Nikki Sommer, a nurse with Key West Surgical Group, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about Medical Matters.
Medical grade skin care is important for skin health.
Sommer said, “I also use this great skincare that’s called Beautiful Energy and we do have it at the office. Even before getting into all this facials and laser and Botox or fillers or whatever it is that you do to try and make yourself look young, I’ve always pretty much done skincare and I didn’t always let me just say when you’re a teenager I wasn’t good at it. My girls are better at it than I am. I would wear makeup, go to bed with it and maybe clean it with soap, maybe use a cleanser, just do whatever, go with the flow. As I got older I incorporated a better skincare routine, however I did find in my early journey different over the counter products would irritate my skin. I would have large pores and I’d be red. So I got into medical grade skincare and yes, it is a little more costly and people sometimes have sticker shock, but overall, if you find a good product that works for you, it’s better because medical grade means that it’s FDA approved and it’s backed by research.”
Over the counter skincare is what you get in local stores.
Sommer said, “If you have one that works for you, that’s great. It’s just that those products aren’t necessarily part of FDA inspection, whereas medical grade has to go through the process of being FDA approved.”
There are advantages to the medical grade skincare.
Sommer said, “They’re made with higher quality ingredients. They tend to target certain skin conditions such as acne, rosacea and eczema. People that tend to have those conditions, a lot of times they exhaust all the over the counter options. They do need something a little bit higher grade quality to attack those certain skin conditions. The active ingredients in medical grade products are often more potent. They have higher levels of the beneficial ingredients that you want like peptides, antioxidants, and retinol. They usually are proven effective. They’re tested on people usually and the dermatologists usually recommend a product based on your skin condition.”
Medical grade products also can get specific for a person’s particular situation.
Sommer said, “A lot of the medical grade ones, they’re specific to certain skin conditions. Even though sometimes it’s trial and error, there’s a lot of medical grade skincare products out there. I do have clients that still want to use soap. Well, soap can tend to be a little harsher on your skin because it can deplete the natural oils of your skin. Sometimes it’ll give you the feeling like your skin is tight and dry, but what it’s really doing is it’s breaking down that protective barrier and depleting it of all the oils. So over time it affects the pH balance of your skin. Normal pH balance of your skin is between 4.5 and 6. Sometimes soaps can either be too acidic or too alkaline and that’ll kind of offset the balance of your skin and it can cause premature aging.”
It can also make acne worse.
Sommer said, “It could clog your pores because you have certain oils in your skin and acne is just your skin is producing more oils. If you try and dry it out your skin kind of rebels and then it just produces more oil. So you can have redness, inflammation, cause more acne breakouts. You’re breaking down collagen which that enhances the aging process and dehydrate your skin and then you may have more wrinkles and fine lines and dull complexion.”
The PicoSure Pro Laser is part of the what Key West Surgical Group offers and Sommer had treatments. The office also carries skincare products that go along with the laser treatments. It’s called Beautiful Energy.
Sommer said, “The reason why I love this line is it is good to use with the laser. So there are a lot of medical grade skincare or skincare in general you just need to make sure that it’s not going to cause any additional discomfort, redness or inflammation if you do decide to have a laser treatment. For example, a lot of people use tretinoin or retinol for age wrinkles, sunspots, pigmentation. You need to stop those two weeks before the laser and you really shouldn’t two weeks after the laser. This skincare doesn’t have a retinol base but it has a citric acid base which you can use. What that does in the serum is that also targets those dark spots, the pigmentation calms down the fine lines and wrinkles but you can use that serum up to the day before the procedure and then you would only have to withhold it for about five to seven days after. It has a cleanser which it’s a lightweight cleanser. Basically it helps sweep away the old skin cells and impurities and the oils without drying the skin. Then prior to the laser and after the laser, there is a common renew serum that we want you to use in conjunction with your post op treatment that gives hydration because it is a laser so your skin may feel tight and it will be a little red. So it calms down the redness, the inflammation and helps lock in that hydration, along with the hydrating face and eye cream. Same thing seals in the moisture and prevents the dry skin.”
What other products are recommended?
Sommer said, “There are the two repair lotions. Those are the ones I said you can use up to the day before and then hold it five to seven Those are good to do because the one is the focused repair lotion, that’s more for fine lines, wrinkles and enlarged pores. Improves tone and clarity. The intensive is for the people that are fighting pigmentation, so it has a little bit more of that acid I talked about 10% That is the one that is good for photodamaged skin.”
The CRV 8 complex is really good for you and it’s all natural.
Sommer explained, “CRV 8, the citric acid, that’s what exfoliates the skin. Hyaluronic acid that is the hydrator that repairs and helps with wound healing. Peptides are the protein builders to get that collagen and elastin kicked in. Murumuru seed butter and whey protein and licorice root, they help soothe, restore the skin. Whey Protein is a collagen booster. The licorice root is a brightener, has the antioxidant so that helps keep that brightness. It also helps with anti inflammatory issues. Reservatrol, this is also like a vitamin you could take by mouth. I didn’t realize I guess it could come in cream, too. So it’s an antioxidant, anti inflammatory, and an anti melanogenic, means it reduces pigment.”
While the medical grade skincare products may be more expensive, a little goes a long way.
Sommer said, “With these products less is more. You don’t need to like pump half the bottle in your hand and smeared all over your face. It lasts a long time. I’ve had the skincare probably since August or September and I still have the original, cleanser, all of them. So it does last long.”
Key West Surgical Group is offering free consultations.
For more information, click here: https://www.keywestsurgicalgroup.com/