What Does It Take To Make A Comprehensive Skin Evaluation?
“I can’t stand these spots!” said my client, Sue, who was very upset about the way her skin looked. And she was right…she was full of unwanted facial hairs, acne, pigmentation irregularities, and concomitant scars. She had never suffered from severe acne as a teenager and her looks were causing her anxiety
Upon meeting with her, we immediately started completing forms and a questionnaire. We started by looking at her nutritional habits. Particularly, we asked her how many takeout meals a week she had, at what time was her main meal, how late was her last meal, what were the main groups included in her diet, was she in a fat free diet, and what was the quantity of the fluid intake? We also considered any supplements she may be taking, food allergies, and weight fluctuations.
Believe it or not, when talking skin care, nutrition is key. For example, many people undertake a fat free diet, yet fats are an essential component of the skin that we should replenish regularly so that our skin has the building blocks it needs to repair itself. Specifically, we asked her to increase her intake of Omega 3 by increasing her intake of fish, such as sardines and salmon. She could also accomplish this by adding Chia seeds or flaxseeds to her meals.
We were also curious about what oil did she use for cooking. Our recommendation was to use olive oil, and as a far second best when necessary in order to not change the taste of the food, she could use organic canola oil. We recommended her to use butter instead of margarine, as it was a healthier alternative. Given the importance of vitamin A to the skin, we suggested that she make sure this was part of her diet and she could find it in sweet potatoes, carrots, green leafy vegetables, squash, apricot, cantaloupes, red peppers, romaine lettuce, and mangoes.
At this point, we had overwhelmed her with information so we decided to stop there and continue in our next visit.
As you can see, from the information above, keeping our bodies healthy is the best way to prevent disease and stay in satisfactory physical and mental condition for many years. Recently, my computer crashed from a virus and I asked my IT person how could I keep my computers free from viruses and what was the best anti-viral in the market. His response was to not go to websites that were suspicious and to stay away from those emails and sites. Similarly, with our skin, there is a lot we can do that is within our control, and nutrition is key.
While there are many other elements involved in the skin consultation, we will address these in our next blog where we will discuss the steps involved in fully analyzing Sue’s skin. Make sure to stay tuned. For additional information, you can always contact Med Aesthetics Miami at 305-356-7402 or by email at info@medaestheticsmiami.com. Our website is www.medaestheticsmiami.com.