Archives for February 2018

Beauty products play a major role in every woman’s life, from prepubescent breakouts to anti-wrinkle moisturizers. Beauty products are used to alleviate and rejuvenate our skin, with the ultimate goal being to keep it healthy. That’s why so many people are surprised to learn just how harmful certain skin care products can be. A staggering number of beauty products and formulas contain dangerous toxins that would otherwise go undetected. So to help you make smarter, more informed choices when it comes to your beauty regimen I’ve compiled a list of 6 common ingredients you should avoid at all costs.

Parabens – this is a preservative used to keep bacteria from growing in beauty products and makeup, which sounds great on the surface but actually has an increased risk of breast cancer because of its properties.

Pthalates – these chemicals are used to make products softer and more elastic, which makes application easier but also lead to an increased risk of breast cancer and reproductive birth defects. They unfortunately aren’t always listed in “ingredients” but are most commonly found in deodorants, perfumes/colognes, moisturizers/lotions, nail polish and hairsprays.

Triclosan – this is most commonly found in soaps, toothpastes and deodorants and are known to disrupt both the thyroid and reproductive hormones. Studies have also linked them to bacteria becoming less receptive to anti-biotics.

Sodium lauryl sulfate/Sodium laureth sulfate – these chemicals are unfortunately present in over 90% of hygiene and beauty products.  They’re found most frequently in mascara, shampoo, body wash, and acne treatment. They irritate the skin, lungs and eyes and have been known to cause problems like kidney failure and respiratory issues.

Formaldehyde – this is another preservative toxin intended to prevent bacteria growth, but actually is dangerous for the immune system and has been linked to nasal cancer. It’s present in nail polishes, body washes, shampoos, conditioners, cleansers and eyeshadows.

Propylene glycol – this is commonly used to enhance moisturizers but can cause dermatitis and hives. It’s found in moisturizers, sunscreens, makeup (especially foundations), conditioner, shampoos and hairsprays.

This may seem overwhelming, but there are plenty of products out there that will help you achieve your best skin without putting you at risk with dangerous chemicals. It’s tricky to narrow down the complete list of things you should avoid.  Your best bet is to review the list of ingredients on a selected product and do your research.  I find Safecosmetics.org a great resource for this.

Whenever possible, I try to opt for clean skincare that minimizes my exposure to the above chemicals. For safe, high quality products that will do wonders for your skin, head over to my store and use the discount code Doctor-IP for an extra discount.

It’s Valentine’s Day, so presumably, it’s a day filled with plenty of kisses for people in relationships. But with Valentine’s Day being in mid-February and the dry skin that accompanies winter, if you aren’t careful you could end up kissing your significant other with dry, cracked lips on the most romantic day of the year.

In addition to the general stresses of winter weather on skin, our lips are often dried out by toothpaste, the lipsticks and other cosmetic products we use and things as simple as talking. Lip care definitely has the potential to turn into a full time job as temperatures drop.

To avoid this, many have turned to lip scrubs. They’re in almost every cosmetic store you could think of, and come in fun, fruity flavors. On the surface, they seem like an easy and simple way to keep lips exfoliated and moisturized.

But no matter how much fun they are or how good they taste, as a dermatologist I can’t recommend them. They’re much too harsh on skin that’s already more sensitive than most other body parts. Lip skin is much thinner than most other skin, and lip scrubs can do significant damage and cause hyper pigmentation.

Lip peels are a superior alternative to lip scrubs because they take into account the fragility of the skin. They’re much more delicate and gentle. By blending glycolic and lactic acids, they give our lips the ingredients they need to look and feel smoothe and kissable without unnecessarily stripping layers.

So if you’re looking for something to refresh your lips and be smooch ready all day, I recommend this Hydrating Lip Peel. I also recommend taking breaks from heavy products to let your lips recover, and stick to a light petroleum jelly or my personal favorite; Vaniply ointment.

However, if you suffer from dry or irritated lips for reasons besides weather, cosmetics and other natural factors, consider seeing a doctor; as your lips may be symptomatic of eczema, extreme sun damage, skin cancer or allergic dermatitis.

So whether you’ll be kissing your husband or a box of Dominos Happy Valentine’s Day!

Imagine finding the love of your life that complemented you in every way imaginable. He’s smart, funny, professional, charismatic, caring…but he snores like a bear, rolls around and can’t fall asleep unless it’s 20 degrees colder than your preference.

To a lot of people, this wouldn’t seem like a big deal, but any woman married to someone with drastically different sleeping habits from them can tell you that it can be an enormous source of stress.

Think about it — if one spouse is constantly interrupting the other’s sleep, making them groggy and grumpy in the mornings, unprepared and without adequate rest for the next day, the spouse who isn’t getting enough sleep is bound to begin to resent the other.

Sleep is extremely important. Any doctor (myself included) will tell you just how essential good sleep is to a healthy, happy life. Sleep sets the tone for the entire day, so when couples can’t get enough of it because they have incompatible habits, it’s bound to rock the boat.

In fact, some argue that sleeping in separate bedrooms has actually saved their marriages and brought them closer to their partners than ever before. Sleeping in separate bedrooms can not only help couples feel more refreshed and enjoy each other’s company more, but can actually dramatically increase sex drive.

And not to mention the beauty benefits. Restless nights lead to poorly aging skin, wrinkles, dark circles, and stress induced acne. They rob you of your healthy, youthful glow. So if sleeping with your husband is keeping you up all hours of the night, you’ll both thank yourselves for opting for separate bedrooms.

Lack of proper, rested sleep can also lead to dehydration, imbalance, redness and breakouts for skin. Studies have linked the development of crow’s feet and other unflattering features to the lack of sleep. A study funded by Estee Lauder revealed people that got less sleep had more fine lines, less elastic skin, and less even complexions. As a dermatologist, I can recommend all types of products and procedures to help correct your skin, but if you aren’t taking care of yourself with the basics like sleep you’re basically pushing a wheel uphill.

I’ll share a secret with you. I am one of those women who loves my husband to bits, but finds it hard to sleep with him!! One of us has to sleep at the head of the bed and the other has to sleep at the foot of the bed. I wear earplugs and have a white noise machine. So how do I prevent my suboptimal sleep from wreaking havoc on my skin? I have a great night time routine!! I cleanse my face with a gentle cleanser like vanicream creamy cleanser and I always apply a retinol based night cream. Right now, my favorite is Nimni cream, by Hydropeptide. This contains a time released retinol and helps to optimize collagen production through an exclusive, patented amino acid complex. It’s great for those who have tried and failed other retinoid creams. I then put on an antioxidant serum and top it off with a thick bland moisturizer. That being said, I will admit that if I really have a big day ahead of me, my hubby may end up on the couch!! If you suffer from any of these problems, feel free to check out my shop for dermatologist recommended products and use my code for an extra discount.

It’s important to note that everyone has different personal definitions of intimacy, and that it’s important to find ways to bond and remain close and romantic with one another even if that involves separate bedrooms.

Let’s be honest with ourselves — in winter it’s easy to falter in foot care. It’s cold and more likely than not, our feet are in Uggs, bean boots, or thick fuzzy socks, so it’s easy to neglect them. But taking care of your feet is important year round. Imagine your hubby surprises you with a tropical vacation in the middle of winter, but you haven’t been taking care of your feet. No one wants to wear sneakers to the beach, so I’m sharing my routine along with a few tips to help you maintain fabulous feet when it’s cold outside.

This winter I made a concentrated effort to treat my feet with TLC, and so far I’m absolutely loving the results.

I scrub my feet weekly with Hydropeptide’s active scrub. This is probably easiest to do on the weekends; especially if you’re a working mom dealing with the hustle and bustle of both your home and your job.

Every night, I use either lactic acid cream to exfoliate or urea cream to rehydrate and moisturize. If you’re in need of these products I highly recommend Amlactin cream (aff) for your dose of lactic acid and Exicipal cream for urea.

I seal everything in with good old fashioned Vaseline, and while this isn’t mandatory, I like to treat myself with a monthly pedicure and a callus scrub.

But this is my routine, and different things work for different people — so here are some more general tips that you can apply and try at your own discretion:

This seems obvious enough, but you’d be surprised how many people can forget to moisturize their feet — especially in the winter when it’s too cold to have them out. But regularly moisturizing your feet is absolutely essential to keeping your feet sexy year round. A new moisturizer that I have recently fallen in love with is Gold Bond Radiance Renewal cream. It contains a wonderful blend of African Shea butter, Cocoa Butter, and Coconut Oil, and works to hydrate and gently exfoliate the skin.

Exfoliating your feet for a minute or two in the shower every day helps keep your feet fresh by both cleansing your feet of dirt and bacteria and removing dead skin. This is as easy to forget as it is to do, so do yourself a favor and keep your exfoliator right by the rest of your everyday shower products like your body wash and shampoo.

Massaging your feet can actually increase blood flow and as a result, keep the skin on your feet much healthier. Feel free to delegate this task to your significant other!!

Pumice Stones are great for smoothing out the more stubborn, hardened parts of feet — but use them sparingly so you don’t irritate your skin.

If you’re experiencing excessively dry skin, your issue may not be seasonal. Extremely dry feet can be symptomatic of fungus, psoriasis and eczema, so if none of these treatments seem to do the trick I highly recommend seeing a medical professional.