5 posts tagged "Dr. David Colbert"
“Skincare Hysteria:” When Enough Is Enough
This column features weekly tips and advice from a revolving cast of industry leaders, on hand to discuss your beauty dilemmas, from blemishes to Botox. To submit a question, e-mail celia_ ellenberg@condenast.com.
I recently read a study that said that skin sensitivity is on the rise from excessive and unnecessary product usage. Is there any truth to that? Is a Dove Beauty Bar all you really need to keep your complexion at its best?
There is definitely truth in that. There is skincare hysteria these days; it’s a multibillion-dollar industry so it’s no surprise that people are launching products that aren’t that great and that you don’t really need. You have to think simple: You don’t need to overstimulate your skin if it’s young and beautiful because if you use any one thing, there’s always a possibility of side effects. If you use something to get rid of wrinkles you might get red and flaky; then you need to use something else to counteract that. Overuse of products can wreak temporary havoc on your skin. Generally, though, if you’re in your twenties, wear sunblock, wear a hat, and stop complaining. In your thirties, because you need to protect and treat your skin, start using a retinol, and so on. At the bare minimum, I’d say use Cetaphil as a wash to take makeup off; if you have acne, you should use some kind of acne wash, like Neutrogena. Then you need some sort of light antiaging product—a glycolic acid once in a while to stimulate your skin, and, of course, an SPF product. I like Physicians UV Defense and Eucerin SPF Daily Facial Lotion. It’s also important to give yourself a break: You don’t need to do everything every day. And never scrub your skin. Scrubbing is for floors, not your face.
Most of all, use common sense: A skin cream cannot reverse gravity. If someone says something that is clearly against Newtonian physics don’t believe it. No cream is going to physically lift your skin. But that being said, we do have technology that can help skin look younger—and it doesn’t happen with just a bar of Dove. There’s nothing wrong with trying to learn as much as possible.
David A. Colbert, M.D., is the founder of New York Dermatology Group and its Head Physician. A board-certified member of the American Academy of Dermatology, he has served as a consultant for Chanel skincare and has published numerous articles on medical and cosmetic dermatology.
Fall In: Prepping Your Skin For The Seasonal Transition
This column features weekly tips and advice from a revolving cast of industry leaders, on hand to discuss your beauty dilemmas, from blemishes to Botox. To submit a question, e-mail celia_ ellenberg@condenast.com.
What can I expect from the summer-to-fall transition, and how can I prep my skin to properly deal with it?
The amount of moisture in the air changes, so you’ll start seeing more dry skin, psoriasis, more dandruff, more dry lips. Then you’ll see your tan disappear and all the horrible things you did in the summer will start to show up. You may be left with melasma, new brown spots, and maybe even skin cancer. To reverse the sun damage, I recommend doing two or three Fraxel [laser treatments] in between the fall and winter, in addition to light chemical peels on the face and neck. [New York Dermatology Group's] Triad medical facial, a microdermabrasion procedure paired with a laser toning that’s followed by our flower acid wash, works to return the skin to a less damaged state. Also, you should switch to a more gentle cleanser for both your skin and hair, and remember: You don’t need to wash your hair and face as often in the fall as in the summer.
David A. Colbert, M.D., is the founder of New York Dermatology Group and its Head Physician. A board-certified member of the American Academy of Dermatology, he has served as a consultant for Chanel skincare and has published numerous articles on medical and cosmetic dermatology.
Rethinking Ink
This column features weekly tips and advice from a revolving cast of industry leaders, on hand to discuss your beauty dilemmas, from blemishes to Botox. To submit a question, e-mail celia_ ellenberg@condenast.com.
Are there any developments in skin grafting to cover some ill-advised tattoos I got when I was a teenager?
I always recommend the MedLite laser. New York Dermatology actually just launched a citywide tattoo removal facility called RethINK; we only have board-certified doctors with at least four years of skincare experience operating the lasers. It’s a medical treatment and this is real science from real doctors. We use a handheld spectrometer to determine what kind of pigments are in each specific tattoo so we can set the wavelength to target specific colors. Some colors require different wavelengths and don’t respond as well to treatment, like sky blue, orange, and red, but if you have a blue-black ink tattoo, you’re going to get a really good result. In general, though, most tattoos take about six to 12 months to treat, except those that were not done professionally, which I’d suggest not removing at all as you risk getting a ghost outline of the tattoo.
The wound healing process is also different at RethINK. Tattoo removal is essentially the creation of a wound, so we use the most advanced treatments, like Biafine and Bactroban, to heal the area.
David A. Colbert, M.D., is the founder of New York Dermatology Group and its Head Physician. A board-certified member of the American Academy of Dermatology, he has served as a consultant for Chanel skincare and has published numerous articles on medical and cosmetic dermatology.
Shedding Light On The Dark Side Of Rosacea
This column features weekly tips and advice from a revolving cast of industry leaders, on hand to discuss your beauty dilemmas, from blemishes to Botox. To submit a question, e-mail celia_ellenberg@condenast.com.
I was recently diagnosed with rosacea and am trying to find out more about why my skin so blotchy. Short of foundation, is there anything I can do to counteract the redness?
The first thing I like to tell patients is that rosacea is not a disease. It’s thought to be a form of acne and is a variant skin type that’s more common in people who are of Celtic or Scandinavian descent, but anyone can get it. The little red bumps basically mean you have reactive skin, so it’s good to look for triggers in your lifestyle or diet—like really spicy food, certain kinds of alcohol, dramatic temperature changes, stress—and avoid them. If you can’t avoid the triggers, I usually treat it with a combination of natural sulfur-containing creams and calming Angelica sinesis, but I also recommend GentleWaves, a non-thermal, soothing LED light panel for damaged skin. You can get those treatments at the dermatologist’s office, or try LineRewind by Zeno for at-home use. VBeam treatments will help keep the blood vessels smaller, too.
David
Silicone: Skin Friend, Or Foe?
This column features weekly tips and advice from a revolving cast of industry leaders, on hand to discuss your beauty dilemmas, from blemishes to Botox. To submit a question, e-mail celia_ellenberg@condenast.com.
My forehead has been bumpy lately and my hairdresser suggested that it could be from the silicone in my hair products. Is there any truth to that?
“There are many reasons why you could get forehead bumps—allergies, called papular dermatitis, which basically means you’re having an irritant reaction, or there could be too much oil in your hair or skin products that can cause an occlusion or blockage in your pores. But it’s probably not silicone that’s causing the bumps. I would try to stay away from inexpensive hair treatments, which use cheaper oils and more of them. I like Rodin by Recine Luxury Hair Oil as an alternative—it’s the only one Naomi Watts and L’Wren Scott will use!
To treat the bumps you already have, I’d recommend my Skin Intensify Discs. They’re lactic acid pads with glucosamine that soften the skin with added glycolic acid to make the bumps go away. If the bumps are itchy, though, that’s a tell-tale sign of an allergy that needs cortisone or a natural calming agent like the Angelica sinesis in my Skin Heal and Soothe Cream.
David A. Colbert, M.D., is the founder of New York Dermatology Group and its Head Physician. A board-certified member of the American Academy of Dermatology, he has served as a consultant for Chanel skincare and has published numerous articles on medical and cosmetic dermatology.