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Posts by Lora Levin

My New Year resolution is to take better care of my skin. What can I do?

Year after year, everyone wants to kick off the New Year with a fresh start. The most common resolutions include hitting the gym at least 3 times a week, losing weight and eating healthy. In addition to these healthy resolutions, you might also decide that this is the year to start taking better care of your skin.

Here are a few New Year skin resolutions you should consider as 2011 gets underway:

  • Develop a daily skin care regimen that addresses your particular skin concerns and leads to meaningful improvement.
    Choose skin care…

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What are the benefits of chemical peels for the treatment of skin discoloration?

Anyone who has had uneven, blotchy skin or a skin condition called melasma knows how challenging it is not only to treat these skin disorders, but to also prevent a recurrence.  Understanding the causes of skin discoloration is a great first step to correcting it.

Skin inflammation: Acne or any skin trauma such as a scratch or burn often leads to post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), which can take weeks or even months to go away.

Melasma: Irregular patches of pigmentation are commonly caused by pregnancy, birth control pills,…

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What makes the skin around the eyes so fragile and vulnerable to the aging process?

You may have noticed that the first signs of aging are typically seen around the eye in the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, dark circles and even puffiness.

Here are a few reasons:

  • Skin thickness: Skin varies in thickness depending on the location of the body. The thinnest skin is on the eyelids (0.05 mm thick) and the thickest skin is on the palms and the soles of the feet (1.5 mm thick). As we age, skin loses its elasticity and becomes even thinner due to a natural decrease in collagen production.
  • The amount of oil glands:

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What are the anti-aging benefits of using topical antioxidants with retinol?

Our skin - the largest organ in the body - performs many important physiological functions and is particularly susceptible to free radical damage. Skin acts as the primary barrier against fluid loss and environmental abuse, and is constantly exposed to ultra-violet (UV) light and other oxidative stressors. This free radical damage causes wrinkles, loss of skin tone and elasticity, hyperpigmentation and aging. The face, neck, décolleté and hands are the most exposed and vulnerable parts of the body. Therefore, they require additional, targeted antioxidant…

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What's the best way to improve skin texture and smoothness?

Exfoliation. Skin exfoliation is a natural process associated with the constant regeneration of skin cells in the epidermis. Skin cells generate in the deepest layer of the epidermis, move toward the surface, shed invisibly, and the cycle continues. This natural process of skin exfoliation slows down with age. Babies renew their cells every 14 days, teenagers every 21-28 days, middle-aged adults every 28-42 days and it takes up to 50 days to renew cells by age 50 or older.

The best way to improve skin texture and smoothness is by accelerating this natural process of…

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What can I do about brown spots and uneveness?

Hyperpigmentation is the medical term used to describe the condition in which certain areas of the skin become darker. Hyperpigmentation is often the result of sun exposure but other common causes are hormones, especially hormonal changes due to pregnancy or the pill. Genes are also factors in determining how likely you are to get brown spots. For example, olive complexions are more predisposed to pigmentation. There's also PIH (post inflammatory hyperpigmentation) which is caused by injury to the skin. Acne and eczema are common culprits for PIH.

There are a couple of…

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What should I look for in an Aesthetician?

Aestheticians can play an essential role in maintaining and improving the health of the skin. Since each patient is unique, I often stress the importance of cultivating a long term relationship in order to maximize the effectiveness of treatments. The first step is finding one you love. Here are five qualities everyone should look for:

  • Knowledge - She should have a thorough understanding of conditions, procedures, medications, products, ingredients and all things dermatological.
  • Communication Skills - She should be able to understand …

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If I could use only one anti-aging product, what should it be?

Sunscreen.

I'm still troubled by the number of my patients that don't use an adequate amount of sun protection. Even if it's cloudy and you are running one quick errand, you still need sunscreen. Consider these lesser-known facts:

  • Windows (e.g. automobile) will not protect you. Windshields are laminated for safety reasons and filter most UV radiation. However side and rear windows allow as much as 79% of UV radiation to pass through1. UV radiation also passes through…

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How can I make my pores look smaller?

Pores cannot be shrunken permanently, but there are certain steps you can take to temporarily reduce their size and appearance. Here's a list of options I often give my patients. While most of these treatments are traditionally used to treat acne, they're applicable to just about anyone with oily skin and concerns about pore size.

Comedone extraction - Sterile instruments are used by a skin care professional to open and clean out comedones, commonly referred to as blackheads and whiteheads. This process of deep pore cleaning reduces the chance of developing acne…

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What's the biggest skin care misconception?

There are two categories of skin care issues, those affected by genetics and those affected by the environment. Patients often don't understand the difference between these two categories which leads to incorrect product choices which only further exacerbate whatever issue it is they're dealing with.

Take for example dry skin vs. dehydrated skin. Dry skin is genetically predetermined and is characterized by insufficient oil gland activity. Dehydrated skin is characterized by lack of moisture due to such factors as climate and over cleansing. So even oily skin types can …

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