Skin Damage | Debra Jaliman, MD

Archive for the ‘Skin Damage’ Category

Just Say No To Indoor Tanning!

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

While reading the New York Times, I came across the article In All Those Pages, a Surprise or Two. Here is the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/health/30fine.html?ref=health.

I was happy to discover that starting in July, there will be a 10% tax on indoor tanning. I have been telling patients for years, to avoid this. I remember being on a TV show, years ago on a point counterpoint debating someone in the tanning industry. Well we know, there is no debate. It seems quite clear. If you want to damage and destroy your skin then go ahead and indoor tan. Imagine if I was writing an ad campaign of what truly happens to your skin.
If you want to look years older than your true age, have deep wrinkles in places you never expected, ruin the texture and the color of your skin then this is the light for you.
If you are under 35 then we can increase your chances of getting a life threatening malignant melanoma by 75%. I think by now, it seems obvious how I feel about tanning beds. Tanning is bad and indoor tanning is worse. The UVA rays that are used penetrate deep into the skin and damage your collagen and elastic tissue, the major support for your skin. They also weaken your immune system and cause skin cancer.This year alone 30 million adults and 2.3 teenagers used these indoor tanning devices There are many things that are outside of our control that cause cancer, like the genes we inherit or exposure to a toxic chemical. This is something you can control, just say no to indoor tanning!

Tags: FDA, Indoor tanning, melanoma, nyc dermatologist, Skin Cancer, sun damage, tanning beds
Posted in Skin Cancer, Skin Damage | 1 Comment »

Lasers For Postinflammatory Hyperpigmentation In Dark Skin

Friday, March 26th, 2010

A number of years ago, I got a call from the producers of America’s Next Top Model. They asked if I could help out. They said that Tyra Banks had personally picked me to treat one of the models on the show with acne. They said that she was one of the contestants on the show and that her skin really needed help. They asked me if I would treat her and if I could clear her quickly. I love a challenge and I was happy to do it. The young hopeful’s name was Yaya and she had acne.She was a lovely and very motivated young woman. What I saw then and I see daily is that an acne patient with dark skin has more obstacles to overcome than a light skinned one. Both have the acne to clear. But a dark skinned individual has a second and sometimes more difficult task and that is the postinflammatory hyperpigmentation. Those are the brown marks that are left behind, or as some call them the stains. If left alone they can take months or sometimes years to go away. For many it looks as if you are still broken out, since the skin looks blemished and is not uniform in color. How do we treat this? We use bleach, retinols, peels, microdermabrasion, and lasers. When I tell my darker skin patients about lasers then often look at me in disbelief. Many think that the lasers will ruin their color or that lasers are not for darker skin types. That is why I wanted to write about this, to dispel this myth. It is true you have to have a color safe laser and you have to have a laser specialist that knows how to use a laser on darker skin types. In our office we pride ourselves on our ability to remove hair, brown spots, leg veins, acne scars, broken blood vessels on dark skin safely and effectively. Anything that we can do on light skin we can do on dark skin. If you are still concerned, you can have a test spot so that you can try it , to make certain that it doesn’t affect your skin color.

Tags: african-american, dark skin, dermatology, hyperpigmentation, laser, nyc, peels, retinols, skin bleach, tyra banks
Posted in Lasers, Our Office, Skin Damage | No Comments »

You Are What You Eat: Additives in Food

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

I suffer from migraines and so I was going through a list of foods that can trigger them, as mine have recently worsened. One that tops the list is NutraSweet or aspartame. I never use those blue packets to sweeten my drinks so I thought I was safe. Then I looked over to my diet peach Snapple and it was on the ingredient list. Now, I consider myself to be a very healthy eater and I have healthy habits in general. I don’t drink or smoke and never did. I realized that this innocent looking bottle was making me very sick. I was getting my migraines 5 days out of 7. I stopped drinking it and have had 12 migraine-free days.

It got me to thinking about how most people have a sensitivity to something. So getting back to skin, as I am a dermatologist. We know that there are many skin conditions that are worsened by certain foods. Maybe when I tell this to patients, they don’t take it seriously. I certainly wasn’t cautious enough with my own health. It is possible that we could cut down on some of the medications that we use if we had a better diet. Acne rosacea is flared by yogurt, soy sauce,vinegar, avocados, chocolate, citrus, spicy food, tomatoes and alcohol. New studies show that acne is improved by a diet that eliminates diary that has hormones and by a low glycemic diet. A high glycemic diet that contains processed carbohydrates, white breads and unrefined sugars raises insulin levels and may affect the androgen levels, or male hormones which tends to flare acne. Psoriasis seems to be helped by eating fish high in alpha omega oils. I remember 20 years ago, a patient telling me that every time he went to Japan his psoriasis would clear.

I know sometimes it is easier to just take a pill and use a cream. I think it is useful to see the body as a whole and realize everything we ingest has an effect. In this fast paced world of junk food and unrecognizable food,you just need to stop and think,what are you putting into your body. It may take a few more minutes or a little bit more thought or planning but try to eat the purest and least adulterated food. Now in the morning when I make my tea I save some for later in the refrigerator and ice it. So now I have fresh brewed ice tea instead of chemical-laden, disease producing ice tea.

Tags: acne, aspartame, healthy eating, migraines, nutrasweet, nyc, omega 3, psoriasis, rosacea, skin
Posted in Foods, Skin Damage | No Comments »

Pollution and Its Effect On Our Skin

Friday, February 12th, 2010

I went for biofeedback today so it made me think about the importance of relaxation. I certainly know that stress impacts the skin. Living in a city like New york certainly has its benefits but it is very stressful and does take a toll on your skin. I have certainly seen patients who have moved to NYC from other parts of the country claiming that their skin has suddenly become much worse and they want to know why. Is it the late nights working or partying hard? Or is it the air pollution? Or is it just eating poorly? It could be a combination of all of these things. The exhaust from motor vehicles and the combustion from fossil fuels in the air and the benzene found in cigarette smoke finds its way into the atmosphere. We breath this through our lungs and also gets absorbed into our skin. Pollution depletes the ozone and so more UV light reaches our skin as well. We are also exposed to toxic cleansing products, pesticides and electromagnetic radiation and microwaves. All of this increases the free radicals that break down our collagen and elastic tissue. These are the major structural support for our skin, so as these decrease our lines increase and our skin sags. Drink green tea daily. My favorite is Jasmine, make sure it steeps for five minutes to get the poly-phenols. you can also take green tea supplements in capsule form it is also important to eat foods rich in antioxidants. Try to find fruits and vegetables that are the most colorful for example a pink grapefruit has more antioxidant than a white grapefruit. You can also use topical antioxidants for your skin my favorite product is Super Serum which has green tea it is very soothing and helps get the red out of the skin. Another great product to use is Skin Booster which combines retinol with green tea and hyaluronic acid.

Tags: antioxidants, environmental damage, free radicals, green tea, new york city, pollution, poly-phenols, skin
Posted in Foods, Skin Damage, Sunscreen | No Comments »

Skin Cancer On The Increase

Monday, January 25th, 2010

In the January issue of Allure magazine they mention the study from the National Cancer Institute that shows melanoma is on the rise in young women. Here is the link :

http://www.allure.com/magazine/2010/01/bad_skin_habits#slide=6

Just last week I found a melanoma in a 20 year old. We are certainly seeing more skin cancers each year and more melanomas in younger and younger patients. It is fortunate that we have found all of these melanomas in the earliest stage so that they are totally curable since melanoma is the deadliest of all skin cancer. What does this mean to you and your friends and family. Make certain to get your mole check. Do not put it off. Also wear your sunscreen on a daily basis. Sun damage is cumulative. Even 10 minutes per day over a life time adds up. The newest recommendations from the American Academy of Dermatology is to wear an SPF of 30 daily. There are some new sunscreens that are easy to use that are very cosmetically elegant. We have a variety to choose from including waterproof powders, light lotions, and a new SPF 45 that is truly weightless and goes right into the skin. Whatever product you choose make certain that it blocks both the UVA and UVB rays as both are very damaging to the skin. Over one million cases of all types of skin cancer will be diagnosed this year. There is new legislation being proposed to tax tanning salons and to limit their use in teenagers. People who have used tanning beds before the age of 35 increase their risk of melanoma by 75 percent. So be smart get your skin checked, avoid tanning beds and use your sunscreen regularly.

Tags: bad skin habits, cancer screening, melanoma, Skin Cancer, sun damage, Sunscreen, tanning, tanning salons, tanning tax
Posted in Foods, Skin Cancer, Skin Damage, Sunscreen | 1 Comment »