From cellulite to wrinkles, from sun burn to freckles: the more you know about how to care for your skin, the better you'll be at making the right choices to keep your skin healthy.
Dermatologist Elizabeth Farhat with Allina Health answers the skin questions you want to know.
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Your Skin Questions – Answered!
Featured Speaker:
Elizabeth Farhat, MD - Dermatology
Dr. Farhat is a dermatologist and avid volunteer, having participated in medical missions in Botswana, Bolivia and Guatemala. She focuses her practice on early detection and prevention of skin cancer and improving overall wellness which starts with clear and healthy skin. Her health tip? "The key to preventing skin damage is to avoid mid-day sun, never use tanning booths and wear sunblock daily." Transcription:
Your Skin Questions – Answered!
Melanie Cole (Host): From cellulite to wrinkles, from sunburn to freckles, the more you know about how to care for your skin, the better you’ll be at making the right choices to keep your skin healthy. My guest today is Dr. Elizabeth Farhat. She’s a dermatologist with Allina Health. Welcome to the show, Dr. Farhat. So let’s start talking about SPF and sunscreens because we all know how bad the sun is for our skin. But what is SPF, and how high should we be going with it?
Dr. Elizabeth Farhat (Guest): Absolutely. Sunscreen is so important to prevent sun damage and prevent skin cancer. When you're looking at sunscreens, I recommend looking for SPF 30 or higher. SPF actually stands for sun protection factor. What they do is they measure how long it takes for your skin to get damaged from the sun, and it's actually a factor that they multiply. So if normally you would burn in one minute, an SPF 30 would partner you for about 30 minutes. It also filters out about 97 percent of the damaging rays. So I always recommend higher SPFs are better because sunscreen does wear off. It’s not like you can put on an SPF of 100 and never put anything on again, because you do have to re-apply every couple of hours.
Melanie: The sunscreens that are labeled 50 and 70, do those make any difference?
Dr. Farhat: They do, but it's an incremental difference. So like I said, SPF 30 is about 97 percent of the rays. The 50 and 70 go up to 98, 99 percent. It's a difference, especially if you have sun-sensitive skin conditions or if you're really sensitive to the sun, but it's an incremental difference.
Melanie: Dr. Farhat, freckles are cute, especially on little kids. But when we’re out in the sun more, we tend to see more freckles. What are they, and are they really bad for us?
Dr. Farhat: Freckles do come from sun exposure, and what they are is basically pigment that your pigment cells are laying out into the skin. So when you go out into the sun, the sun stimulates those pigment cells or melanocytes to deposit pigment into the skin. So the more sun you have, the more freckles you can get, especially if you are light-skinned to start off with because you have less pigment to protect yourself from the sun. I don't think that they're dangerous, so they do not themselves turn into skin cancer, but they are a marker for sun exposure. So when I see people with lots of freckles, it just shows me that they’ve had a lot of sun over their lifetime.
Melanie: Now, what about skin regimes? What do you want us to do? What do you follow? And what's your best advice for skincare for ourselves?
Dr. Farhat: I think the most important thing is to keep your skin hydrated and cleansed. So typically, I’ll wash my face in the morning and use a facial moisturizer that has sunscreen in it. A lot of those facial moisturizers now have sunscreen built in, and the ones I like to use are those physical sunscreen blockers that have zinc oxide because those ones are less irritating to the skin, and you can put makeup right on top of the sunscreen or moisturizer. Then at bedtime, it is important to wash off any makeup or dirt that you’ve got on your face because those pores can get clogged overnight. And so, you can either just use a gentle face wash, or you can use wipes to wipe off any residue from the day.
Melanie: Now, as long as we’re talking about sunscreen and makeup with it, if we’re out in the sun and we get sunburned, are there some at-home treatments that we can use to ease the sunburn? We’ve heard about apple cider vinegar or aloe vera. Some people even keep the plants in their house.
Dr. Farhat: Absolutely. I do think aloe vera is a great one because it has a cooling effect on the skin, and that can help ease those symptoms of sunburn. As far as apple cider vinegar, I don't recommend that just because it can burn and sting, and it may even dry out the skin even further. One thing they’ve found is taking ibuprofen or other NSAIDs can decrease inflammation and help with the pain associated with sunburn, and so that is helpful to take, especially the first day that you're having that sunburn, just to decrease some of that inflammation and redness. And then you can always do cool compresses with a washcloth and cool water just to cool down the area, and make sure you stay really hydrated because your skin has to regenerate itself.
Melanie: Tell us about wrinkles. It’s everybody’s biggest thing with their skin as we age. We get wrinkles around our eyes and under our eyes and around our nose. How do we get wrinkles? Is smiling and those sorts of things, do they contribute to wrinkles? And is it something hereditary? Is there actually anything we can do about wrinkles?
Dr. Farhat: That’s probably one of the biggest questions I get is about wrinkles, and part of it is hereditary. Some people, their skin is just not as elastic as other people. But a lot of wrinkling does come from the sun. So, sunscreen is going to be the best way to prevent wrinkles from coming. As far as smiling, facial movements, you can get some dynamic lines from that, but a lot of people don't, so I would say I don't think it's something you should try to stop smiling or stop using your face for. But if you do get those wrinkles around the eyes from smiling, around the forehead from making facial expressions, the best treatment would be Botox because that’s going to relax those muscles that are really tugging at the skin. As far as the smaller wrinkles go, I do recommend using products that contain retinol. Retinol is over-the-counter, and it's been proven to reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles. It comes from vitamin A, and it helps the skin to renew itself after. So it takes that skin from the bottom layer, brings it up to the top layer, helps your skin rejuvenate itself faster. And you can also try a prescription Retin-A or tretinoin cream.
Melanie: People see all these products on the market that contain retinol. So do you have any favorite products? Because some are very expensive, and some are not so expensive. Is the more you pay the better the product?
Dr. Farhat: I actually think what you want to look for is that key ingredient, so I don't know that you need to spend hundreds of dollars for the same product as long as it has that key ingredient. The main difference is just how it feels when it goes on your skin, so that’s called the vehicle. And I would say if you are happy with the less expensive option, I think that would be fine.
Melanie: So now on we move to cellulite. People have this on their thighs. They see it on the backs of their arms and on their abdomen. Is there absolutely anything besides weight loss that we can do for those little puckering in the skin?
Dr. Farhat: That’s another really common question I get. So cellulite is that dimpled appearance of the skin from those fat deposits that get pushed against that connective tissue. It’s really common on the hip areas, when you're walking, and it's more common in women than men because of the hormonal differences between men and women which causes more fat to be in women’s bodies, and then the distribution of the fat is over those areas that get cellulite. So the best treatment unfortunately is diet and exercise and just training those muscles so that you have less fat that’s overlying those areas to get pushed out into the skin. They’ve studied liposuction, unfortunately it doesn't work, and the topical creams really aren’t very effective because it is a deeper process. So I tell people, “Don't waste your money on all those creams and things like that.”
Melanie: So those creams and the things that we spread on that guarantee they're going to get rid of our cellulite, you as a dermatologist do not recommend us spending our money on those at all.
Dr. Farhat: Yeah. It might firm the skin on top of it temporarily, but it really won’t affect the cellulite underneath the skin.
Melanie: And Dr. Farhat, in just the last minute that we have or so, tell us your best advice for our best skincare to get that glowing skin that we all crave and why people should come to Allina Health for their skincare.
Dr. Farhat: I do think moisturization is really important. A lot of times, especially in the winter, people’s skin can get so dried out, and it really does cause your skin to look very dull and flaky. So using a really good moisturizer daily is so important, and then as I mentioned before, you can use one that has sunscreen in it to protect your skin from the sun. Most of the spots that people complain about, as far as aging, do come from the sun. So all the brown spots and all those things that pop up on your skin later in life are from the sun, so if you can protect yourself and prevent those spots from coming, that’s really the best thing. Then once you have had a lot of sun damage, I do recommend seeing a dermatologist once a year for a skin check because they can check and make sure there aren’t any pre-skin cancer spots or skin cancers. So I do recommend coming into Allina to see a dermatologist.
Melanie: Thank you so much. You’re listening to the Wellcast by Allina Health, and for more information, you can go to allinahealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
Your Skin Questions – Answered!
Melanie Cole (Host): From cellulite to wrinkles, from sunburn to freckles, the more you know about how to care for your skin, the better you’ll be at making the right choices to keep your skin healthy. My guest today is Dr. Elizabeth Farhat. She’s a dermatologist with Allina Health. Welcome to the show, Dr. Farhat. So let’s start talking about SPF and sunscreens because we all know how bad the sun is for our skin. But what is SPF, and how high should we be going with it?
Dr. Elizabeth Farhat (Guest): Absolutely. Sunscreen is so important to prevent sun damage and prevent skin cancer. When you're looking at sunscreens, I recommend looking for SPF 30 or higher. SPF actually stands for sun protection factor. What they do is they measure how long it takes for your skin to get damaged from the sun, and it's actually a factor that they multiply. So if normally you would burn in one minute, an SPF 30 would partner you for about 30 minutes. It also filters out about 97 percent of the damaging rays. So I always recommend higher SPFs are better because sunscreen does wear off. It’s not like you can put on an SPF of 100 and never put anything on again, because you do have to re-apply every couple of hours.
Melanie: The sunscreens that are labeled 50 and 70, do those make any difference?
Dr. Farhat: They do, but it's an incremental difference. So like I said, SPF 30 is about 97 percent of the rays. The 50 and 70 go up to 98, 99 percent. It's a difference, especially if you have sun-sensitive skin conditions or if you're really sensitive to the sun, but it's an incremental difference.
Melanie: Dr. Farhat, freckles are cute, especially on little kids. But when we’re out in the sun more, we tend to see more freckles. What are they, and are they really bad for us?
Dr. Farhat: Freckles do come from sun exposure, and what they are is basically pigment that your pigment cells are laying out into the skin. So when you go out into the sun, the sun stimulates those pigment cells or melanocytes to deposit pigment into the skin. So the more sun you have, the more freckles you can get, especially if you are light-skinned to start off with because you have less pigment to protect yourself from the sun. I don't think that they're dangerous, so they do not themselves turn into skin cancer, but they are a marker for sun exposure. So when I see people with lots of freckles, it just shows me that they’ve had a lot of sun over their lifetime.
Melanie: Now, what about skin regimes? What do you want us to do? What do you follow? And what's your best advice for skincare for ourselves?
Dr. Farhat: I think the most important thing is to keep your skin hydrated and cleansed. So typically, I’ll wash my face in the morning and use a facial moisturizer that has sunscreen in it. A lot of those facial moisturizers now have sunscreen built in, and the ones I like to use are those physical sunscreen blockers that have zinc oxide because those ones are less irritating to the skin, and you can put makeup right on top of the sunscreen or moisturizer. Then at bedtime, it is important to wash off any makeup or dirt that you’ve got on your face because those pores can get clogged overnight. And so, you can either just use a gentle face wash, or you can use wipes to wipe off any residue from the day.
Melanie: Now, as long as we’re talking about sunscreen and makeup with it, if we’re out in the sun and we get sunburned, are there some at-home treatments that we can use to ease the sunburn? We’ve heard about apple cider vinegar or aloe vera. Some people even keep the plants in their house.
Dr. Farhat: Absolutely. I do think aloe vera is a great one because it has a cooling effect on the skin, and that can help ease those symptoms of sunburn. As far as apple cider vinegar, I don't recommend that just because it can burn and sting, and it may even dry out the skin even further. One thing they’ve found is taking ibuprofen or other NSAIDs can decrease inflammation and help with the pain associated with sunburn, and so that is helpful to take, especially the first day that you're having that sunburn, just to decrease some of that inflammation and redness. And then you can always do cool compresses with a washcloth and cool water just to cool down the area, and make sure you stay really hydrated because your skin has to regenerate itself.
Melanie: Tell us about wrinkles. It’s everybody’s biggest thing with their skin as we age. We get wrinkles around our eyes and under our eyes and around our nose. How do we get wrinkles? Is smiling and those sorts of things, do they contribute to wrinkles? And is it something hereditary? Is there actually anything we can do about wrinkles?
Dr. Farhat: That’s probably one of the biggest questions I get is about wrinkles, and part of it is hereditary. Some people, their skin is just not as elastic as other people. But a lot of wrinkling does come from the sun. So, sunscreen is going to be the best way to prevent wrinkles from coming. As far as smiling, facial movements, you can get some dynamic lines from that, but a lot of people don't, so I would say I don't think it's something you should try to stop smiling or stop using your face for. But if you do get those wrinkles around the eyes from smiling, around the forehead from making facial expressions, the best treatment would be Botox because that’s going to relax those muscles that are really tugging at the skin. As far as the smaller wrinkles go, I do recommend using products that contain retinol. Retinol is over-the-counter, and it's been proven to reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles. It comes from vitamin A, and it helps the skin to renew itself after. So it takes that skin from the bottom layer, brings it up to the top layer, helps your skin rejuvenate itself faster. And you can also try a prescription Retin-A or tretinoin cream.
Melanie: People see all these products on the market that contain retinol. So do you have any favorite products? Because some are very expensive, and some are not so expensive. Is the more you pay the better the product?
Dr. Farhat: I actually think what you want to look for is that key ingredient, so I don't know that you need to spend hundreds of dollars for the same product as long as it has that key ingredient. The main difference is just how it feels when it goes on your skin, so that’s called the vehicle. And I would say if you are happy with the less expensive option, I think that would be fine.
Melanie: So now on we move to cellulite. People have this on their thighs. They see it on the backs of their arms and on their abdomen. Is there absolutely anything besides weight loss that we can do for those little puckering in the skin?
Dr. Farhat: That’s another really common question I get. So cellulite is that dimpled appearance of the skin from those fat deposits that get pushed against that connective tissue. It’s really common on the hip areas, when you're walking, and it's more common in women than men because of the hormonal differences between men and women which causes more fat to be in women’s bodies, and then the distribution of the fat is over those areas that get cellulite. So the best treatment unfortunately is diet and exercise and just training those muscles so that you have less fat that’s overlying those areas to get pushed out into the skin. They’ve studied liposuction, unfortunately it doesn't work, and the topical creams really aren’t very effective because it is a deeper process. So I tell people, “Don't waste your money on all those creams and things like that.”
Melanie: So those creams and the things that we spread on that guarantee they're going to get rid of our cellulite, you as a dermatologist do not recommend us spending our money on those at all.
Dr. Farhat: Yeah. It might firm the skin on top of it temporarily, but it really won’t affect the cellulite underneath the skin.
Melanie: And Dr. Farhat, in just the last minute that we have or so, tell us your best advice for our best skincare to get that glowing skin that we all crave and why people should come to Allina Health for their skincare.
Dr. Farhat: I do think moisturization is really important. A lot of times, especially in the winter, people’s skin can get so dried out, and it really does cause your skin to look very dull and flaky. So using a really good moisturizer daily is so important, and then as I mentioned before, you can use one that has sunscreen in it to protect your skin from the sun. Most of the spots that people complain about, as far as aging, do come from the sun. So all the brown spots and all those things that pop up on your skin later in life are from the sun, so if you can protect yourself and prevent those spots from coming, that’s really the best thing. Then once you have had a lot of sun damage, I do recommend seeing a dermatologist once a year for a skin check because they can check and make sure there aren’t any pre-skin cancer spots or skin cancers. So I do recommend coming into Allina to see a dermatologist.
Melanie: Thank you so much. You’re listening to the Wellcast by Allina Health, and for more information, you can go to allinahealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.