Instant skin fixes
HERE are some easy fixes for those common skin ailments you may have.
Rough spots
Rough, flaky, scaly spots will make your skin look terrible. The fix: After bathing, towel off gently then moisturise with a lotion that contains urea — a skin softener — and glycolic acid, which sloughs off dead skin cells and helps water stay absorbed in your skin. Use the moisturiser three to four times a day, and before bed. Light, weekly exfoliation with a loofah will also help your skin to retain moisture.
Razor bumps
When your hairs start to grow back after shaving or waxing, the tip may catch the wall of the hair follicle, causing little red bumps on your skin. The fix: If you’re prone to razor bumps, get rid of razors with 4-5 blades. They pull hair up to give you a super close shave. Instead, try using a simple single-blade razor. After shaving or waxing, lather on a salicylic acid-based treatment such as Tend Skin Liquid to unclog pores and soften hairs. It also treats and helps prevent razor bumps and ingrown hairs. Using a glycolic acid-based shaving cream or shaving gel will help to soften the hairs. Laser treatment will help to cure the condition. It is expensive but worth it.
Back and chest breakouts
Hormones or simply being acne-prone can trigger blemishes on your back and chest. Warm temperatures can make you sweat, which can aggravate acne. The fix: clean the affected areas daily using a body wash containing either salicylic acid — which sloughs off dead skin cells — to unplug pores, or benzoyl peroxide, which kills the bacteria that cause inflammation. Take 2000-4000g omega 3 fatty acids and see a dermatologist who may recommend antibiotics plus a cream to help with the acne.
Spider veins
These broken, dilated capillary veins just below the surface of your legs or face show up as fine blue, red or purplish lines most often in a tree branch or web-like pattern. They’re usually hereditary, and pregnancy, weight gain and aging can also make you more susceptible. The fix: one option is a procedure called sclerotherapy, where your dermatologist uses a fine needle to inject a solution into the spider veins causing the walls to collapse, release the blood, and close. A newer, faster and less painful alternative is laser treatment. Again, it is expensive, but this gives the best results.
Dr Persadsingh is a skin specialist and author of Acne in Black Women, The Hair in Black Women and Eczema in Kids of Colour. He can be contacted at neilsin13@hotmail.com.
