On a recent episode of “Keeping up with the Kardashians” Kim Kardashian took time to visit her dermatologist and discovered that a flaky rash on her leg was in fact psoriasis.
Psoriasis is a common skin condition that causes skin redness and irritation. Most people with psoriasis have thick, red skin with flaky, silver-white patches called scales. Unpredictable and irritating, psoriasis is one of the most baffling and persistent of skin disorders. It’s characterized by skin cells that multiply up to 10 times faster than normal. Skin cells grow deep in the skin and normally rise to the surface about once a month. In persons with psoriasis, this process is too fast (about 2 weeks instead of 4 weeks) and dead skin cells build up on the skin’s surface.
People who get psoriasis usually have one or more person in their family who has psoriasis. Kim’s mother, Kris Jenner, revealed that she also suffers from psoriasis. Not everyone who has a family member with psoriasis will get psoriasis.
While there is no cure for psoriasis there are many treatments that can help control the condition.
Check out my contribution to a Self Magazine article about Kim’s Psoriasis HERE
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 at 9:15 pm and is filed under Celebrities, Skin Care.
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Laser hair removal is a procedure that causes thermal injury to the targeted hair follicle, causing the unwanted hair to fall out, while avoiding damage to the normal surrounding tissue. Learn more about Laser Hair Removal HERE. While some cosmetic procedures provide instant results laser hair removal requires a little time and patience. To see maximum results it typically requires 5-7 sessions spaced a few weeks apart. After each treatment you will start to see less and less hair. Follow our patient’s journey to smooth underarms. We will be updating her progress every few weeks. Below you can see her improvement after just one treatment.
Check out video below to watch Laser Hair Removal in action
[wpvideo lcYKSddV]
This entry was posted
on Monday, July 25th, 2011 at 10:42 pm and is filed under Laser Treatment, Skin Care, Video.
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scrape*
Today when I was examining a 16yr old patient for a wart follow-up on her hand I noticed that her arm and leg were covered in scrapes and bruises. When I asked what happened she told me, “I fell off a car”. Fell off a car? I repeated. “Yep, fell off a car”. Apparently her friend swerved while she was holding on to the outside.
-note to self: politely ask my friends not to swerve next time I am holding on to the outside of a car
Her next question was, “how do I prevent my scrapes from scarring?”
While there is nothing you can do to completely prevent scarring there are some things you can do to help minimizing scarring:
- Keep the wound covered. Don’t let the wound dry out and scab over. Wounds heal better when they are kept moist and covered.
- Don’t pick. If your wound has formed a scab do not pick it. Traumatizing the wound can lead to further scaring.
- Stay out of the sun. While your skin is healing UV exposure can cause discoloration forming an unsightly scar.
- Minimize movement. Tension and motion can cause the scar to widen, so try your best to avoid activity that pulls the skin around the wound tight.
*When searching for a picture of a scrape I came across the above photo. It’s actually a temporary tattoo. Did you know they make bruise tattoos too?
This entry was posted
on Thursday, July 7th, 2011 at 8:00 am and is filed under Skin Care.
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On Friday the office kicked off the holiday weekend by enjoying some Starbucks Frappuccinos and Cake Pops (if you haven’t figured this out yet our office really likes food, especially sweets). After a busy afternoon Dr. Lee and I happened to leave at the same time at around 5pm. Her car pulls ahead of me when I see her notice a patient at the front door. She hops out of the car and after a brief conversation the patient scans the empty parking lot making sure she doesn’t have spectators. She then pulls her blouse aside showing Dr. Lee something on her neck. I smile and wave as I pass Dr. Lee’s parking lot skin consultation. I’m not sure exactly what came of this encounter but I’m sure the patient was thankful that she did not have to wait through the long holiday weekend to get some help.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, July 5th, 2011 at 2:12 pm and is filed under Cosmetic Surgery, Skin Cancer, Skin Care.
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Happy 4th of July to everyone!
It’s going to be in the high 90s in our part of sunny Southern California. Our office is closed on Monday so we are all looking forward to a long weekend. Some of us will head to the beach, while others will hunker down in a cool air-conditioned house. If you decide to have your fun in the sun make sure you have a good sunscreen with you. We made sure our sample basket was stocked for all of our patients.
Keep having a wrinkle free summer!
This entry was posted
on Friday, July 1st, 2011 at 4:36 pm and is filed under Office Life, Skin Cancer, Skin Care.
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One of our sample closets
What’s in your closet? Your sample closet that is? In Dermatology we seem to get a lot of medication samples. Samples enable you to try the medication prior to filling a prescription. While we have many brand name medications samples in our office this does not mean that we only write brand name prescriptions. We write many generic prescriptions when appropriate. There are many things to think about when writing a prescription:
- Is the medication going to help the patient’s condition?
- Is the patient going to use the medication? (if you have to take a pill 5 times per day are you really going to take it?)
- Can the patient afford the medication?
- Does the patient have any medication allergies?
Some offices or large hospitals have actually banned drug samples to avoid influencing treatment. What do you think about drug samples? Are the beneficial for the patient or do you think they lead to increased medications costs?
This entry was posted
on Friday, July 1st, 2011 at 12:18 am and is filed under Acne, Skin Care.
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We are very sorry this giveaway winner announcement is late. The winner of the Colorescience giveaway is:
Tammy!
We will be contacting you soon.
Keep an eye out for more giveaways to come.
This entry was posted
on Monday, June 27th, 2011 at 4:33 pm and is filed under Skin Care.
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Happy Monday Everyone! Let’s kick of this week with a great giveaway. Today’s giveaway is for a Colorescience Sunforgettable Mineral Powder Sun Protection SPF 30, your choice of color. You will hear us talk about reapplying sunscreen to get the best sun protection but as women it is tough to reapply sunscreen later in the day after you have make-up on. A great option for reapplication is the Colorescience Powder Sun Protection. You can put it on right over your make-up any time of the day.
Description from Colorescience website: Sunforgettable SPF 50 is a lightweight mineral powder with a barely there feel that provides a safe, non-irritating, instant UVA and UVB sun protection. The self-dispensing powder brush makes this sheer formula easy to apply and reapply throughout the day. This giveaway is a $50 value.
To enter giveaway just leave a comment telling us you are going to do this summer to stay sun safe.
Giveaway ends Thursday, June 23rd at midnight PST. Winner is chosen randomly and will be announced Friday, June 24st. Good Luck!
This entry was posted
on Monday, June 20th, 2011 at 6:07 pm and is filed under Skin Cancer, Skin Care.
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The Los Angeles Times reports on a new study that shows women who post a lot of pictures on Facebook are more likely to base their self-worth on appearance. The study, published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, looked at typical behaviors of participants on Facebook. The study showed that women who had larger networks and posted the most pictures of themselves were more vested in their appearance. Those people who spent less time on social media tended to base their self-worth on family love and support, academics, and being a moral person.
What do you think? Social media has become such a huge part of our society. Can you have the balance of being highly involved in social media but not putting as much self-worth on appearance?
Also, check out another study Effects of Exposure on Facebook to Self-Esteem
This entry was posted
on Monday, June 13th, 2011 at 5:46 pm and is filed under Skin Care.
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Have you heard about our latest lunchtime procedure? Patients are loving our Buff and Shine rejuvenation procedure. You don’t need to spend a fortune to have beautiful glowing skin. I have developed a simple 2-step facial skin rejuvenation treatment that can be done in minutes, with no downtime. It combines exfoliative technique of micro-blading and the new technology of the MiXto Fractional CO2 Laser to reveal smoother, healthier and more youthful skin.
I begin by performing ‘micro-blading’, in which I use a blade to exfoliate the skin and to remove the tiny ‘vellus’ hairs which are present on everyone’s face. As the blade is drawn across the skin, the tiny hairs, or “peach fuzz” collect together like a fine cotton ball. Many patients are often surprised to see how many of these tiny hairs are present on the face.
Removing the vellus hair prepares the face for step 2 of the Lunchtime Buff & Shine; a light treatment with the MiXto micro-fractional CO2 laser at a very low setting, which has little discomfort and little or no downtime. This will greatly improve the texture and tone of the skin and will also trigger collagen formation over time.
I recommend a series of about 5 treatments for most people, with each session taking about 15 minutes and spaced a few weeks apart. It’s a great way to do beauty maintenance for your face. My goal is to restore and rejuvenate the face while retaining the person’s natural look, all with minimal or no downtime. Check out the video below to see a Buff and Shine in action.
[wpvideo w5w61cIF]
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, June 7th, 2011 at 9:48 pm and is filed under Acne, Skin Care, Video.
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Watch Video
