Monthly Archives: February 2017

In hindsight…..


Hindsight is 20/20. I hear all the time from people that they wish they wouldn’t have done this or that or would have known better. Let me tell you my top 10 things you will be sure to regret you did to your skin.

  1. Waxing your brows while using retinol. You will rip your skin off, that simple.
  2. Getting a sunburn. It will hurt. It will peel. It will not be good.
  3. Getting unprotected sun exposure repeatedly. You will get brown spots, premature aging and maybe even skin cancer.
  4. Not wearing compression stockings. Varicose veins, enough said.
  5. Getting in a tanning bed repeatedly. Trust me. It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, it may not be next year, it may not be in 20 years but one day you will say “wish I wouldn’t have”.
  6. Silicone lip injections. (Not to be confused with the amazing HA fillers) They may look great today but one day they are more than likely going to look funky, feel funky and be a funky problem to fix.
  7. Delaying treatment of a skin cancer. We all have our reasons. This is complicated. Some of us don’t go to the dermatologist because we fear financial strain or pain or answers we don’t want. But generally speaking it’s always better the quicker we catch that little booger.
  8. Choosing the cheapest injector. Okay you may not ALWAYS regret this but most of the time when it comes to fillers in particular you get what you pay for.
  9. Repeatedly pushing back your cuticles. Eventually you may get an infection or cause ridges and misshapen nails. Usually results in a loss not a win.
  10. Putting too much self tanner on your flexor surfaces. It will look dark and weird. I recommend mixing some of your self tanner with moisturizer for your hands elbows and knees to be able to bend and straighten without looking dirty.

I could go on forever but that would just be annoying. We have the lighten up and pucker up specials going on at JD until March! Buy a Lytera package and get a free chemical peel OR buy a TNS lip plump system and get $100 off a syringe of any filler. Hurry in, you don’t want to miss out.

“After the ship has sunk, everyone knows how she might have been saved.”

Stay Skintastic, Nina

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Beauty Fad: Bust or Benefit?

 


Beauty fads come and go. When I was in NP school I had to take an entire course called Evidence Based Research. A class that taught us how to tell great research from not so scientific research and how to apply it to our practice. At the time it annoyed me but now I appreciate having that knowledge. With all the fads people ask me about I am forced to do a lot of checking into things I’ve never heard of before. I’ve had to research topics like using urine to treat acne, red light tanning beds, blue light devices, home lasers and all kinds of things patients have previously asked me about. I wanted to do a little post about beauty fads, whether or not I like them and what I recommend to get results.

  1. The vampire facelift. This is a procedure where they draw your blood and separate the plasma to be injected back into your face. Although some people may have results with this the science isn’t quite behind it yet. I would recommend filler which we know works immediately and does have science to back it up.
  2. Microneedling. This isn’t new but for some reason over the past year, it has become popular again in the skin world. This is a procedure where needles penetrate the skin to stimulate collagen. This  results in tighter and smoother skin. Microneedling is not recommended for persons who have a history of keloid, but this procedure could benefit you. The level of pain and healing time depends on the type and depth of the needles. There is risk for infection deeper in the skin which makes me a little nervous. If you want even texture and less fine lines I like laser resurfacing or sublative which is radio frequency over microneedling.
  3. Painful peel off masks. One video in particular has gone viral recently of a young girl painfully peeling off a mask. If it hurts that bad to peel it off and you’re bright red afterwards it’s probably not a good idea. That inflammation and irritation can cause redness, acne flare and rashes. If you want smooth and radiant skin I recommend SkinMedica retinol. Retinol is the most researched, tried and true antianging product. Use for at least two months before deciding if you like it and add HA5 if you are impatient or have sensitive skin.
  4. 24k gold. I’m not going to lie, I laughed the first time I heard about these gold mask and real gold products. I was thinking “If I’m buying gold it better be timeless!” As in better not wash down the drain! In my opinion, the gold in primers and masks will cause a temporary shimmer on the skin but I doubt you sweat gold glitter after you use it. I think of the gold skincare products more like make-up, a temporary way to make your skin look good. Different metals have been researched quite a bit on the skin. Some of you may have even used a cream often prescribed for wounds and burns called Silvadene. As far as anti aging and lasting results go,  gold as a permanent skin glow doesn’t have the research to back it quite yet. If you are looking for an illuminating cream or you want a natural glow, then I recommend SkinMedica HA5 with TNS essential serum.
  5. The Kylie Jenner lip challenge. Honestly, I thought we left this in 2016 but I saw a beauty blog last week in which a girl picked up a shot glass, inserted her lips and sucked as hard as she could then applied her lipstick. To plump that pout? Really? Not only could this cause temporary pain, swelling and bruising but repeated attempts could cause discoloration and scarring. Just no. Try our TNS lip plump system for a topical (which gets you $100 off any syringe of filler the month of February) or my favorite lip fillers Juvederm Ultra Plus or Volbella and make that plump pout semipermanent!

Overall trends will come and go. Some that prove results will even stay. Before you jump on the bandwagon consult your dermatologist. I try to remind people that you probably have hundreds of dollars sitting in your bathroom drawer when you add up all the stuff you’ve bought over the years that didn’t work. See a derm and invest in good skincare and you will more likely save money in the long run and have visible results.

The month of February we are lightening up and puckering up at Johnson Dermatology. If you buy a Lytera system you will get a free chemical peel valued at $300(February only)! Plus the lip plumping special mentioned above so you better hurry in!

Keep your food, skin, and thoughts clean,

xoxo, Nina

Rules


Last night I took my one year old and three year old to get ice cream at 9:45 pm. They were in pajamas and slippers. As I ran them inside out of the cold without coats on and Charlee lost a slipper we both laughed out loud. The people sitting enjoying their ice cream were probably thinking “why are those babies out so late?” or “why don’t they have coats on?” or “should they be eating ice cream this late?”.  I don’t blame them, we were breaking all the rules. Out WAY past bedtime, sugar before bed and no real shoes in public! I mean we were seriously partaking in the cardinal sins. This morning I woke up not regretting it, thankful that we did it and had so much fun. Because sometimes it’s right to break the rules. Here are some reasons I let my kids break rules.

  1. There is no long term damage done.
  2. Because one day they won’t want to go with Mom and Dad to get ice cream and childhood is too short for me to miss any opportunities.
  3. One day they will be too old (and too cool) to go out in pajamas and slippers and still dance in the window with an ice cream cone and no one should miss out on that experience.
  4. They have no responsibilities but to be kids and sooner than later they will have bills to pay, people to keep happy, jobs to attend and responsibilities and life stressors. Right now they just have fun, and I’m going to make sure of that.
  5. They didn’t hurt anyone else breaking those rules last night.

Not all rules are are meant to be broken. And rules that are okay to be broken shouldn’t be broken on a regular basis. Bad behavior shouldn’t become a habit. But even the healthiest of people deserve a cookie every once in a while.

Some of you may have heard of the bill that recently made it to the Arkansas house floor that would ban tanning bed use to underage Arkansans. We know that tanning bed use is a carcinogen to skin cancer like cigarettes are a carcinogen to lung cancer. Every single day a patient tells me they didn’t know what all the sun damage would do to their skin. The wrinkles, brown spots and skin cancers. They all say “no one ever told us”. That’s why I support this bill. Because it’s a way to tell everyone, tanning is bad for your skin health. It’s also a way to protect our children who feel invincible by making a rule that’s hard for them to break. Will there be 17year olds that sneak into tanning salons anyway? Of course! Just like they buy cigarettes without getting carded sometimes but at least we have sent the message. Because cigarettes can’t be sold to anyone under 18 they get the message that tobacco isn’t good for your health. We need to be sending that same message about tanning bed use.

Rules are made to do good. Whether it’s a rule for your children to make the family life better or a rule that’s a law to help society. Rules aren’t meant to be harmful or hurt people. They are made with good intentions most of the time. Tanning bed use has long term harmful effects, it can hurt you and those around you. This bill is going to do good for us, for our children. That’s why this should be a rule you support too. Don’t be shy, tell your representative you do! Here is what Dr.Nelson had to say about the bill….

Dermatologist Explains Tanning Risks As Bill Advances

Have a great week! Nina