Newsletter

September 2010

For more beautiful skin, come try our combined treatments

Your skin can look better than you ever imagined. All it may take is a combination of treatments rather than the single treatments you may have tried in the past. At Skinfresh Clinic, you can get a smart combination of treatments for your specific skin type and condition.

To help you understand, you need to know that the skin has three layers.

The top layer

This is where superficial brown and red is generally found. If these problems are of concern, then good skincare can often make a difference. In addition, a treatment like IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) can be helpful in easily treating superficial brown and red blotches.

If the redness is deeper, as in rosacea or other deep redness and veins, the IPL will not get it all. In these cases we can use our special comfortable laser, Laser Genesis, alone or in combination with IPL. There are very few of these lasers in New Zealand. Laser Genesis is not only for deep redness and veins, but also comfortably treats acne, wrinkles, texture problems such as scars, and tightens the skin a little. Treatment with Laser Genesis is painless for most people, and has no downtime – you can go straight back to work. We love our Laser Genesis Laser!

The second layer

This is the mid-dermal level, the skin level at which texture and scars can be treated. This is where Laser Genesis works. If a person has wrinkles and texture problems, a useful combination to get even better results is Laser Genesis alongside another treatment that can help texture and wrinkles – microdermabrasion. We have a programme that combines the two, and have been able to increase collagen, tighten skin and halve wrinkles and texture problems in most people.

Microdermabrasion, performed in a special way, stimulates the skin to make more collagen. It is a comfortable treatment that may leave you a bit pink for a few hours, but this is easily covered by make-up. We will often recommend microdermabrasion and some sort of exfoliation before some of our treatments, because it helps the laser or light penetrate more deeply.

The third layer

The deepest layer of the skin, this is where we find deep collagen that lends itself to tightening and thickening with our Titan treatment. This is like a best-kept secret! Titan is comfortable, and uses an infrared light. After two or more treatments, skin is thicker and tightened and the face can be lifted. If you compare the results with those of a facelift, Titan is around 4/10 while a facelift might be 9/10.

If Titan is combined with Laser Genesis (which also tightens), the result is even more tightening – see what I mean?

Another useful combination is fillers followed by skin treatments. You can get an immediate effect from fillers with the liquid face lift or treatments for lips and facial lines. Then get on with the good skincare and lovely treatments we have here to build up collagen and tighten the skin, and therefore reduce the need for more fillers or even Botox in the future.

We also have an LED light here. We use it, in combination with other treatments, for acne, but you can use it in a special way for skin cancer prevention and the improvement of sun-damaged skin. We are the New Zealand trainers for the special skin cancer / sun damage treatment called photodynamic therapy.

We are also the national trainers for Cutera Lasers, which manufactures our Laser machine. In all, you know we have the knowledge, experience and equipment to do the best job for you.

Nutritional deficiencies and the body's largest organ

Nutrition matters

Skin ageing is a continuous process that is heavily determined by a combination of influences: internal or intrinsic ageing, hormone status, environmental exposure (eg smoking, ultraviolet light exposure), and diet and digestion. Here at Skinfresh Clinic, we like to promote inner health to enhance the outside skin. After all, the skin is the body's largest organ.

Poor diet and digestion can cause nutritional deficiencies which can then affect skin health. Sometimes it's not a dietary deficiency, but a food sensitivity or allergy that can cause dermatitis.

In our fast lives, we often grab convenience foods. This tends to create a pattern of consuming calorie-dense but nutrient-sparse foods, such as a service-station muffin that has a lot of empty calories (sugar and flour), but no significant useful constituents like B vitamins, iitamin C or protein.

You are not just what you eat – you are what you eat, absorb and are able to eliminate. It's not only diet, but how your body goes about dealing with food and other things in your environment, that affects your body's use of food.

In my experience, most females, from childhood to their 40s, have a tendency to be low in iron and vitamin B12 – we know this because these nutrients are easy to measure. And although we cannot easily measure nutrients like selenium, vitamins C, E A and B vitamins, I suspect that much of the population is deficient in these as well.

The lowdown on nutrients

In this article, we will cover each nutrient individually, and then cover some skin conditions. It is one thing to know that certain vitamins have beneficial effects when applied topically, but there has not been much research on the benefits of internal vitamins from food on skin health.

Coenzyme Q10 is produced in the body, as long as bowel flora are healthy and there are adequate B vitamins to help in its production. It is important for cellular energy production – without energy, the skin cells can't do what they are supposed to do. It also acts as an antioxidant, and as such it is an anti-ageing agent. Rich dietary sources are fatty fish (eg sardines), beans, nuts, whole grains, and meat.

Copper is an essential trace element found in organ meats, like liver, and in seafood, mushrooms, beans, nuts, whole grains, and chocolate. Its relevance to the skin is that it helps to control free radicals by enabling superoxide dismutase – hence the copper peptide eye creams. Copper enables skin formation and repair by enabling the enzyme lysyl oxidise which cross-links lysine (an amino acid, or protein-building block) in collagen and elastic. Tyrosine is a copper-activated enzyme which contributes to the synthesis of melanin.

Fish oils contain EPA and DHA which both act in a variety of ways to reduce inflammation in the body and skin. They are found in oily fish like herring, sardines, teach, mullet and salmon.

Flavinoids refer to fruits and vegetables and other food constituents like quercetin, ruin and hesperidins, proanthocyanidins, anthocyanocides, epigallochatechin galati, and genistein. Onions and apples are a rich source of quercetin. Citrus fruits contain ruin and hesperidins. Bilberry is rich in anthocyanosides. Soy products are rich in genistein. Green tea contains epigallocatechin galati.

Other top foods include blueberries, grapes, cranberries, and black tea – but green tea is a higher antioxidant. All flavinoids have been found to be strong free radical scavengers and act as antiinflammatories, and antioxidants. When also associated with vitamin C in foods, flavinoids exert an even stronger effect. Coffee is not something you can become deficient in, but contains many flavinoids, and acts as a strong antioxidant.

Magnesium is found in green leafy vegetables, nuts, peas, beans and whole grains. It is the busiest mineral, being required for 300 reactions in the body. Its relevance to skin is its importance for cellular energy production – the skin cells need energy to function best. It also helps in the production of gastric hydrochloric acid, and is valuable in helping the body deal with other nutrients that influence the skin, such as zinc, copper and iron.

Without gastric acid, protein food that reaches the stomach is not properly digested and some vitamins like magnesium and zinc cannot be absorbed and used by the body. Those aged 40 and over may begin to need help with protein digestion in the stomach.

A simple test to find out whether you need gastric (stomach) acid is to take a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar on an empty stomach. If there is no response, you need digestive acid. If you get heartburn, you have enough acid. A simple way of getting enough acid is to eat plenty of lemon juice and vinegar, as well as bitter foods. (This may be why Mediterranean people often have good skin.)

Manganese is a component of superoxide dysmutase, a powerful antioxidant in the body. Foods containing manganese include nuts, fruits and vegetables, and especially hazelnuts, blackberries, pineapple, lentils, beans and whole grains. Manganese is lost in the milling of whole grains.

Selenium is an essential mineral found in seafood, liver, lean red meat, brewer's yeast, kelp, garlic, milk, eggs and grains grown in selenium-rich soil. In New Zealand, we have a deficiency of selenium in the soil, so extra attention must be given to the diet. Brazil nuts are especially rich in selenium. Selenium's role in the body and the skin is as an important cog in the antioxidant system. It spares Vitamin E. It is an important component of glutathione, which is a strong antioxidant in the body. It is also important for detoxification of toxins in the body.

Vitamin A is found in liver, fatty fish and dairy products. Vitamin A's role is to regulate and control cellular growth and differentiation (a stable cell state that does not develop into cancer). We know that applying it topically in the form of retinoids improves wrinkles, skin condition and various skin conditions such as acne and rosacea.

There has been very little research on vitamin A in the diet, but I did find a reference to a study of vitamins E, C and carotenoids (which come from Vitamin A), which protect the skin from UV light. The study looked at middle-aged women with wrinkles and dry and thin skin, and found that a diet rich in vegetables, fruit, and olive oil (containing polyunsaturated fatty acids) resulted in skin improvement.

Vitamin B2 or riboflavin is known to help the skin when included in skincare products. When deficient internally, it is one of the causes of cracks at the corners of the mouth (angular cheilosis). Vitamin B2 is found in dairy products, fish, meats (especially liver and kidney), green leafy vegetables and whole grains.

Vitamin B3 or niacin is found in eggs, whole grains, liver, meat, and legumes. Deficiency of Vitamin B3 causes a condition called pellagra, which consists of diarrhoea, dermatitis, and dementia. Although pellagra is rare in New Zealand, in anyone with dermatitis an enquiry about diet may be useful.

Vitamin B5 or pantothenic acid is found in foods and is also made by gut flora. Food sources include liver, sunflower seeds, and whole grains, but grain processing depletes it. Vitamin B5 is needed locally in the skin for wound healing, making it important for collagen production. It is also needed for energy production. This vitamin, along with many of the other B vitamins, vitamin C, magnesium and zinc, are depleted by stress.

Vitamin C is the skin's super-vitamin, well-known for acting topically to boost collagen production and reduce oxidation and brown pigmentation. Internally, it enhances wound healing and is a major antioxidant, helping the immune system and having anti-tumour effects. Vitamin C is rapidly depleted by stress, and it is my clinical impression that many people are deficient because they don't consume enough foods containing it. The skin symptoms of vitamin C deficiency include bruising, dry skin, poor wound healing, and bent or coiled hairs. There is also gum bleeding. Foods contain vitamin C include all citrus fruits, blackcurrants, tomatoes, rosehips, peppers, broccoli and cabbage. However, there is much loss of the vitamin in cooking.

Vitamin D is not significantly obtained by diet unless you eat fatty fish like herring, salmon, kipper and mackerel, or take cod liver oil. It is largely made in the skin and in the kidneys after the sun contacts the skin. It is a powerful antioxidant. Research has looked into vitamin D's role in the prevention of malignant melanoma, and there may not be a coincidence between the increasing incidence of melanoma and the growing use of sunscreens. However, no official research announcements have been made.

Vitamin E works hand-in-hand with vitamin C in the skin. It is an important antioxidant. Food sources include wheatgerm oil, vegetable oils and their seeds (sunflower, avocado), and nuts – especially hazelnuts and almonds.

Zinc, like magnesium, is a very busy mineral, being required for 300 reactions in the body. It plays important roles in the immune system, in wound healing (and therefore collagen production) and in the thyroid. (A slow thyroid causes dry skin.) Zinc also has an important part in the production of stomach acid. It is found in lean red meats, seafood (especially herring and oysters), yeast, pumpkin seeds, nuts, whole grains, green leafy vegetables and legumes.

The advantages of amino acids

It is not only vitamins, coenzyme Q10, fish oil, vegetable oils and some special substances like tea and coffee that are important for the skin. There is also research on amino acids (or protein building blocks).

Cysteine is the precursor to glutathione, the powerful antioxidant and detoxifier of the body. Although cysteine is best known for its help in preventing cancer, heart disease and toxicity, it is also known for its ability to prevent hair loss and its help in wound healing. It is found in eggs, meat, dairy products, grains and beans.

Proline, lysine and arginine are all amino acids that stimulate wound healing. Proline is concentrated in collagen and is involved in collagen synthesis, which is essential for wound healing. Proline helps skin texture by assisting synthesis of collagen and reducing loss of collagen through the ageing process. Proline has been used in cosmetic skincare products, where it is usually combined with vitamin C to enhance its actions. Proline is found in high-protein foods like meat, cottage cheese and wheatgerm.

Lysine, along with zinc, is one of the most common nutrients in ointments and creams for wound healing. Collagen is a protein rich in lysine, proline and arginine, which are essential for wound healing. Patient who most benefit from these creams are those with burns and trauma. Glycerine is found in brewer's yeast, dairy products, eggs, fish, legumes, meats, nuts, seafood, seeds, soy, whey, whole grains and gelatine, which is 33% lysine.

Arginine is found in fish, poultry, meat, oats, soy, walnuts, dairy products, carob, chocolate, brown rice, wheat and wheatgerm, raisins and sunflower seeds.

Skin and sustenance

Now for some skin conditions where the diet, as well as deficiencies, may contribute:

Acne is often improved or even cured (especially if the sufferer is a teenager) when the dietary intake of excessive sugar and starches (like cakes, bread, pasta) are reduced. Then there is room for more intake of fruits and vegetables which contain zinc and vitamins A, C and E.

Atopic dermatitis/eczema is usually of allergic origin. It is helped by excluding foods that the person is sensitive to – most often dairy and gluten (bread, pasta), and sometimes certain nuts or seafood or beef. A higher intake of foods containing Omega 6 helps the skin here too – that's vegetable oils, or a supplementation of evening primrose oil.

Dermatitis of unknown cause is common in older people. This can be due to multiple nutritional deficiencies from diet, poor gut function, or poor absorption from the stomach or large bowel. These situations occur as a person ages. I have seen a case of discoid eczema recover when the zinc deficiency was addressed.

Herpes infection or cold sores are known to be due to a deficiency of lysine, which is an amino acid (protein building block). There seems to be a relative imbalance between the amino acids arginine (which enhances viral replication) and lysine (which inhibits viral replication). You can take lysine as a supplement, or simply get a better balance of lysine versus arginine foods. Arginine foods are noted under arginine, and lysine foods include wheatgerm, cottage cheese, chicken, wild game, pork and avocado.

It seems that a great diet full of a variety of fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts and good-quality protein don't just help your general health, but also the skin. After all, as the skin is the largest organ in the body, what's good for the body is good for the skin!

Our Latest Specials

Special Dermal Filler Offer

Buy Two Sub Q® dermal fillers at our already discounted price, and get one ml of Restylane® completely FREE.

Now you can get the results you have always wanted.

This is your opportunity to use more product over a greater area, and have a more profound result! Now you can have the liquid facelift to enhance hollow cheeks and to give a nicer cheekbone line and at the same time, why not do your lips or other fine lines as well – for FREE! Here's your chance!

Offer expires 30 September, 2010. Treatment must be completed by 6 October, 2010.

Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. Results may vary.

Gift Vouchers available.

Join our Botulinum rewards club to receive great savings!

To make a booking phone us on 09 486 0030.

20% Off Laser Treatments!

IPL for sun spots, Laser Genesis for fine lines, redness and rosacea, facial vein removal and hair removal.

Includes a FREE nurse skin consultation. Book now to avoid disappointment!

Excludes Titan.

This special is only for treatments with the cosmetic nurse.

Offer expires 30 September, 2010. Treatment must be completed by 6 October, 2010.

Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. Results may vary.

Gift Vouchers available.

Join our Botulinum rewards club to receive great savings!

To make a booking phone us on 09 486 0030.