Board certification, residencies, fellowships – the credentials of a dermatologist should be basic to your process for selecting the one who suits you best. As one of the world’s great cities, Atlanta has attracted some of the absolute best, and so you have a talent-rich environment standing by for your informed decision.
One of the best signs that you are talking with the one for you is if he or she is generous, informed, and abundant in the information they share about what to do for your skin that might not even involve their services. Being dedicated to your goals for your appearance, in ways that go beyond their own practice, is a quality you might well consider when making your choice of which dermatologist to make your own.
Off-Duty Wisdom
The beauty secrets of dermatologists might sound like a magazine cover come on, but sharing what we have learned is what we do. After all, we have made it our life’s work to help people take care of the body’s largest and most visible organ – the skin. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t have a few favorites, though, and that applies to the realm of beauty secrets, too.
For dermatologists, “favorites” means personal favorites. After all, it’s part of our job to present a good example, and where would we be if our own skin did not look like something our patients would like to emulate? What are the beauty tips that we don’t just recommend, but use ourselves?
Two From the Bedroom
The two most basic tips are not from the bathroom or the vanity table, but rather the bedroom. First, never retire to bed without a thorough, gentle cleansing of the face. Whatever is on your skin when you go to bed, will be in your skin when you wake up. Preventing blemishes begins with a wash before bedtime.
Products with some form of salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide are particularly good for purging the pores before sleep. Even just the simple stimulation of washing your face improves circulation of nutrients through the bloodstream and assists the cleansing flow of the lymphatic system. Simple tip, but powerful.
Second is simply sleep. Get enough of it. Puffy eyes and sallow, tired-looking skin are just two of the paybacks you get for shorting your body’s need to restore itself at night. The difference in appearance between sleep-deprived and rested can look like decades.
Care and Protection
A basic paradigm is to care for your skin at night and protect it during the day. When you’ve hydrated and cleansed before bedtime and then slept enough to restore your skin, it’s time to rise and shine.
Let that old saying remind us that “shine” is the first thing from which we must protect ourselves. The sun’s UV rays can be cruel now and even deadly later, unless we take steps to protect our skin from skin cancer. That’s why sunscreen is fundamental today. And it’s an easy step, too, because it is frequently being added to makeup. Whether you wear makeup or not, though, a preparation with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or 50 is no secret, and it’s not just for beauty.
Where Moisture Begins
Proper hydration is as vital to your skin’s health and appearance, as it is for exercise and athletic achievement. When your body is low on water, your skin is the first place to show it. Remember, it’s the last organ to get anything (except sunlight). Drinking plenty of water is one of those tips that might sound off the subject, but it truly qualifies as a beauty secret for that very reason.
Are you seeing a theme, here? The “secrets” of beauty and skin health among dermatologists start way before our discussion gets to the skin’s surface. And these are self-care tips to practice before you head to see an Atlanta dermatologist.