Weekly Skinspiration June 19, 2017

Dermatology Pearl: Do Dark Skinned Individuals Need Sunscreen?

Last week I spoke with Brit + Co in a post about sunscreen safety and the necessity of sunscreen use in darker skinned individuals. While it is true that melanin confers some protection against UV radiation, darker skinned individuals do still sustain DNA damage from long term sun exposure. Fitzpatrick type IV through VI individuals can get photodermatoses (skin conditions exacerbated by sunlight) and photoaging (sagging leathery skin, dark spots, wrinkles). Darker skinned individuals are also at risk for developing acral lentiginous melanoma, which tend to appear in non sun-exposed areas and can therefore go undetected for a long period of time. Darker skinned individuals should still undergo skin checks to make sure they are not developing anything dangerous on their skin! For more information from the experts, check out this post from The Skin Cancer Foundation.

Beauty Review

Nothing to review this week! I do have a few products I’m still trying out so check back next week for more reviews 😀

Fashion Find

I shared this peplum tie back top on Insta last week but wanted to make sure you guys got the deets here too! I am loving this Express top. The front can be a professional look but the back has a flirty and feminine tie-back design that reveals a little bit of skin. (Business in the front, party in the back! :P) I wore it on my birthday last week to work and with a white coat on over the top, it was very clinic appropriate! It comes in white and light blue and the XXS is very petite friendly.

 

Life Update

This week has been a whirlwind! Matt planned a great birthday party for me at an Italian restaurant nearby and then we hosted around 20 of our close friends at our new place in West Village. We made watermelon soju and Old Fashioned’s and I have to share with you guys, the cheesecake from Mah Ze Dahr Bakery is AMAZING. My friend Tiffany had her birthday carrot cake from this bakery and ever since then I’ve been wanting to try some of their other creations.

I feel so thankful for all the friends I’ve gotten to know in NYC. Pictured in this very blurry group pic (yes for self timer skills!) are some of my freshman year dorm mates, some work colleagues, and grad school friends, most of whom I only became close with once I moved to the East Coast. When I initially matched in NYC I’ll admit it, I was scared to leave my bubble of the Bay Area where I’ve grown up and lived my whole life. But sometimes things work in unexpected ways and you end up with another family away from home.
In terms of work:

• Finished my last day of consults last Tuesday and now I’m back to clinic life! It’s interesting – consults and clinic are very different. With consults, you have a bit more control over your schedule because you can choose when you want to see all of your inpatients, whereas in clinic you are seeing patients at set times, from 9:15 AM to 12:30 PM and then 1:30 PM to 5 or 5:30 PM. There are pros and cons to each, but it’s definitely true that on consults I got to see many interesting cases, some of which stumped us and there was never a clear diagnosis, even with biopsies.
• T-2 weeks until 2nd year of dermatology residency is over and I move onto my last year (PGY-4)! I can hardly believe how the time has flown.
• This Tuesday is our department’s graduation ceremony; I’ll be sharing the festivities on IG story (teawithMD)

Have a good week!

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