Newsletter

Skin-Care 101: A Basic Skin-Care Program

Patients in our office frequently turn to us to clarify information (and misinformation) that circulates on television, social media or other news outlets. Often these questions surround new procedures or technologies, but one of the most frequent questions heard in the office surrounds routine skin care.

“What is the minimal, basic skin-care program that I should follow?”

Of course, the appropriate skin-care program will depend upon your skin type and other factors, but there are a few basics that I can recommend to most people:

• The single most important thing you can do is to employ a daily sunscreen on your face and anywhere else that might be exposed to the sun;
• Beyond that, the minimal skin care program should include the use of a gentle retinol at night (every other day is sufficient to start) and an antioxidant (e.g., vitamin C) during the day.

There are numerous supplementary products of varying purpose and quality that can be used to address more severe or specific skin conditions, but this basic program is appropriate and sufficient for the majority of healthy people.