and taking care not to over-tweeze your eyebrows because the hair there has a tendency not to grow back, here are three tips that everyone should practice:
1. Cuticles are on our nails for a reason. They act as a protective barrier to keep dirt and bacteria from collecting under the skin at the base of your nail. Do not have them cut off or pushed back too far, or you risk a very painful infection called paronychia. I see this happening often, even after expensive manicures. See your dermatologist for a prescription ointment and antibiotics.
2. Pimples should not be treated like bubble wrap. Do not pop them, even if they are blinking and screaming, “squeeze me!” When you squeeze a pimple, you push stuff out the top, but also push more stuff deeper inside the skin. This causes more inflammation, which leads to more pimples. By squeezing and picking, you also create a scab that takes 2 weeks to heal, instead of the three days it would have taken, had you not picked.
3. Avoid drinking fruity beverages outdoors. If the peels or juices of lemons, limes, and some other citrus fruits come in contact with your skin while you are out in the sun (think lime margaritas) you can get a blistering sunburn in those areas. These fruits contain compounds called psoralens that dramatically increase your sensitivity to the sun. Affected patients don’t realize the cause, and think they have developed brown age spots, or even worse, herpes. So take precautions when enjoying your citrus beverages outdoors.
Who knew my margaritas were causing the brown spots around my mouth! Thank you Dr. Kaplan…I would never have known otherwise!
These are great tips! By the way, I was just looking at myself in the bathroom mirror, and noticed that my lips really do look plumper than normal. I’m totally addicted to your LIP 20 lip treatment! I’ve also been using the entire kaplanMD skincare line since I got back from LA, and noticed my skin is looking really good!
Fabulous tips - I had not heard the one about fruity beverages. Seems a shame that sipping margaritas on a sunny day can be dangerous…
Celeste
What a great way to get women to drink beer instead of those expensive fruity cocktails LOL!
Wow. This is really great advice for skin. Lot’s of teens get acne, and always pick at them, not knowing it will cause them greater anguish later in life because the scars are not easy to get rid of.
Great advice. Especially the one about the fruit drinks. With it being summer time and all I am constantly taking my drinks outside to enjoy the day but now I will watch which drinks should stay inside and which I can take. Thanks so much Dr. Kaplan