SPRING SKIN
TUNEUP
Warm weather means it’s time
to review beauty regimens
By DAVIDA SIMON
The birds are finally singing.
We’re coming out of a long
hard winter. We almost
broke records with 61 days
of snow on the ground. This adds up
to 61 days of bundling up in coats,
scarves and boots to stay warm and 61
days of the furnace cranked up and
drying out our skin.
But this week, I’ve heard my friend the
determined woodpecker perched outside
my window, hailing the coming of spring.
Buds are appearing on the trees, there’s
new growth everywhere we look, and
sweater weather is back. As we roll into
spring, now is the time to take stock of
our skin care routine, add an extra step
and possibly alter a few regimens.
I went right to the source for advice.
Several sources actually, because we
approach the skin from several angles — topical at-home skin care, treatments
in a spa with a medical aesthetician,
or laser tech and medical procedures
involving physicians.
I spoke with paramedical aesthetician
Kris Popowski at the Dermatology &
Laser Center in Denver about what we
can do to hydrate and “tune up” our
overheated, dry skin. “Exfoliated skin
retains moisture better, and the first
thing that comes to mind is an in-office
mechanical skin exfoliation treatment
such as light microdermabrasion to
remove superficial layers of dead skin
and allow treatments to penetrate better,”
says Popowski.
What can be done at home? I for one
have shelves full of half-used cleansers,
scrubs and moisturizers that I abandoned
for the new and improved products
advertised in magazines and on television.
Popowski replies, “To exfoliate at
home you can use products containing
alpha-hydroxy acids or retinol.”
With all that “stuff” on my shelves,
can’t I just use what I have? Why do I
need to come in for professional service?
Popowski helps me to understand: “I like
to use the analogy of teeth cleaning. You
brush your teeth at home but then go in
to the dentist to have your teeth professionally
cleaned. You are not going to
have the same dentist-clean results with
just your toothbrush. Women can use
home skin care products and the massmarket
store-bought microdermabrasion
wands, but it won’t be the same as inoffice
treatments.”
Skin care is big business, and many
brands tout amazing results in a short
amount of time. These products don’t
always deliver those results because products
sold through retail stores or salons
and spas are cosmeceutical. The product
won’t have the potency to treat the skin as
well as skin care products tagged pharmaceutical.
Skin care products sold and
supervised through a physician or medical
aesthetician usually have a higher percentage
of the key ingredients that give you
more bang for the buck.
Consulting with experts may even
save you money. Dr. John Bershof with
the Plastic Surgery Group and owner
of Body by Design, a medical spa in
Denver, says, “A good skin care aesthetician
will evaluate a person’s concerns
and put her on a skin care program
that works specifically for her.
The patient will purchase only what
she needs. She will know how to use
the products, apply them correctly and
use them in the correct order. People
need to be educated consumers.”
He goes on to say, “The patient might
supplement her at-home program with
medical spa treatments such as Botox,
fillers, microdermabrasion or an office
peel. When a skin care program is
designed by a medical spa, the aesthetician
will follow up with the patient, making
sure she is applying her products correctly
and not using something she no
longer needs.”
Susan Strasburg at Body by Design
offers her take on spring skin tuneups. “Even though we have had so much
snow, the air is dry,” says Strasburg. “A
lot of people think that just putting
products like moisturizer on their skin is
going to help them through this. You
need to get the dead layer off to jumpstart
your skin for spring. I usually give
my clients options with either a few
sessions of in-office microdermabrasion
treatments or a peel and at-home skin
care, or send the patient home with
skin care products like Obaji. Three or
four weeks later, when that dead stratum
corneum layer starts to loosen,
they can come in, and I can get that
skin layer off with a treatment. But it’s
not a one-time thing.”
Says Strasburg, “Like having your hair
highlighted, you’ll have to keep it up for
the best results. Like working out at the
gym, or going on a diet, it’s a program.”
What’s the cost of all this? “I am concerned
with people’s budgets,” says
Strasburg, “and I’ll work with them to
give them what they need even if it’s just
a few products they can incorporate with
products they might already own.”
I watched with permission as
Strasburg’s client, Brenda, received
injections of a new filler called
Juvérderm in her nasal labial folds. The
area was instantly smoothed and
plumped, giving a more youthful
appearance. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally
occurring sugar found in the
human body. The gel temporarily adds
volume to facial tissue and restores a
smoother appearance to the face. A local anesthetic was applied first, and
Brenda was comfortable with the treatment
and happy with the results.
Laser technician Paula Maes of
Denver Vein Center helps her clients get
ready for spring using the newest
infrared light treatment. IPL (Intelligent
Pulse Light) machines help rid the skin of
last year’s sun damage, including broken
capillaries, freckles and age spots, and
help to improve the overall appearance
of the skin. It can even be done during a
lunch hour.
“It takes a few minutes and doesn’t
involve messy gels or topical anesthetics,”
says Maes. “IPL targets the pigment,
and just a few treatments may be
all that is needed. The newer Cutera
laser IPL works for all skin types and can
give the treatment anywhere on the
body that has sun damage.”
Sunscreen is an all-important step to
protecting your skin all year round. ”There’s a new over-the-counter sunscreen
that offers protection from both
ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B
(UVB) radiation. Just approved by the
FDA, Anthelios SX, manufactured by
L’Oreal, is better at blocking the sun’s
harmful effects and will be available
soon,” says Popowski.
“Treat last year’s sun damage first,”
advises Maes. “If there is already sun
damage, you will be prone to get more
sun damage if you don’t use sunscreen
protection with zinc oxide.”
All our experts agree sunscreen is
one of the most important products
you can use to ward off the signs of
aging. Dr. Libby Shurnas at the
Dermatology & Laser Center emphasizes
the consistent use of sunscreens
to minimize the aging process.
Another spring-to-summer tuneup is
removal of superfluous hair, and laser
hair removal might be the ticket. “We
won’t treat anyone with blond, red, grey
or white hair,” says Maes. “The laser
needs to be targeted toward pigment,
and those hair colors don’t carry enough
pigment in the follicle.”
Strasburg offers a way to get rid of
dead skin with the added bonus of
removing facial “peach fuzz” using a different
type of exfoliation service called
Dermaplane. After the skin is cleansed
and possibly treated with an in-office
peel, Strasburg uses a specially designed
instrument to gently scrape away dead
skin and unwanted facial hair.
Strasburg notes, “We try to teach
people that you can have a face-lift,
your jawline cleaned up, or your eyes
done, but if your skin looks old, you
are not going to be happy with your
face-lift.” So when Dr. Bershof feels
patients are premature in wanting surgical
procedures, he’ll send them to
the medical spa for treatments to
smooth, soften, plump and revitalize
the skin tone. “If we haven’t met all
her concerns, then we’ll send her back
to Dr. Bershof for a consultation,”
says Strasburg.
Our skin care routine doesn’t stop
with the face. Legs, feet, arms, chest and
back will be uncovered soon, and our
skin care programs must incorporate the
total body. While you’re tuning up your
skin care routines, be sure to see your
physician for your annual check of moles
and spots.
We want to stay healthy and
vibrant. The key to your spring skin
tuneup is a healthy diet, lots of water,
and cleansing, exfoliating, treating and
protecting your skin both at home and
with the help of experts.
