While self-exams are important, it can be difficult to see areas like the back, where nearly one-third of all men develop melanoma (the deadliest form of skin cancer), and the scalp.  Skin cancer that is detected early can usually be treated quickly and easily.  Couples may have a better chance of spotting early warning signs on one another than on themselves.

Here’s what to look for on your loved one:

-A skin growth that increases in size and appears pearly, translucent, tan, brown, black, or multicolored.

-A mole, birthmark, beauty mark, or any brown spot that changes color, increases in size or thickness, changes in texture, is irregular in outline, is bigger than the size of a pencil eraser, and/or appears after age 21.

-A spot or sore that continues to itch, hurt, crust, scab, erode, or bleed.

-An open sore that does not heal within three weeks.

So get close to your partner this Valentine’s Day for better health and who knows where else it may lead??

10% off Obagi Kits*
Obagi Nu-Derm Kits (Products 1-6)
Obagi NuDerm Travel Kits (Products 1-6)
Obagi-C RX System
CLENZIderm Kits for Acne
Rosaclear Kits for Rosacea
* 10% off valid on complete kits only

Monday, December 12^th

Enjoy 10% Off SkinCeuticals!

~Free Gift with Purchase~

Purchase $150 in SkinCeuticals products including Allure Magazine’s “Best of Beauty” award-winning antioxidant technologies and receive a complimentary SkinCeuticals Cleanser! ($36 Value)*

You deserve to be pampered for the holidays, let our experts help.

*Gift with purchase is limited to 1 product and available while supplies last!

We are so excited to introduce the miraDry System, which is FDA cleared for the treatment of axillary hyperhidrosis.  The miraDry procedure non-invasively delivers precisely controlled electromagnetic energy to the region where the sweat glands reside and eliminates them. Because the sweat glands do not regenerate after treatment, you should see a dramatic and lasting reduction of underarm sweat.

Two procedures are typically recommended 3 months apart to maximize the results and duration. Each procedure appointment will generally last about an hour.  Your underarms will be sore or swollen for a short time, but most patients are able to return to work on the same day of the procedure, and can typically resume exercise within several days.

Your body contains over 4 million sweat glands, with only about 2% located in the underarms. The elimination of this 2% will not affect the body’s ability to cool itself. In this regard, the effect of this procedure is not significantly different than anti-perspirants that suppress sweating when applied daily.

So get ready to throw out that drawer of anti-perspirants that don’t work and throw on that silk blouse or dress shirt you’ve been afraid to wear.  Enjoy the freedom of miraDry.  Contact our office for more details!

Close to 2.5 million teens tan indoors in the US every year, increasing their risk of developing melanoma (a potentially deadly form of skin cancer) by 75 percent. Indoor tanners are also 2.5 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma, and 1.5 times more likely to develop basal cell carcinoma.  My hope is that by preventing early exposure to dangerous UV rays we will see a drop in future skin cancer development.  It may also help change the mindset of teenagers and the social perception that being tan is the norm.  At present, over 30 states have adopted this law, and hopefully all 50 will soon!

At the October 2011 American Association for Cancer Research International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, data was presented from the Nurses Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, which followed more than 100,000 people over a 22 to 24 year period between 1984 and 2008, combined.  Researchers found an association between coffee drinkers and a lowered risk for skin cancer (WebMD 10/24/11), “women who drank more than three cups of coffee had a 20% reduction in risk for basal cell carcinoma and men benefited from a 9% reduction.”  Caffeine seems to be the power ingredient as drinking decaffeinated coffee did not have any effect on skin cancer prevention.

We already know that coffee berry (derived from the fruit of the coffee plant), which is found in the Revaleskin anti-aging product line, is an excellent antioxidant for its free radical scavenging properties, so continuing research on caffeine and its potential use in sunscreen and its effects on skin protection if consumed on sunny days is exciting!

The best way to prevent all the forms of skin cancer is still by staying out of the sun and wearing sunscreen, but you might as well enjoy a cup of coffee while you are at it!

Friday, October 28th, 8am - 4pm

Receive 10% of all Vivite products
10% off Latisse and an additional $25 mail-in rebate
Juvederm Injectable Gel will be only $600 per syringe (regularly $675)
And best of all a free Lip Plumper with any Vivite, Latisse or Juvederm purchase!

The EWG based their conclusion on a study of rats that were fed active sunscreen ingredients. In the July 2011 issue of Archives of Dermatology, a letter was published (Wang, MD, Lim, MD & Burnett) putting the findings from the animal study into perspective. They concluded that the length of time and application necessary to produce systemic oxybenzone levels in humans equal to those studied in rats is “essentially unobtainable.” The authors of the letter found that it would take a woman who applied sunscreen every day on her face, neck, hands and arms, 277 years to apply enough to even potentially lead to absorption sufficient enough to cause any systemic issue. I think most of us would agree that using any product in a manner which it is not intended can, of course, cause problems - just read the back of your aspirin bottle for example!

Based on public use for many years and the available scientific literature there is no evidence to support that oxybenzone in sunscreen contributes to hormonal alterations or any other significant health issues in humans. If there were any threats to humans, we would have seen them by now given their widespread use. The risk of skin cancer, which is known, documented and studied, far outweighs any hypothetical risk of using sunscreens topically. So, keep your skin healthy and continue to use your sunscreen!