Skin Care Conditions: Seborrheic Dermatitis - Seborrhea

“While there’s no cure for seborrheic dermatitis; one can learn more about it and lessen the effects, discomfort and embarrassment.”
Seborrheic dermatitis (Seborrhea) is a common skin condition that can affect people of any age. Recognized as a scaly, red, itchy rash that is commonly found on the scalp, eyebrows, eyelids, sides of the nose, behind the ears and on the chest, it is an uncomfortable and often embarrassing condition. It can strike just about anywhere, can affect people of all ages and ethnicities, and can be further complicated by a person's mood, environment, and personal hygiene.

“fortunately, it is more embarrassing than it is a health risk, and this disturbing skin condition is easily treated”.

Seborrheic Dermatitis: Cause
Seborrheic Dermatitis occurs when the sebaceous glands (the body's natural oil glands) begin to produce too much oil, aka sebum. While for some people, this just results in oily skin, people who suffer from this disease have the problem with the oily skin, but a Pityrosporum yeast begins to grow in the sebum, and this can be further complicated by the presence of bacteria. When you mix the abundance of sebum with the unnatural yeast growth, your body creates the ideal surface for seborrheic dermatitis to set in.

Seborrheic Dermatitis: Result
It causes the hair follicle caused from yeast (Controlling its growth, but it can recur from time to time).

Seborrheic Dermatitis: Solution

Better consult a dermatologist if you have more than mild symptoms.
There are methods of treating the symptoms and lessening the discomfort. For infants, simply using a mild shampoo will help, as well as applying a thin layer of mild corticosteroid cream or lotion to the affected areas. Anti-fungal topical ointments may also provide relief.
For Adults they require a special, medicated shampoo or a stronger corticosteroid medication to control their conditions. In more severe cases, the doctor may prescribe a cream, gel, or foam to use on the skin, or they may a prescription for a special shampoo that's not available over the counter. In many cases, seborrheic dermatitis is lessened when people go outside, especially during the summer, and engage in a little fun in the sun.

Ingrown Hairs

Ingrown hair is a hair that has not broken through the surface of the skin. The ingrown hair continues to grow under the skin. When this happens, bacteria, pus, and dead skin cells get trapped along with the hair. Ingrown hairs are common anywhere there is curly hair. The area under your chin, pubic area, upper neck or cheeks can be subject to an uncomfortable cluster of papules and sometimes pustules, which can make shaving very difficult. This condition is known as Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (PFB); more commonly called ingrown hairs or razor bumps. The reason for this is the follicles are tightly curved and sometimes grow right back into the skin.

First and foremost, refrain from picking at ingrown hairs. You may create bigger problems, such as infection and scarring. Instead, apply Salicylic Acid (BHA) to the ingrown hair with a Q-tip. An effective product for ingrown hairs is Tend Skin, which is available at most drug stores. At any time, you can use a plastic net or natural loofah to gently exfoliate the ingrown hair area. You can also dry brush the area daily before your bath or shower. Benzoyl peroxide is the most commonly used over the counter acne medication, and is also the most effective method for treating ingrown hair. A cream or water based product may be gentler if your skin is very sensitive; however, alcohol based products may be more potent if you're able to tolerate them.

Virtually all hair removal methods can cause ingrown hairs, with the possible exception of depilatories. Depilatories are lotions that contain strong chemicals. These chemicals dissolve hair growth above the surface of your skin.

Ingrown Hair Treatment

• If you have ingrown hair, you need to establish proper shaving techniques. Allowing you hair to grow long enough so they won't grow back into the skin can be helpful. Here are some tips to help prevent ingrown hairs while shaving:
• Soften your hairs before shaving. After a warm shower or bath is the best time to shave. Steaming helps to soften your hair. Washing helps to remove all the oil and helps the skin to stand more erect, making them easier to cut.
• Use creams or gels to moisten your hairs and to help lubricate the razor blades on your skin.
• Shave with the grain, using downward strokes. You will have less pull on the hairs if you shave in the same direction the hair lies. This will also minimize irritation as well as help in preventing ingrown hair.
• Try to not to go over the same area twice. Repeated shaving of the same area may result in the hair being cut to short.
• Don't stretch the skin while shaving. This leads to a closer shave and increases the chances of ingrown hairs.
• Try not to shave daily unless you have to.
• Don't use aftershave or cologne on the shaved areas. Instead, after shaving, rinse thoroughly with warm water and apply a mild lotion such as Cetaphil Lotion.
• Rinse your razor as often as possible while shaving. Change the blades at least once a week.

Here's a video for additional ingrown hair removal:

Skin Problem: Impetigo

Impetigo is a bacterial infection of the skin most commonly occurring between the ages of 2 and 6. The bacterial infection that causes Impetigo is most often related to the streptococcus or staphylococcus aureus bacterias. The infection tends to have a greater chance of occurrence in children whose skin is compromised by previous irritants. These irritants can include poison ivy, eczema, insect bites or skin allergies related to soap or makeup allergies.

Once the infection has taken hold on a child's skin, the symptoms will manifest within 1 - 3 days. Symptoms include skin lesions, most commonly occurring around the nose, mouth and hands. These legions will appear as pimple like bumps and fill will pus in the later days of incubation. After 4 - 6 of infection, these lesions will break down, release the pus and scab over into a thick crust like skin area.

Impetigo can be transmitted through direct contact with other impetigo lesion as well as through airborne contact with infected persons. After infection, the skin lesions may spread significantly with resulting scratching. The lesions tends to itch tremendously, and due to the age range most affected, children tend to scratch the lesions and touch other parts of the body, spreading the infection.

Impetigo Treatment

Impetigo is treated with antibiotics. Both oral and topical antibiotics can be used to treat the infection. Topical antibiotics will only work to treat Impetigo if the outer crust is removed before apply the ointment. It is important not to share the ointment with several members of the same family. When using a topical ointment to treat Impetigo, no cross contamination should occur. Cross contamination can occur when applying ointment to a lesion and using the same finger or hand to touch the ointment tube.

Impetigo may also be treated with soap and water. Washing the infected area with soap and allowing the lesions to air dry is important to clearing up the Impetigo infection.

Impetigo can be prevented with proper hygiene practices. It is important to teach children, especially those within the affected age group, the importance of proper hand washing. Teaching children the importance of bathing and showering regularly, as well as, washing their hands for at least one minute throughout the day, will help keep the chance of contracting Impetigo at bay. Parents can protect their children even further by paying special attention to any skin areas that are broken or irritated when washing. Anti-bacterial soap should be used at all times both when washing skin affected with Impetigo and on a normal daily basis to prevent infection.

Preventing infection of other family members may prove the most difficult part of the Impetigo infection. Family members infected should not use the same towels and wash cloths as other family members. All bed linens and clothing should be laundered separately from other family members in hot water, to prevent the spread of infection.

Impetigo can only be treated by a doctor with prescribed antibiotics. Parents should call a doctor at the first signs of any skin rashes, especially those with pus filled or blister like bump or lesions.

Impetigo is a highly contagious skin infection, that can be prevented with proper hygiene and skin care. Skin lesions are contagious and treatment can include both oral and topical antibiotics.

Anti-Wrickles: Restylane

Restylane just recently received its approval from the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for severe facial folds and wrinkles. Restylane is composed of stabilized hyaluronic acid found in human skin tissue, which is biodegradable. Used for treatment in severe facial folds and wrinkles. It provides natural volume and fullness to the skin, which can contain about a thousand times its weight in water. But as a person ages, its presence in the skin decreases.

Restylane is a medication given through injections, which acts to temporarily restore the function of hyaluronic acid in the skin, giving it a youthful and full appearance. Its action is similar to collagen although its effects last longer around six months in most people.

Restylane is a better treatment over collagen, for skin wrinkles since it does not cause any allergic reactions upon application. Since collagen is usually taken from bovine sources, you need to have a skin patch test prior to treatment. Restylane treated patients reported a decrease in bruising, pain, swelling and tenderness, side effects that often are associated with collagen injections.

Restylane is also used to enhance the fullness of the lips, as it adds volume to it. Side effects include swelling and redness after treatment which will subside in a couple of days.

Since Restylane has lesser complications as compared to collagen, it may replace collagen as the first choice for the treatment of wrinkles. Since the charge is dependent on the size of area to be treated, it pretty much costs the same but the results with Restylane treatment is far better than that of collagen, making it worth the price.

Restylane just recently received its approval from the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for severe facial folds and wrinkles. It is composed of stabilized hyaluronic acid found in human skin tissue, which is biodegradable. It provides natural volume and fullness to the skin, which can contain about a thousand times its weight in water. But as a person ages, its presence in the skin decreases.

Restylane is a medication given through injections, which acts to temporarily restore the function of hyaluronic acid in the skin, giving it a youthful and full appearance. Its action is similar to collagen although its effects last longer around six months in most people.

Restylane is a better treatment over collagen, for skin wrinkles since it does not cause any allergic reactions upon application. Since collagen is usually taken from bovine sources, you need to have a skin patch test prior to treatment. Restylane treated patients reported a decrease in bruising, pain, swelling and tenderness, side effects that often are associated with collagen injections.

Restylane is also used to enhance the fullness of the lips, as it adds volume to it. Side effects include swelling and redness after treatment which will subside in a couple of days.

Since Restylane has lesser complications as compared to collagen, it may replace collagen as the first choice for the treatment of wrinkles. Since the charge is dependent on the size of area to be treated, it pretty much costs the same but the results with Restylane treatment is far better than that of collagen, making it worth the price.

source: skincarecompany.net

Adult Acne: True Age

Acne that is contracted during adulthood, specifically after eighteen years old is considered adult acne. It commonly appears during the early twenties to even late forties and fifties. Women are the ones frequently affected by adult acne, also known as post-adolescent acne. Hormones are the obvious cause of adult acne since there is no definite pattern to its occurrence as compared to the teenage variety of acne vulgaris. Adolescent girls are often conscious of the growth of this skin condition, especially during their menstrual cycle, although the acne that forms during adulthood comes and goes more easily than the ones contracted during the teenage years.

The appearance of post-adolescent acne differs from that of teenage acne:

• Blackheads and whiteheads (comedones) are less commonly seen.
• Breakouts are usually mild to moderate.
• Significant scarring is unusual.
  

Lesions more often appear on the lower cheek, the chin, and along and below the jaw line. Although some women may have breakouts on the chest and back, most have blemishes exclusively on the face.

Ray's Outcome: Skin Cancer

Skin cancer is a malignant growth on the skin which can have many causes. The most common skin cancers are basal cell cancer, squamous cell cancer, and melanoma.

Skin cancer is very serious. It can kill you. Skin cancer is an extremely serious disease affecting over millions of people every year. It is a fatal disease that can render you weak. Its incidence is multiplying every year, and yet, it is found to be preventable. With over a million new cases diagnosed annually around the world, about eighty percent will be basal cell carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma constitutes the sixteen percent and four percent of the cases are melanoma. Skin cancer frequently appears on the areas of the body often exposed to the sun's rays.

Types of Skin Cancer

Basal Cell Carcinoma

Is commonly seen in people with fair skin, light hair, and green, blue, or grey eyes although it may also affect dark skinned people. It is a slow growing type of cancer that is usually confined to one area of the body.

The five symptoms of basal cell carcinoma:

• An open sore that bleeds, oozes, or crusts and remains open for more than three weeks.
• A reddish patch on chest, arms, shoulders, or legs. May itch or hurt, or may not.
• A shiny bump or nodule that's translucent. Can be any color, from white, pink, or red to tan, black, or brown. May be confused with a mole.
• A pink growth with a slightly elevated rolled border. Has a crusty center indentation. Tiny blood vessels may develop on the surface.
• A scarlike area with poorly defined borders. Color is white, yellow or waxy.
  

Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Is frequently seen on areas that are always exposed to the sun's radiation although it may also be seen on any part of the body. They are often found on the skin but in some cases, it spreads to nearby tissues and organ systems, rendering it fatal. It commonly occurs on injured skin, like burns, scars, sores that have not yet healed for several weeks, or areas exposed to chemicals and radiation from x-rays. Sometimes, carcinomas appear just for no reason. Squamous cell carcinomas may also be genetically inherited.
People with fair skin are predisposed to develop this type of carcinoma although about two thirds of dark skinned individuals with skin cancer are of the squamous cell type.

The symptoms of squamous cell carcinomas:

• A wartlike growth that crusts and may bleed.
• A red, scaly patch with irregular borders that bleeds of crusts.
• An open sore that bleeds and crusts for weeks and doesn't heal.
• An elevated growth with a central depression that may bleed and could grow rapidly.
  

Melanoma

The most serious form of skin cancer is melanoma which is easier to cure when detected in its early stage but fatal when the cancer spreads. The number of Caucasians affected with melanoma has tripled in the last twenty years. For women aged 25 to 29, melanoma is responsible for almost eighty percent of skin cancer fatalities.

Melanoma originates in the melanocytes, where the body's pigmentation is produced. Most melanomas are dark in color, either black or brown, but they can also be devoid of pigmentation, and become skin-colored, pink, red, or purple.

In situ melanoma cells responsible for the production of melanin, the body's pigment. Most melanomas are either black or brown but may sometimes be pink, red or purple. In situ melanoma there is localized melanomas while invasive melanomas are those which have spread to other parts of the body, making it harder to treat.

Melanomas are usually brown, black, or multicolored patches, or nodules with an irregular outline. They may crust or bleed and often form on top of existing moles.
If a mole changes or you have any odd growths on your body, go immediately to the dermatologist or family doctor. Don't hesitate and don't delay.

source: skincarecompany.net, skin-cancers.info and wikipedia.org

Injectable Fillers: Juvederm

Smile lines, Parentheses, or Nasolabial folds. Call it what you like, but few people enjoy the pronounced wrinkles and lines from the nose to the corner of the mouths that come with experience in life.

Juvéderm is used by cosmetic, dermatological and plastic surgeons to soften deep folds and reduce wrinkles in the faces of patients. The substance is largely comprised of hyaluronic acid (HA), a substance normally found in the skin, muscles, and tendons of mammals. Approved in June 2006 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Juvéderm’s prime use is removing nasolabial folds, or “smile lines,” creases of skin which run from the corners of the nose to the corners of the mouth. It is also used as a lip augmentation agent, and to fill in hollow places and scars on the face. However, all HA facial filler products are eventually absorbed by the body, usually within six to nine months, causing the patient to undergo repeat injections to maintain the younger look. Juvéderm is also used by physicians to plump up lips, which also lose fat and internal shape with normal aging.

For years, people have injected Botox and other dermal fillers in the area in hopes of reducing the signs of aging. Juvederm is dermal filler based on a natural chemical in the human body, and when injected into wrinkles, brings support to the skin reducing the appearance of wrinkles for three to six months.
HA, an FDA-approved and naturally occurring chemical. HA's natural role in the skin is to transport nutrients and aid hydration by holding water. The hydrating role of HA also acts as a cushion for trauma to the skin, and the chief contributor in reducing wrinkles and fine lines.
Juvederm is a procedure with very mild side effects and risks. At the site of injection, It patients may feel a slight sting, observe redness, or mild soreness or itching. The side effects of it are not more pronounced than any other injection procedure. Due to the natural base of the active ingredient, HA, an allergic reaction to Juvederm is very rare. Other dermal fillers, such as Botox and other animal devised products, are far more likely to cause allergic reactions in patients.

With any cosmetic surgery procedure, patients interested in Juvederm should seek a licensed professional for care. Make sure to review your individual medical history with the Juvederm administrator to avoid any adverse reactions. Juvederm has not been tested for safety in conjunction with pregnancy, anyone on immuno-suppresive therapy, or for long term use.

A licensed cosmetic procedure professional is also important for the Juvederm service itself. It takes special training and expertise to know the correct location for a Juvederm injection. Juvederm should not be injected in a blood vessel, an area of broken skin, or into a cyst, hive, or pimple. The properties of Juvederm may cause complications when injected into these sites.
While Juvederm should not be used immediately before or after other cosmetic procedures, such as laser treatments or chemical peels, it is safe to use make up within a few hours of the service. The reduction in wrinkle appearance should last between 8-12 weeks, depending on the severity of contrast in the treated skin. Patients can help prolong the effects of Juvederm by maintaining proper levels of hydration. The cost of an average Juvederm procedure varies by area, and each session can cost from a couple hundred dollars to nearly a thousand. Health insurance does not cover Juvederm procedures.

Source: wikipedia.org and skincarecompany.net