative skin reactions to their products.

Recently a patient recommended bullfrog to me: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bull-Fro...35&wl11=local&wl12=48164677&wl13=1770&veh=sem

The guy fishes 5 out of 7 days a week for 8 hours a day, never had a skin cancer.

I wouldn't fret over skin cancer (easier said than done, obv). Do the right things when you're young to protect yourself later.

 

Relationship between mental health and acne

Recent study out of the UK which pooled a 25 year patient cohort totaling in the millions found that there a 6% increased likelihood for patients with acne to develop major depression. Generally signs of depression begin to form 1-2 years after the initial diagnosis with acne.

The data shows a mild linear correlation between severity of acne and likelihood of depression, i.e. the worse the acne, the greater likelihood of displaying signs of major depression.

If any of you guys (or anyone you know) have concerns at all about your mental health, you are not alone, please seek help from a professional asap.

 

@Richter915 How do those round scrub brushes people use to wash their face work? Does it really clean better, etc? Would you recommend? I see a lot of hype about them

 

So scrubs and brushes are marketed as exfoliating but in practice I see them more likely to irritate the skin. This leads to inflammation and a greater risk of forming acne and potentially scarring the skin. I absolutely never ever ever recommend it. It makes logical sense to think like ok when my kitchen floor has a stain I scrub hard to get rid of it so that should work for my face. Problem is is that acne is not a stain, it's an inside out process that has little to do with how clean your face really is.

Gentle cleansers or just dove bar soap is all I recommend. I'll sometimes tell my patient to ask themselves "would you put this on a baby's skin? If no, then don't put it on yours"

 

Going more gentle with my skin was the best thing I ever did. I used to think I needed harsh products for all my acne and it took a long time to switch that mindset of acne = harsh. I'd hear people say to go gentle but didn't entertain the thought until I had tried everything else. Now my skin is clearer and my pillowcases don't get bleached anymore!

 

I like gold Bond let me know how that works for you

Over the counter you can also get 20% urea lotion that you can apply twice daily to rough patches. I think the brand ñame is carmol

 

i wake up and mine are almost always out of the control. i just rewet them is the best way to get them to stay flat and just let them air dry. i think they tend to do better when i let them do that than if i try to do too much and mess with them.

 

I've found they do best if I wet them and blow dry them down but it's a gamble if they cooperate. I've started wearing a hat for the times they don't lol.

 

A novel study just came out from the Netherlands comparing diet and wrinkles. For women only they found a positive relationship between diets high in red meat, sugar, and fat with wrinkles. On the flip side they reported that diets high in green, yellow, and red vegetables as well as fat from fish was protective and those people were less likely to form wrinkles.

 

For women only meaning the study was only on women or the first diet only impacted women and not men? Because if it only impacted women much I am smh @ who decides these unfair rules!!

 

I just need to stop buying pastel box hair color. It literally does NOT hold in my hair. It washes out pretty much immediately. Such a waste of money

 

well yeah its pastel and also box color. Have you tried other types of pastels? like Overtone or Pravana?

 

Sorry I reread my post and it makes no sense haha

The study found those connections between diet and wrinkles in women. I have no idea why it's sex specific.

 

The most recent one washes out immediately like when I rinsed the color out when dying it. It was suppose to be a rose gold. I haven’t tried overtone or pravana. I was recommended guy tang and some other one that’s suppose to be good

 

hmm what color is your hair now? I definitely highly suggest both of those brands, both are just color depositing and will not lighten your hair but will dye it and you can leave the dye on for as long as you want and it wont damage. Overtone is actually a conditioning product as well that you use to refresh the color you have.

basically if you want pastel hair your hair needs to be damn near white already. If it is, you should use color depositing dyes (like overtone, pravana, manic panic, etc) not box dyes bc box dyes are super harsh and will not really help lighten your hair anyway.

 

I used one of the guy tang toners and it looked good but washed out after about 3 washes. Might just be the porosity of my hair, though.

 

also pastel hair in general will last very briefly so that's why a brand like overtone is better because you can keep up with it with the conditioner.

Some general tips for "unnatural" dyed hair but especially so for pastels is to wash it as infrequently as possible, with cold water. Hot water will really ruin your hair in one shower. It ain't worth it.