As we enter a new year, I want to review the things we need to do for keeping our skin young and healthy. Home skin care is the Foundation for healthy skin. I consider it the procedure between procedures. We have multiple office procedures for improving the skin, and guess what? When you maximize skin health at home, the office procedures produce a better result with less downtime and decreased risk of complications.
Like other things, technology has brought about significant advances in skin care. Much of what we have available today did not even exist when I was in medical school. It can become more confusing than programming your TV. I like to simplify skin care by classifying the products based on what they do for the skin, then ranking these classes based on how important they are for skin health.
These are:
- Sun Protection
- Hydration
- Cleansing
- Cellular Renewal
- Anti-Oxidants
- Acid Exfoliation
- Growth Factors
- Skin Specific Products
- Pigment Modulators
- Toners, Facial Scrubs, Hydrators and Eye Creams
Over the next few days, I will discuss each of these steps in detail. Hopefully, this will give you a better understanding of what is available for your home skin care program and how to use them most effectively.
Happy New Year,
Dr. Mack Stewart
