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Basic Skin Care Rules That Make You Look Good

Few people know what the body’s largest organ is skin, and fewer know how to take care of it. Prevention and protection are the mantras to optimal skin health. Though the quality of your skin is decided to a large extent by your genetics and your immune system, lifestyle modifications and following basic skin care rules can go a long way in making you look and feel healthy and good.

A) Daily Diet: See the difference beginning within 1 month

1) 2 large bowls of vegetable salad / soup, 3 to 4 fruits, 3 cups skimmed milk / low fat yogurt / lassi

2) Reduce sugar content

3) Take water in plenty to clean out toxins

4) No crash dieting

5) Take green tea daily

6) Dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants and can be taken once or twice a week

7) Avoid aerated drinks/diet drinks, alcohol. Red wine though, has been found to be beneficial in moderation.

B) Exercise:

1) 30 to 40 minutes 5 times a week of Walking, Slow jogging / swimming / cycling

2) Adequate sleep is a must

3) Stay away from first and second hand smoke

4) Smile more.

C) Cleansing, moisturizing, sun protection and cell renewal are the 4 essential steps to a healthy and beautiful skin.

1) Use an appropriate face wash meant for your skin type and wash twice a day. Foaming and gel based face washes for oily skins and creamy ones for dry skins.

2) Use cleansers at night to remove make up and dirt before using a face wash. Avoid too much make up.

3) Use sunscreen with spf of 30 or more and a PA factor of 3 or more, in the day, even if you are indoors, every three hours. There are separate sunscreens meant for oily as well as dry skins. Make up products like foundations, mineral powders and compacts do not have adequate sun protection.

4) At night, use a moisturizer with an age-protecting agent like vitamins C, E, A, green tea, grapeseed or pomegranate extract, CoQ10, peptides, and hydroxy acids.

5) Exfoliation should be done with extreme caution and only with modern bead exfoliators. Avoid granular scrubs as these tend to damage and darken the skin.

6) Face packs made at home like the one with yoghurt + orange peel, and those with milk + honey + lemon, potato peels rubbed onto the skin also help. Regular clean ups, 4 to 5 a year, are advisable for skin prone to pimples and facials are recommended for drier skins.

Treatments for fast rejuvenation

There are a range of dermatological treatments available for providing instant skin glow, whitening, rejuvenation etc. However, these are not substitute for the basic tips mentioned above and they have to be done under the advice and supervision of a dermatologist.

  • Party peel: Skin peeling done by applying medicated solutions on the face which takes about 20-30 minutes to do and gives almost instant skin glow. Laser skin peel is also available.

  • Skin polishing: Done by advanced microderm abrasion techniques, polishes the skin surface by removing the upper dead layers of the skin and exposing fresher younger skin beneath.

  • Photofacials: Light beams of particular strength are aimed on the skin to give instant glow and lightening.

  • Laser skin rejuvenation: Done with the ultra advanced fractional carbon dioxide laser which is the gold standard in skin rejuvenation and pimple scar reduction techniques world wide. Approximately 800 patients treated with this technique by Dr. Kapoor in a landmark trial across India have been shown to be one of the most satisfying treatments in skin rejuvenation. Very popular amongst media and the hospitality industry.

  • Mesotherapy: Skin rejuvenating solutions are injected onto the skin with ultrafine painless needles to give glow and shine.

  • Wrinkles on the face can be erased with Botulinum toxin injections for dynamic lines (results visible in 4 to 10 days and lasts for 4 to 6 months) and with Hyaluronic acid injections for deep lines (instant disappearance of wrinkles and effect lasts for 1 to 2 years).

  • Non surgical skin tightening, also called non surgical face lift, with the latest technology from Europe, combining ultrasound and radio frequency, fast results in one session only, and long lasting effects. Results are visible almost instantly.

These techniques can be discussed with your dermatologist and undergone as per each individual’s skin requirement.

It is advisable to visit a dermatologist at least once a year. There are a lot of nuances in skin color, texture, smoothness, etc. that we can’t see for ourselves. These can be detected by the dermatologist and appropriate creams/treatments can be recommended so as to improve existing and prevent further damage.

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