Weekly Skinspiration June 12, 2017

Dermatology Pearl: Highlights from Advances in Dermatology Conference 2017

Last Thursday and Friday I attended the NYU Advances in Dermatology conference that is held every year. It is a really amazing conference in which all of the NYU full time and voluntary faculty give 15-minute lectures on a topic of their choice, ranging from medical dermatology and pediatric dermatology to surgical and cosmetic dermatology. I learn so much from this conference every year and I highly recommend attending if you are in the area or if you are a practicing dermatologist or dermatologist in training. I shared a few pearls from the conference on my Instagram story and I got lots of good questions and comments from you guys about the topics. Here are some of the interesting things I learned at this conference:

• What brands are good for sensitive, allergy-prone skin?
  Aveeno products, Cetaphil restore derm, Vanicream
• How do we treat hand dermatitis?
  • Super glue for painful fissures. Use fragrance free products and try to avoid products with allergy-inducing lanolin. Great brands for hand dermatitis include CeraVe ointment or Aveeno ointments
• Atopic dermatitis (eczema): kids with severe eczema may be at higher risk for peanut allergy; early introduction to peanuts at 4-6 mo may help prevent development of allergy.
• How do we treat acne in pregnant patients?
  • Typically we start with topical medications that are pregnancy category A or B: Finacea, metronidazole, erythromycin, azelaic acid. Other options include intralesional steroid injections for deep cysts, acne surgery, and sometimes chemical peels if their ob/gyn approves. Light based therapies such as blue or red light are also excellent options safe for pregnant patients.
• What about those at home blue light masks?
  • There is some efficacy of these at home acne treatment masks, but they are not as strong as treatments available in the dermatologist’s office. You also need daily treatment with the mask at home vs. intermittent treatment at the doctor’s office.
• What is new with Latisse? (sidenote: a lot of you asked me about Latisse through Instagram – I will be putting up a primer on this prostaglandin eyelash lengthening product next week!)
  • Some evidence of reversible periorbital fat atrophy, causing deepening of the eyelid and some upper lid ptosis. Dr. Sarnoff referred to it as an “eyelift in a bottle” after seeing her own anectodal evidence, but it hasn’t been proven in research yet

Beauty Review

Price: $$*

Coverage: 5/5

SPF: 5/5

Scent: N/A

Texture: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

*Each $ is ~$20

I had described the Hera UV Mist Cushion (SPF50+/PA+++) before in this post, but I revisited this cushion compact this past weekend and had to write another quick review. I developed a nasty irritant contact dermatitis on Saturday; I had applied a thick coat of Differin (a retinoid) the night before and on Saturday morning instead of washing it off, I goofed and applied SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic right on top of it. It BURNED and STUNG like crazy…and resulted in a gnarly red bumpy rash. (This is not a normal reaction btw if you are wondering; slight burning redness and peeling can occur from retinoids but not this severe stinging) As a result I needed something thick that could cover up this rash when I was going outside for my birthday festivities. My usual Amore Pacific CC Cushion didn’t supply enough coverage so I went for the Hera UV Mist Cushion. I wanted to give it another try because I remembered it was THICK. And I was correct. It was the only foundation I had on hand that was thick enough to mask my rash, and though it looked a little bit cakey, I appreciated that this cushion compact applied even foundation throughout, leaving a dewy finish. So while I will still not be wearing this one daily, I think it could be a great option for people who need a bit more coverage (for example, people with brown spots, scars, etc. that they want to cover up) that is applied easily and quickly through the cushion pad. For your reference, I wear color No 23, which is good for a beige complexion with some redness.

Fashion Find

ASOS Petite V Neck Cropped Cold Shoulder Cami

It is reaching 90 degrees this week and I am rummaging through my closet to find my cold shoulder and off the shoulder tops! This was a top I found online at ASOS.com last year, and it has become a casual staple over jeans. This cami is cropped which flatters ladies with shorter torsos, or can be midriff baring for those with longer torsos. The material is sheer and breathable, perfect for summer. Right now it is available in black and ivory in select sizes.

Life Update

My official birthday is on Tuesday the 13th but I have been kind of celebrating all week 😛 We started off with my birthday dinner with M at Eleven Madison Park (our dinner review here) and continued this weekend with dinner with my in-laws, and a birthday brunch on my dear friend Tiffany’s rooftop followed by attending the emotional musical Dear Evan Hansen (which is sweeping the Tony’s tonight!).

If you haven’t seen Dear Evan Hansen and you have a chance to be in NYC, I highly recommend it. It tackles heavy topics such as mental health disorders and teen suicide, but does so in a way that is thoughtful, engaging, and poignant. I felt for all the characters and I swear there wasn’t a dry eye in the entire audience during the more emotional scenes.

In terms of work:

• I’m still on hospital consults for another 2 days. I’ve had a lot of interesting cases involving allergic reactions to medications, rare manifestations of viruses, and some conundrums that stumped huge groups of doctors spanning different specialties
• Only 3 more weeks left before I’m a PGY-4, entering my LAST year of residency. I can’t believe how quickly time has flown by!

Have a good week!

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