You Can Love the Outdoors and Your Skin
By Bill Murphy, MD, Medical Director, Turquoise Springs Medical Spa
My love for Santa Fe, New Mexico, goes back to my childhood. Long before I actually traveled there for the first time in the early 1990’s, I was there many times in my mind. While lying back on the boards of my backyard tree house as a child, I read Zane Grey novels and later Louis L’Amour and Larry McMurtry. My favorite color is turquoise, as you might guess. The color of the Tiffany’s New York jewelry box is from the stunning blue color of the sky along the Santa Fe trail near the historic town of Cerrillos. I love the smell of piñon wood in the clear mountain air and breakfast at La Fonda Hotel at the end of the Santa Fe Trail. However, the sun, wind, and bone-dry air there are rough on the largest organ in your body….your skin.
Many of the residents of the area around the square in Santa Fe have skin that looks like the surface of a prune or the top side of an alligator. Even in our beautiful hill country, we face the dilemma of enjoying being outside while caring for our skin so we look fresh and not prematurely aged. We want our cake and to eat it as well. Is it possible to walk that narrow pathway? Yes, it is, and it is easier than you think.
Let’s break the process into several sections and make it as easy as possible
1. Establish a daily routine of cleansing your skin morning and evening with a mild cleanser free of chemicals and additives other than natural ingredients. Moisturize daily to trap water in the skin, especially after a shower, hot tub, or swim session. It is preferable to apply while your skin is still damp. Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher and reapply every 2 hours when outside, even on a cloudy day. Use of a humidifier at night, especially during the winter, can be helpful. Application of a retinol and an HA is great for skin texture, pigment changes, and fine lines and wrinkles. I especially like to use a Vitamin C serum to brighten the skin and provide extra antioxidant protection.
2. Adjustments to your daily habits can reduce the aging of the skin significantly. Stop smoking as it ages your skin prematurely. Smoking reduces blood flow and thus oxygen to your tissues, damages collagen and causes it to thin, and causes your skin to become dull and wrinkled. A diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and an antioxidant supplement with Vitamin A and Omegas is crucial for healthy skin. Reduce your stress with meditation, exercise, yoga, and reduce social media and screen time. Finally, stay hydrated. Drink enough water to keep your skin hydrated from the inside/out. Remember, if you are thirsty, you are already behind in your water intake.
3. Avoid scrubbing your skin too hard to avoid skin irritation and injury. Be gentle, yet brisk enough to take the dry skin away and increase circulation to the dermal layer. Perform monthly exams and consult with your dermatologist for any abnormal changes, or dry or itchy areas that persist. Scheduling an annual exam for screening with a dermatologist is a great habit to develop to prevent a minor skin problem from becoming a major problem.
4. Unlike what you might imagine or have been told, skin treatments at a medical spa do not have to be so expensive that they are not possible for the average person. Regular skin treatments to combat aging, fine lines, wrinkles, sagging, and discoloration are easy, comfortable, and affordable. A regular regimen of a Hydro-facial to clean and hydrate your skin, laser and light therapy to decrease fine lines and erase dark spots, and Microneedling once or twice per year can be less expensive than you might imagine. If you join a membership or arrange for long-term care, your skin care can be budgeted like a gym membership. I particularly like a new topical peel product which penetrates the outer layer of the epidermis to work in the dermal layer. It is called PRX-T33. It is wonderful for skin tightening, improving skin tone, and brightening the surface of the skin without needles.
If you’re thinking, “It’s too late for me”, it is not. Skin is remarkably resilient. Many changes are reversible. Start where you are, make small adjustments, and build from there.
Healthy, vibrant skin is always within reach.
Bill Murphy, MD 210-253-3313
