ARE YOU HAPPY WITH YOUR FACE?
My Weekly’s favourite GP from TV and radio writes for you
The “anti-ageing” business is worth billions. But it’s more than wrinkles – acne, redness and dry skin can affect your face too. So how can you have the face you want?
One advantage of getting older is putting the misery of acne behind you – or it should be. About 4 in 5 teenagers get spots on their cheeks, upper chest or back, largely down to over-production of sebum, and this should settle by the age of 25.
In later life they can be down to polycystic ovary syndrome – linked to female hormone imbalance, it can also cause irregular periods and excess body hair.
In middle age, up to 1 in 10 people suffer from spots on their face due to rosacea. Often called acne rosacea, it usually starts with facial flushing that comes and goes. In time this redness becomes permanent, often accompanied by acne-like spots and small cysts on your face. Sun damage and leaky blood vessels under the skin may play a part, but it’s now thought a mite living under the skin is a major culprit.
In rosacea, your skin is likely to be very sensitive. Avoiding strong sun, spicy food, alcohol and extremes of temperature can help. Traditionally, antibiotic creams were prescribed but doctors now often turn to invermectin cream, which targets the mite.
About 1 in 50 people have the chronic, distressing skin condition psoriasis, which leads to red, flaky patches. On your face it tends to affect eyebrows, upper forehead, hairline and even eyelids. Treatment can be even harder
WHERE YOUR SKIN IS CONCERNED, SUN IS YOUR ENEMY. TOO MUCH CAUSES PREMATURE AGING AND INCREASES YOUR SKIN CANCER RISK
ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES OF GETTING OLDER IS PUTTING THE MISERY OF TEENAGE ACNE
YOU’’ BEHIND
than for other areas as facial skin is so sensitive. Options include vitamin D cream or mild steroid cream.
Skin on your face is more delicate than anywhere else. You’re never too old to start moisturising, and it’s worth investing in products for mature skin. But you needn’t spend a fortune. If you’re prone to dry skin patches, stick to unscented products or ones for sensitive skin.
Who hasn’t heard of Botox – or seen the results in the waxy, expressionless faces of celebrities who’ve had too much? Botox is a brand name for an injection containing botulinum toxin, a poison that paralyses muscles.
The toxin is used widely and very successfully to treat medical conditions including muscle spasms, overactive bladder and chronic migraine. Injected into the face muscles, the idea is that it smooths out wrinkles. Dermal “fillers” contain other chemicals like collagen, and are used to fill out creases and wrinkles, or to plump up lips and cheeks.
Almost unheard of a decade or two ago, the “non-surgical cosmetic industry” (Botox and fillers, rather than breast implants and surgical facelifts) in the UK is worth £3.6 billion a year. In fact, 9 in 10 cosmetic procedures carried out today are non-surgical.
Yet there are absolutely no regulations covering who can give them. Anyone can start advertising as a Botox injector. I’ve never yet met a doctor who believes anyone without full medical training should be allowed to do them. In recent cases, women who thought they were having a Botox injection were given a fake alternative by an unqualified person – in some cases causing life-threatening allergic reactions.
I’m not against Botox or fillers but I’m very keen on avoiding health risks. So choose your practitioner very carefully. Next week: Focus on eye health
FACIAL ECZEMA IS COMMON. USE REGULAR UNSCENTED MOISTURISERS AND KEEP STEROID CREAMS TO A MINIMUM ON THE FACE