Reflections on Beauty

According to a report in Science Daily, talking too much via cell can actually trigger an allergic reaction to the nickel in your cell phone! This was reported last fall at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Phoenix. From cosmetics to jewelry, body piercings to tattoos, allergies can lurk in unlikely places, state the allergists. “Increased use of cell phones with unlimited usage plans has led to more prolonged exposure to the nickel in phones,” said allergist Luz Fonacier, MD, ACAAI Fellow. “Patients come in with dry, itchy patches on their cheeks, jaw lines and ears and have no idea what is causing their allergic reaction.”

Nickel is one of the most common contact allergens, and affects up to 17% of women and 3% of men. Skin contact with objects that contain nickel, like keys, coins and paper clips are generally so brief that a nickel allergy may not occur on the area of contact. However, even in these brief exposures, your fingers can transfer the nickel to your face and cause irritation. The risk of allergy to nickel is increased by frequent, prolonged exposure to nickel-containing items, such as cell phones, jewelry (especially inexpensive jewelry which often contains a lot of nickel), watches, and eyeglass frames. Allergic reaction to nickel can appear as redness, swelling, itching, eczema, blistering, skin lesions, oozing and even scarring.

“Allergists are seeing increasing numbers of nickel allergy among patients,” said Dr. Fonacier. “Some researchers suggest that there should be more nickel regulation in the U.S. like there is in some European countries.”

How to avoid an allergic reaction to nickel

Avoiding direct skin contact is the best way to avoid an allergic reaction. For cell phones, use a plastic film cover, a wireless ear piece, or switch to a phone that does not contain metal on surfaces that contact your skin, suggests Dr. Fonacier.

Nickel is found in Body Piercings & Tattoos

You can also have an allergic reaction to piercing and tattoos. Statistics estimate that 24% of people 18 to 50 have tattoos and 14% have body piercings. “Allergic reactions from tattoos come mainly from the pigments used to color the dye,” said Dr. Fonacier. “The issue with piercing goes back to the increasing prevalence of nickel allergies. Some researchers suggest we delay introduction of ear piercing until children are older than 10 years.”

Nickel in your Cosmetics

“It’s well known that our everyday cosmetic products contain many substances that cause allergies,” said Dr. Fonacier. “Although the cosmetic industry is one of the largest in the world, it is not highly regulated in the U.S. The average person uses 12 personal products a day. Those 12 products may contain up to 168 chemicals, many of which can be an irritant or a substance that causes an allergic reaction.” Nearly 22% of everyone patch tested for allergies react to chemicals in cosmetics, according to Dr. Fonacier. Nickel is fairly common in eye shadows, as an example.

Also in your detergent

Although nickel isn’t present in the detergent itself, it’s often used in detergent processing process, ie, when the detergent’s products are combined. If you switch detergents and suddenly develop a rash, it could be from the nickel, as well as a myriad of other substances either present in the detergent itself or during processing.

Although we aren’t allergists here at Reflections Center in New Jersey, we certainly want to help you keep your skin healthy!

Fractional thermolysis, which made its debut in 2004, has been taking the cosmetic skincare field by storm during the last several years. Laser treatments target the gamut from wrinkle and fine line reduction — the original FDA indications for the devices — to elimination of all kinds of scars such as burn, surgery and/or acne scars, stretch marks and even melasma.

Ablative vs. Non-Ablative: What’s the Difference?

Fractional skin resurfacing with the new-generation ablative devices is the hottest development, although the non-ablative ones are a mainstay. The non-ablative devices are great for mild to moderate wrinkling and photoaging, and fairly close to eliminating most acne scarring over a series of 4-6 treatments that are only a bit uncomfortable followed by roughly 3 days of redness. It’s that reduced downtime, compared with more invasive treatments that require a week to 10 days from work & social obligations, that makes the non-ablative lasers so appealing in our patients’ busy lives.

The biggest difference between ablative and non-ablative lasers

Ablative laser treatments are more severe and can cause epidermal burning. Recovery time is longer and can extend up to 4-6 weeks. However, ice pick and boxcar acne scars respond well to ablative treatments, as do deeper wrinkles. For patients with older skin or those with a great deal of sun damage, the ablative laser may be best, even with the more significant downtime. We utilize excellent topical anesthetic creams and our ablative lasers have built-in cooling capacity to make the procedure more comfortable.

How does a non-ablative laser compare?

A non-ablative laser is less invasive and conducts heat deeper into the dermis, essentially bypassing the top layer of skin to treat the skin tissue beneath. This deep-placed heat causes the collagen to rebuild, making the non-ablative laser a good choice for under-eye lines and wrinkles, other more superficial facial wrinkles, as well as shallow scars.

Essentially, the less aggressive the laser, the more treatments are required to get the best final result. If you need to quickly get back to work and/or social activities, having more treatments with a non-ablative laser would be best.

Here at Reflections Center for Skin & Body in New Jersey, we have the Gold Standard in ablative and non-ablative treatments—the Fraxel Repair and Fraxel Re:Store Dual. In this way, we can offer the Best of the Best, whether you need an ablative or non-ablative treatment.

Courtesy MrDowling.com

Did you know that back in Cleopatra’s time, she slept every night beneath a gold face mask because she believed it made her skin soft and glowing? Even though Cleopatra was daft enough to marry her own brother, she was apparently on to something with that gold mask.

Today’s skin treatment manufacturers claim that their gold-enhanced products have both antimicrobial and antioxidant abilities, can minimize UV damage and lessen skin discoloration. Apparently gold has properties that slow the breakdown of elastin in the skin, which can delay the appearance of wrinkles. Elastin is the protein within the skin that gives skin its elastic properties. Unfortunately, elastin declines with age. Therefore, if gold can help our elastin “live longer,” that would be a fortune indeed for most of us!

Up to now, however, no long-term studies have been performed to test gold’s ability to deliver on any of the claims above. So, if you decide to buy products that include gold among their ingredients, it’s wise to know that it might not deliver on its promise for youth in a jar.

Who doesn’t love ice cream and hate wrinkles? Probably no one. So imagine if there was a delicious ice cream on the market that had anti-aging properties? According to StyleList.com, an ingenious collaboration could make that concept a reality as early as 2015!

On September 16, global food and personal care giant Unilever signed an exclusive contract with Ampere Life Science, a biotechnology group, to focus on a new line of anti-aging products. The five-year contract will, according to Unilever, “build differentiated antioxidant-containing products spanning multiple product categories.”

Unilever is currently owns powerhouse food and personal care brands such as Ben & Jerry’s, Barilla and Dove. With extensive studies uncovering the numerous anti-aging and cancer-fighting benefits of antioxidants, there has been a boost in the popularity of antioxidant rich foods recently.

Just think of the fabulous anti-aging foods one could indulge in! Here at the Reflection Center for Skin & Body in New Jersey, we’re excited to see this project succeed.

According to ScienceDaily.com, focusing on the negative aesthetic effects of indoor tanning may effectively reduce indoor tanning behavior, even in young women. The report, which was published in the May issue of Archives of Dermatology, claims that this approach can even curb behaviors in women who tan to alleviate seasonal mood disorders or to relax.

Multiple studies to date have proven the cancerous effects of ultraviolet tanning beds on skin. Although this information is readily available, there are still many women who actively tan at indoor salons. While focusing on the health risks of tanning may work for some people, stressing the aesthetic downsides may be more beneficial.

Joel Hillhouse, Ph.D, of East Tennessee State University, alongside his colleagues, analyzed 430 female student tanners from one university. Two hundred women were randomly given a booklet that described the history, sociocultural context, and damaging effects of tanning on the skin. The booklet also contained recommendations on how to reduce indoor tanning use alongside healthier image-improvement advice. The remaining 230 subjects did not receive the booklet.

Hillhouse and colleagues assessed the participants for seasonal affective disorder and four pathological tanning motives: opiate-like reactions to tanning, insecurity in one’s skin tone, evidence of tolerance to the effects of tanning and the feeling that one has lost control of their tanning behavior.

Six months following the booklet distribution, the authors re-evaluated tanning frequency. The findings showed that tanning behavior had reduced in women who received the booklet, even in participants who reported a pathological motive for tanning.

“In other words, providing young patients who tan with information on the damaging effects of tanning on their appearance is effective even if they are addicted to tanning or using it to ameliorate depression symptoms,” the authors told ScienceDaily.com.

Although they may have pathological motives, tanners can also show concern about their appearance. The booklet may have also affected non-appearance motives in participants. Once scenario, the authors note, is that women who tan to relax may have become more anxious about the process after reading up on the harmful effects of tanning.

Aesthetically or medically, there is no argument that indoor tanning is bad for you. From wrinkles to melanoma, sunspots to immune system suppression, the drawbacks of indoor tanning blatantly outweigh any benefits.

In addition, consumers can now reap the benefits of anti-aging effects and an array of different treatment options. In a nutshell, there is a cosmetic product available for any and every skin type.