Glow-How: Notes from a San Francisco Bay Area Dermatologist

What can I do to have that certain “glow” and make my skin look radiant?  This is a question I hear all the time as a dermatologist in San Francisco.  The answer is luckily more simple than people think!  Below are highlights from a recent article in The Skin Cancer Foundation Journal that summarized the topic well along with some tips of my own.

Let’s start with the big picture…

If you have any tan, let your skin fade back to its normal tone.  Playing up the coloring mother nature gave you is how to best get your glow-on.

If you have any obvious sun-spots or broken capillaries on your face, a trip or two to a dermatologist’s office can help to diminish their appearance and give your skin a more even-tone.

Maintain the integrity of your skin by wearing sunblock daily.

If you wear makeup, match it to the skin along your jaw-line as closely as possible.  To add a bit more glow, you can apply bronzer or blush to the areas where natural highlighting occurs like the apples of the cheeks, center of forehead, bridge of nose and chin.  Less is more, so don’t overdo or you’ll turn your glow into an obvious mask of makeup.  Pale skin looks best with a light pink blush, whereas darker skin looks best with deeper shades.  A fluffly, densely bristled brush works great to apply blush/bronzing powders.

As part of your daily routine….

Cleanse your face morning and evening.  You can even use cleansing cloths, if it is more convenient.  Cleansers do not have to foam up to be effective, so ask your dermatologist what is best for your skin type.

In the morning apply an anti-oxidant after cleansing.  There are many good choices these days, including Skinceuticals Vitamin C serums, Obagi C Clarifying serum, RevaleSkin coffeberry or Prevage MD.  Not only will they help protect the skin from free radical damage, but they will help to repair damaged skin cells.

Next apply a broad spectrum sunblock, with at least a 30 SPF.  If you are out all day long, be sure to re-apply your sunblock to maintain its protective benefits.  If re-applying a lotion is not to your liking, ColorScience makes a dry sunscreen that can easily be dusted on top of your makeup throughout the day.

Cleanse at night to remove the makeup, sunblock and oil build up from the day.

After your skin is dry, apply a Retin-A product sparingly to promote exfoliation of dead skin cells and really get your skin glowing.  The less build up of dead skin cells, the less dull the skin will look.  It will also help alleviate plugs in the skin, which can lead to acne and blemishes.  And best of all, it increases collagen production to prevent and diminish fine lines and wrinkles.

Next up apply a moisturizer.  This will relieve dryness associated with Retin-A products and help the skin maintain its natural moisture barrier.  Skin that looks dewy reflects back light, adding to your glow.

If you cannot stand the idea of not having some color on your body, be sure to at least choose one of the self-tanning options.  Tanning booths will only increase your risk of skin cancer and, really, who wants their skin to look like leather anyway?  When applying a self-tanner to your body, make sure to prep the skin by using an exfoliating scrub or loofah, moisturize, then apply the self-tanning lotion.  If your skin is dry in certain areas (like elbows and knees) it will absorb more of the lotion and look uneven.  Make sure to wait at least 12 hours after shaving your legs to follow these steps.  Self-tanners may aggravate certain skin conditions, so if  you suffer from eczema or other skin issues, please check with your dermatologist before using any self-tanning methods.

Through my patients, I have seen that the tanning lotion application services offered at salons work very well.  They will exfoliate your skin and apply the lotion much more easily and evenly than applying it yourself.  I also like the look of Jergens Natural Glow moisturizer.  This type of product moisturizes the skin and gradually encourages it to develop a natural color, without looking fake or orange.

Please feel free to contact our office with any questions about products or makeup.  Start with these simple tips to get your glow-on today!

Tags: bay area dermatologist, coffeeberry, glow, prevage, radiant, retin-a, san francisco dermatologist, sunblock, sunscreen, tanning, vitamin C

This entry was posted on Monday, June 8th, 2009 at 4:10 pm and is filed under Products. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.