It seems that everywhere you look, there are new skin care tips and tricks that can range from the elaborate, such as a 10-step nighttime routine, to the bizarre—like vampire facials. But not all viral trends are good, and they certainly may not be good for your skin.
Angela J. Lamb, MD, Associate Professor of Dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, explains some of the most popular trends and provides advice on how you can determine what works best for your skin.
What is one of the more overrated skin care trends?
I see a lot of videos on TikTok about the 10-step process that include two different cleansers and multiple serums and treatments. This method is overrated as it uses too many products, which is often not a good idea.
A good skin care routine is simple. I recommend using a cleanser, a ‘power product’—which can be a serum or an eye cream—and a moisturizer. You’re better off investing in a few of these high-quality products that are going to do what you want them to do, instead of using 10 different things.
What ingredients should I look for in products if I have facial hyperpigmentation and/or excessive redness?
For hyperpigmentation, look for products that have a retinol or a vitamin A derivative as this will help to brighten the skin. There are also a variety of other ingredients, including mandelic acid, kojic acid, and azelaic acid, which will help your hyperpigmentation.
If you have some redness, look for something that has acetamide as that will help to calm the skin and improve texture. Also, the product you use will depend on the reason for the redness. For example, if you have rosacea, a product that contains green tea would be best to decrease redness.
Are sheet masks effective?
Sheet masks are very effective. Most of the masks on the market have a high concentration of hyaluronic acid, which is great at hydrating skin. Other masks contain clay—which is great at drying out blemishes and minimizing the appearance of pores—or lactic or glycolic acid—which exfoliate skin. In general, sheet masks are great, a lot of fun, and feel good.
When should I see a dermatologist for my skin care?
You should see a dermatologist if you’ve tried a couple of over-the-counter solutions and you are still having skin issues.
Here are some examples:
If you have eczema and have tried a few over-the-counter cortisones, anti-itch creams, and moisturizers, and your skin is still keeping you up at night and making you feel self-conscious, then you need to see a dermatologist.
- If you’re dealing with hair loss and have tried over-the-counter shampoos and you’re still losing more hair, that’s when you need to see a dermatologist as there may be a vitamin deficiency or scalp condition that needs prescription treatment.
- If you have acne and have tried over-the-counter treatments for a few months and you’re not satisfied, see a dermatologist. Over-the-counter products are a good compliment to prescription remedies, but if you have severe acne that goes untreated, it can cause indented scars in your skin, which is hard for a dermatologist to treat. You should get treatment sooner rather than later.
This advice extends to anti-aging treatments. If the serums, potions, and masks, are not getting you to where you want to be, then that is the perfect opportunity to go to a dermatologist. We can recommend very noninvasive treatments including chemical peels and lasers. You don’t need to get Botox®. Some people get nervous thinking that they will have to get invasive procedures, but there are all sorts of things we can do, like prescribing a retinol.
Are there any other skin care tips you would like to offer?
Prevention, prevention, prevention. Too often, people come into my office with acne scars when I really wish I had treated their acne more aggressively upfront. If I had seen them earlier, we could have gotten the acne under control and prevented facial scarring or pitting.
The same goes for wrinkles. I want to get all of my patients to their skin care goals. But when you have had damage from years of not using sunscreen, treatment is difficult. Simply wearing sunscreen will help to prevent your skin from looking more mature than you would like later on.
Use sunscreen and make sure any skin problems you have are addressed aggressively at the beginning so that you don’t have long term consequences that are very hard to treat.