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The Importance of SPF

Doctors Anti-Wrinkle Injections & Wrinkle Relaxers Perth

You’re walking out the door. You do that mental check you do every time. Do you have your keys, your phone, your wallet or purse? You might check for your Travel card, a snack, or for your compact – the things that get you about your day. These are the basics, but especially during the summer months there’s something you might forget: sunscreen. Why is it so important, and why should you prefer a higher SPF?

The Benefits and Risks of Sun Exposure

Sunscreen blocks harmful ultraviolet rays that come from sunlight. This doesn’t mean sunlight is harmful – we get that question sometimes. Sunlight is actually terrific for your body. It helps you produce Vitamin D, which is crucial for almost every facet of your health. It also has a profound psychological effect, and can help your mood and sleep patterns.

However, there are UV rays in sunlight that its important to protect your body from. These UV rays are a factor in types of cancer. This is where sunscreen comes in. SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. Not only can it block harmful UV rays, it can also prevent you from getting sunburn. SPF ranges from as little as 2 to as much as 70. What does this mean?

How to Estimate SPF Need

If you burn in the sun after 10 minutes unprotected, an SPF of 15 may suit you for about 150 minutes (2 hours, 30 minutes). It doesn’t hurt to over-estimate your need. There’s no harm in using sunscreen with a higher SPF than you might need. If you expect to be outside for several hours at a time this summer, apply sunscreen to any areas that will see significant sunlight. An SPF 50 is generally regarded as a good, all-around solution for a day out in the sun. Sunscreen can wash off in a pool, so re-apply when you get out – especially if you plan to tan. You can go with something lower if you’re only outside for a half hour at a time or so.

UV rays are still harmful during the winter, we just don’t typically spend as much time outside during the colder months. In fact, bright snow can reflect UV rays and amplify your exposure to them. For this reason, if you’re outside for a long time during the winter it’s important to use sunscreen with a high SPF.

Ready to get started?

For a consultation, or to book in for a treatment, call SKYN 08 9389 9022 or request an appointment online.

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Via: londonpremierlaser.co.uk

SKYNTERVENTION Melissa

In 2016, SKYN held a transformative competition: Skyntervention. The aim was to demonstrate how brilliant and natural results are achievable in cosmetic aesthetic treatments.

Over 6 months in 2016, our lucky winner was able to receive a bespoke treatment package from SKYN, to improve and address their skin concerns, and the results speak for themselves.

The Before

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Six Months Later

FINAL

The Treatment at SKYN®

When Melissa first came in her skin needed a lot of work.

The Doctors and Dermal Therapists came up with a treatment and skin care plan to fast-track Melissa’s skin back to health. It was very important for us to educate Melissa on the importance of a good home care routine and skin treatments.

Melissa was the perfect client. She started to become sun cautious, followed her home care routine and came to all her appointments.We continue to work with Melissa and she is still a regular client here at SKYN.

We continue to work with Melissa and she is still a regular client here at SKYN.

Dr. Zein Obagi: Why I Ended My Relationship with Obagi Medical Products, Inc.

ZO®, Dr. Zein Obagi’s New Vision for Skin Health.

Dr. Zein Obagi, the world-renowned skin health expert, recently discussed his life-long passion for helping people live life with healthy skin. Dr. Obagi’s journey into skin health began 35 years ago and today, as the Medical Director of ZO Skin Health, Inc., his energy and enthusiasm for healthy skin is as strong as it was then. Dr. Obagi answers the following questions and provides insight into why he severed his affiliation with Obagi Medical Products, Inc., how skin health has changed and why ZO Skin Health, Inc. is taking professional skincare solutions to a higher level.

Explain the beginning of Obagi Medical Products, Inc. (“OMP”). What was your vision for the company when you launched it back in 1988?

Dr. Obagi: OMP’s forerunner – WorldWide Products, Inc. – was launched to provide prescription-based skincare products for doctors to dispense to patients in their offices.

I conceived and brought to market prescription-strength products like the original Obagi Nu-Derm® System and the Obagi Blue Peel® kit. Aggressive, prescription strength skincare products are an important part of my philosophy and my goal was to provide these products to physicians. In addition to these products, I continued my direct contact with physicians around the country through symposia and system day lectures about treatment protocols. Skin health restoration cannot be accomplished by products alone; the physician needs to know how to use them in the most effective way, through step-by-step treatment protocols. Communicating this was a big part of my vision.

What was your role at Obagi Medical Products?

Dr. Obagi: In 1997, I sold WorldWide Products, Inc. which was renamed Obagi Medical Products by the new owners and I became the medical director. I remained an OMP shareholder and a board member, but was not involved in the day-to-day business operations after I sold the company. The original products remained the economic foundation of the company. My role there began to diminish over time.

What happened to Obagi Medical Products when it went public?

Dr. Obagi: Well, it is pretty simple. The focus for OMP became making shareholders happy and meeting numbers. The company was creating products that were not based on my philosophy of skin health restoration, which was very difficult for me. I became very uncomfortable with that because the products were a deviation from my philosophy.

In addition to that, I wanted to continue evolving my products so that they were relevant to what we were learning about skin health. As I said, skin health science is evolving and we owe it to our patients to constantly improve our products based on what we are learning about skin. I was committed to skin health but once the company went public it became clear that my priorities were not in line with OMP’s goals.

Why did you leave Obagi Medical Products? Do you have any connection to Obagi Medical Products now?

Dr. Obagi: Looking back to 1997, I wish that I never sold my original company (WorldWide Products) to the group of investors. I learned later that business tactics and science do not go hand-in-hand all of the time. I was thinking skin health, and the business people were thinking profit. I wanted to continue my teaching and lecturing. I wanted to strengthen the ties with physicians.

As I said, skin health science is always evolving and we owe it to our patients to constantly improve our products based on what we are learning about skin. It became clear that OMP and I had different visions for the future of skincare products and the direction in which they should evolve, so I decided to found a new company based on the newest skin health science.

Today I have absolutely no relationship with Obagi Medical Products.

What is your philosophy on skin health?

Dr. Obagi: There is one core principle that drives everything for me – and that is, when treating skin disease, you have to do it within the context of skin health restoration. You can’t just focus on the disease because the results will be limited and short-lived. The three skin health restoration principles are Correction (improve the epidermis); Stimulation (improve the dermis); and Bleaching and Blending (correct pigmentation problems). So when targeting a particular disease, say for example acne, you want to target that disease within the larger skin health system. First Correction, then Acne Agents, then Stimulation, and then Bleaching and Blending. My philosophy is all about remedying skin disease by treating it within the entire skin unit, and the reason for this is disease doesn’t just impact that one spot on your face that you can see or touch. It impacts all cells and you have to treat every element to get the skin back to being fully healthy again.

What is unique about your approach to skin care? There are so many treatments and products in the market – what is different about ZO Skin Health, Inc.’s products?

Dr. Obagi: Skin health science, like any other science, is not static. Therefore, the need for improvement, expansion, and continuous adjustment is not only essential, but also necessary in obtaining optimal treatment results. What makes ZO Skin Health, Inc. different is our Universal Approach to Skin Health. We provide the original principles I identified 25 years ago when I started (Correction, Stimulation, and Bleaching/Blending), and the newly found principles of today, such as anti-inflammatory agents, DNA repair, barrier function enhancement, and non-hydroquinone pigment control.

For example, we’ve recently learned about some drawbacks to hydroquinone. We’ve learned that your skin builds resistance when hydroquinone is used for more than three to five months in a row, making skin photosensitive and resulting in some pigmentation problems due to loss of melanin. Hydroquinone helps with general repair of certain medical problems (the General Repair approach), but the value is limited as it does not provide the expanded benefits found in my new principles and does not eliminate the inflammation generated by many factors (external, internal, and by certain topical agents). We’ve also recently learned that there are some circumstances when tretinoin should not be used. In these situations, the skin may make use of only a portion of the tretinoin that is applied; the unused portion may, itself, cause irritation and inflammation. For that reason, patients should only use tretinoin for three to five months. After that, I advise patients to switch to retinol in proper formulation and concentration for maintenance and prevention. What makes ZO® Skin Health and ZO® Medical products different is that we offer expanded benefits, improved treatment protocol results, broadened margins of safety, economical products, and increased patient compliance by offering the concept of prevention. By restricting availability of our products to physicians’ offices, we eliminate patient self-treating without medical supervision and, as a result, we restore and strengthen the bonds between physicians and their patients.

What led your interest in skin health?

Dr. Obagi: I began my career in pathology and was exposed to diseased tissues that not only got me interested in how cells function, but that provided me with a base of knowledge and set of tools that helped me really understand why you can’t just treat a disease, but rather have to address the cells where the core of the problem lives. I learned quickly that the skin is not a wall that you can just paint and fix – you have to get to the cells and awaken them. I thought it was fascinating that baby skin was perfect at birth – because all of the cells work exactly how they should in a newborn. I wanted to create that for people of all ages and the way to do that is to address the skin as one unit. One major turning point for me was when a pot of boiling water spilled on my sister’s back, which resulted in third-degree burns and a three-month hospital stay. I saw the frustration of the doctors and the scars that were left behind and was determined to prevent this kind of damage from happening again. So skin health science and prevention has been a life-long interest for me.

What was your vision for ZO Skin Health, Inc. when you launched it in 2007?

Dr. Obagi: I wanted to fulfill my dreams of focusing on skin health – to implement my ideas of 25 years ago and expand upon them with the knowledge and new principles of today. Prevention is a big part of skin health. With ZO® Skin Health, I wanted to create principles and products for people who want to have healthy skin, to maintain healthy skin, and to prevent future problems by following a nonmedical approach. On the ZO® Medical side, I wanted to stress patient safety by helping doctors and patients forge closer bonds so that the parties could work together to treat unhealthy skin.

What is your vision for ZO Skin Health, Inc. now?
Where do you see the company 10 years from now?

Dr. Obagi: We are the future of skin care. We have all of the components – the science, the products, the manuals, the protocols, and the physicians. The combination of my principles from 25 years ago and my newly developed principles of today enable physicians to treat, maintain, prevent, and provide ideal and exceptional skin care to people all over the world. I like to call this the “Universal Approach to Skin Health.”

When you launched ZO Skin Health, Inc., were you still involved with OMP?

Dr. Obagi: I always dreamed of creating a non-prescription line to complete my circle of skin health, but by the mid-2000s OMP had not yet released one. So, with the approval and knowledge of OMP, I founded ZO Skin Health, Inc. to make my dream a reality. I believed that OMP would support the new company; however, that never happened.

What are the differences between ZO Skin Health, Inc.’s products and what Obagi Medical Products offers?

Dr. Obagi: OMP’s products were good products for their time, but today I believe that they are outdated. I conceived and brought to market the original Obagi Nu-Derm® System more than 25 years ago based on then-current skin health principles (Correction, Stimulation, and Bleaching and Blending). However these principles, that served physicians and patients very well for many years, are no longer sufficient or suitable for everyone. We have discovered in the last ten years the negative effects of inflammation and glycation, the need to enhance skin strength and increase skin ability to resist the negative effects of many external and internal factors, and the need to enhance our skin’s ability to repair damaged skin DNA.

These are our new objectives that need to be incorporated within the old principles to widen the benefits of skin health restoration and expand existing treatment protocols (not only to treat skin problems, but to prevent them). All of these new discoveries and principles are reflected in ZO® Skin Health and ZO® Medical products.

OMP produces the Obagi Nu-Derm® System and disease-specific systems of products (Obagi CLENZIderm®, and Obagi Rosaclear®) and skin restoring products (Obagi ELASTIderm®). But with our ZO® Medical products I have incorporated all of the agents and ingredients necessary to achieve the same results as the disease-specific systems through well-defined and easy to follow protocols while restoring skin health at the same time. This results in a more flexible product line, better treatment, and happier patients.

Are there other new skin health treatments on the horizon that you are excited about?

Dr. Obagi: Yes! I’ve mentioned anti-inflammation. We’ve learned that sun, diet, and certain medications can create strong inflammation in skin. This inflammation leads to the disturbance of cell function and causes the skin to self-destruct. We have ingredients in our products that help mitigate inflammation triggers and we will continue to add more of them to both ZO®Medical products and ZO® Skin Health products.

We also know that skin gets thinner and weaker as we age. Essentially, the cells go to sleep, even when there are no medical problems. Older people, for example, experience double and triple the skin damage as younger people do when they are exposed to sun, make-up, irritants, or moisturizers. We’ve established the concept of “Stabilization”– meaning that we want to increase skin strength with age to make it more tolerant. As we look into the future, we are dedicated to constantly studying skin health and exploring new big ideas like these to help patients and doctors.

You have been in the business for many years and have seen first-hand how technology has impacted the skin care industry. What have you seen happen with the growth of internet sales over the last decade?

Dr. Obagi: The internet has really had a negative impact on the quality of care that patients are receiving today.

Let me give you an example: hydroquinone. In the past, you could only obtain hydroquinone with a physician’s prescription or under a physician’s care. This maintained the physician-patient relationship and allowed the physician to monitor patient progress. But today some companies are allowing hydroquinone products to be sold over the internet without a prescription, which is potentially dangerous for patients. This happens because many skincare companies want to increase sales regardless of the consequences. As a result, patients stop going to their doctor and instead self-treat using hydroquinone they purchase over the Internet. The FDA is aware of this phenomenon, but can’t prevent every improper sale.

At ZO Skin Health, Inc., we don’t allow products with hydroquinone to be sold over the internet – they can only be prescribed by a doctor. In the interest of patient safety, I hope that other companies will follow our lead.

What is your opinion of the skincare industry in general today?

Dr. Obagi: Skin health is my passion, so I am probably a tough critic because I want the industry to be the very best it can be. But the skincare industry faces some serious problems today. When so many skincare patients are treating themselves with products they purchased online and so few are going to a doctor, something is wrong. The industry really needs to address what is going on with the sale of products online so that patients will stop needlessly damaging their skin.

I would also like to see the entire industry come together to stop “quick fix” products and, instead, address the functionality of skin as a whole. I don’t think the other skincare companies are bad, I just think they are using the wrong concept. It is like losing weight – if you want to be fit, you exercise, but you also need to eat healthy, drink water, and take appropriate supplements. Creating healthy skin requires the same approach – the entire body must be “on program.” I wish the industry would adopt this more holistic approach.

Where can consumers, doctors, and other interested parties purchase your products?

Dr. Obagi: ZO® Skin Health products are available in physicians’ offices (skyn.au ). A physician that wants to carry ZO Skin Health, Inc. products can call us and a sales rep will be there quickly with our training specialist to train them on how to use the products and to keep them informed about my physician training dates, courses, and lectures. I am also available for direct conversations with my physicians regarding my treatments, protocols, and products.

In your current role at ZO Skin Health, Inc., what do you get the most satisfaction from?

Dr. Obagi: I really enjoy interacting with fellow skincare enthusiasts. I feel very fortunate to be able to travel the world and meet with physicians, surgeons, and scientists who are as passionate about skin health as I am. Public speaking is a big part of my life and I love it. I provide training for physicians, speak at medical meetings, lecture at schools, and travel all over the world for symposiums and related events. We talk about skin health science, treatment protocols, and the latest findings. Skin health is my passion and I want to share my passion with others. That is one of the reasons I am writing a book about my philosophy on skin health. I want to share everything I have learned – and continue to learn – so that I can help people look younger indefinitely.

 

Zein Obagi, MD

Medical Director
ZO Skin Health, Inc.
Irvine, CA

Board Certified Dermatologist
Obagi Skin Health Institute
Beverly Hills, CA

Men’s vs. Women’s Skincare: What’s The Difference?

Skin doesn’t recognize differences in gender, so why does it seem like there so many differences between skincare products for men and products for women? The truth is, there really aren’t that many difference—men’s skincare products and women’s skincare products are basically the same. The only real differences between a men’s line and a women’s line are these:

(1) Packaging.

Packaging that appeals to men is generally more “robust”—with bold type and dark colors. It assures men of their masculinity.

(2) Fragrances.

Men may be more partial to outdoorsy scents (like wood and leather),  and women to floral notes and fruity fragrances. Scents like citrus and spices are common in fragrances for both men and women.

(3) Simplicity.

Men generally like just a few items and no complicated regimens. Until a few years ago, they may have stuck to just a cleanser/facewash, shampoo, and aftershave. These days, men have become more sensitive to lines and wrinkles and have added rejuvenating products and sunscreen to their daily regimen.

 

Now, more than ever, men are looking at skincare products that prevent and repair lines and wrinkles.

 

Here are some recommendations that your man might enjoy:

  • ZO Skin Health Offects™ Hydrating Cleanser hydrates, rejuvenates, and includes panthenol (which soothes, repairs, and restores skin) and allantoin (which cleans away dead skin cells and supports cellular renewal). Cleansing has never felt so good.
  • ZO Skin Health Exfoliating Polish sloughs off dead skin cells, smooths pores, evens skin tone, and promotes the growth of healthy new skin. Vitamins A, C, C-Esters, and E provide anti-oxidant protection and help boost collagen production.
  • ZO Skin Health Ossential Daily Power Defense uses DNA repair enzymes to enhance skin’s recovery capabilities. These special enzymes attach directly to  DNA molecules and repair oxidative damage caused by UV exposure. It works all day with time-release retinol, enzymes and anti-oxidants to repair damaged cells and protect against future damage.

 

Will ZO products appeal to the testosterone-inclined?

Absolutely. With the cobalt blue color scheme, many men think that ZO Skin Health is a men’s line. And as for the fragrance, ZO Skin Health products are lightly scented with citrus or grapefruit—so they appeal to both men and women. And when you get right down to it, beneath the packaging and fragrances, all skincare products are gender neutral. So choose the products that are going to work best for your skin.

 

SKYN carries the full range of ZO Skin Health products

Think You Have Sensitive Skin? It May Be All in Your Head

Sensitive skin: If you ask, most of us will say we’ve got it. In a 2009 study published in Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, more than 75 percent of people surveyed claimed to have sensitive facial skin. A study published the year before found that nearly a third of participants believed their skin sensitivities were becoming more intense as time marched on.

 

You’d think that with so many people suffering from easily irritated skin, we’d have a clear-cut blueprint on how to deal with it—like we do with, say, acne. But here’s where it gets weird: There’s no medical definition for sensitive skin. In fact, within the dermatological community, the condition is largely viewed like our so-called collective gluten allergy—something that’s often self-diagnosed, increasingly fashionable to have, and, likely, not legit.

 

“Sensitive skin is a very misused and abused term because skin is not really inherently sensitive,” says Rick Woodin, a cosmetic scientist who has been in the biz for more than 30 years.

In fact, Woodin, who is head of R&D and chief scientist for ZO Skin Health, says that outside of medically defined skin diseases such as rosacea, eczema and psoriasis (all of which compromise the skin’s barrier) and skin allergies (which are recognized to make skin more sensitive), so-called sensitive skin can be overcome.

 

Intrigued, we asked Woodin and dermatologist Zein Obagi—who also serves as the medical director for the brand and as head of Obagi Skin Health Institute in Beverly Hills, California—to break down how, exactly, to strengthen easily-irritated skin and cut down on itchiness this winter.

 

Woodin and Obagi both believe that outside of skin diseases, like those mentioned above, skin sensitivity is caused by a compromised or weakened skin barrier.

 

“The skin’s barrier function is one of the predominant first lines of defense against external aggression,” explains Woodin. “If skin has proper barrier function, then it won’t have a response to chemical stimulus,” he says, noting that chemicals don’t just refer to potential irritants or toxic ingredients. “Everything is chemical in structure, including water,” he reminds us.

And if skin isn’t diagnosed with atopic dermatitis or allergies but becomes itchy, burny, red, and irritated? “It’s most likely because there’s an imbalance in the skin’s barrier property,” says Woodin. “Skin can become less tolerant [to topical products] because moisture balance and lipid balance—the two primary functions of a healthy skin barrier—are suppressed.”

 

Now, it’s only reasonable to think that loading up on lotion would be the answer to bolstering skin’s moisture and lipid balance—after all, moisturizers can deliver both hydration and lipids, the fats that keep moisture locked into skin. But both Woodin and Obagi say that this offers only a temporary and surface solution. What’s more, it creates a dependency on moisturizers for a quick fix instead of triggering actual change within the skin itself, where it needs to happen.

 

So Obagi suggests something that we rarely hear: If you don’t have a skin disease or identified allergies and are experiencing skin sensitivity, “stay away from moisturizers to create a strong skin barrier.” It’s a message he touts in his book The Art of Skin Health Restoration and Rejuvenation.

Woodin suggests building the skin’s barrier—and therefore desensitizing skin—by using products designed to stimulate skin to make its own moisture and moisture-binding agents (ask your derm for recommendations).

 

For their part, Obagi and Woodin create products designed to jump-start the skin’s own functions by using biomimetics, technology in products that triggers what the skin would naturally do. “By inducing your skin to produce hyaluronic acid and glycosaminoglycans, you improve moisture-retention properties,” notes Woodin. “That’s how to maintain the skin’s water balance.”

 

Another way to bolster the skin’s barrier and toughen up its response to skin care products? Allocate money otherwise spent on a pricey sensitive-skin cream for a trip to the derm instead. An MD can help identify whether you are suffering from a truly sensitizing skin disease like rosacea or eczema and provide patch tests to uncover allergies that give skin redness, rashes, or itch.

 

And if neither are the case, your skin pro can help devise a plan to maximize your skin barrier and obliterate its so-called sensitivity altogether. Not only will this make skin healthier in upcoming dry winter months, it will also make skin less likely to freak out when you use beauty products gifted at Christmas or apply next-level makeup come New Year’s Eve.

VIA: stylecaster.com