Understanding Skin Care
Certain essential steps are necessary in every comprehensive skin care program.

Cleansing

Throughout the day, dust, dirt and oil accumulates on your skin. Using soap to clean your face disrupts the natural protective barrier of the skin and should be avoided. Gentle non-soapy cleansers, such as Obagi's NuDerm Cleanser, BioMedic Cleansers from LaRoche-Posey, Hymed Liquid Soap, Skin Medica and Skinceuticals Gentle Cleanser are much kinder to your skin.

Exfoliation

Skin cells tend to become dry and build up on the surface. Removal of these dry cells allows their replacement with healthier, moist cells that reflect light more evenly, yielding a more attractive skin glow. Exfoliation treatments can range from MicroDermabrasion ("Parisian Peel"), Dermaplaning, and light chemical peels for rapid results to slower methods using topical creams such as alpha hydroxy acid, beta hydroxy acid, salicyclic acid, or deeper-acting agents such as Retin-A^® (Tretinoin).

Pigment Control

With age and sun damage the skin's pigment cells (melanocytes) become dysfunctional and create brown spots. These spots can be rapidly removed with light or laser treatments such as Intense Pulse Light (Fotofacial^TM laser, and chemical peels. Slower improvement and prevention of new brown spots can be achieved through the use of skin bleaching agents such as the Hydroquinone present in the Obagi program using Retin-A^® or with Tri-Luma.

Protection from Sun Damage

Damage to the normal chemistry of your skin cells is one of the harmful effects of sun exposure, which can cause aging and skin cancer. A good sunscreen should be used to protect against harmful ultraviolet (UVB) rays. Mechanical sunblocks (those containing Zinc or Titanium) work best. The ingredients are present in SkinCeuticals Ultimate UV Protection, IS Clinical's Sunscreen Powder and Creams, and Skin Medica Environmental Defense. Antioxidants such as Prevage, CE Ferulic and Phlorenin CF also help to neutralize the sun's damaging chemical effects.

Cell Stimulation & Wrinkle Improvement

Wrinkles occur from damage to the deeper dermal layer of the skin. Improvement requires more aggressive treatments that stimulate dermal collagen production. EpiCentre offers various treatments to improve mild wrinkles. There is mounting evidence that healthy skin cell growth can be enhanced with products such as Skin Medica TNS Recovery Complex (growth factors) or the Obagi Program using Retin-A^® (Tretinoin) to achieve slower improvement and prevention of fine wrinkles. The Fraxel Restore laser, using a specially controlled Erbium laser technology, is also being offered for more rapid results. More severe wrinkling may require plastic surgical management.