FROM PREGNANCY GLOW TO SKIN WOES?

As precious as the gift of motherhood is, it comes with a host of other experiences you may not have bargained for, many of them affecting your skin.

Acne

With hormones fluctuating both during pregnancy and after childbirth, it’s quite common for mothers to suffer from breakouts. Progesterone is a hormone that regulates your period and support healthy pregnancies. The flip side is that high hormone levels increase oil production, which causes clogged pores and acne.

After you give birth, it can take a little while for progesterone to get back down to its normal level; once it does, pregnancy-induced acne typically goes away. Make sure to drink lots of water, as dehydration can lead to oily glands, putting the breakout cycle into motion once again.

As much as you love your baby, dealing with the demands of a newborn can also be stressful – and stress can trigger pimples. Make sure to carve out some space for self-care, including a regular skin care routine.

The good news is that many of the topical acne treatments that are not safe to use while pregnant are fine postpartum, even if you’re breastfeeding (once you don’t put it on your chest). In some cases, pregnancy-related acne is very stubborn, in which case we recommend coming in for a consultation.

Melasma

Dubbed the “mask of pregnancy”, melasma is a common form of skin discolouration that appears symmetrically on the face. Sunlight aggravates the condition, and people with darker skin tones are more at risk. It is generally triggered by hormonal changes during pregnancy, although stress, birth control pills, and even harsh skincare products can also bring it on.

Melasma can be tough to get rid of. While there are many hopeful treatment options, from topical creams to chemical peels, there are no guarantees – but protecting yourself from the sun goes a long way in managing the condition.

Stretch Marks

These dreaded pinkish-red streaks on tummies, hips, derrières, and breasts are a side effect of motherhood most people want to avoid. Stretch marks happen when collagen and elastin, two of the fibres that keep your skin tight, elongate because of the weight gain. You’re more likely to get them if your mother had them as well.

Prevention is better than cure, so “take in front”, as they say, and moisturise well! This helps skin maintain its elasticity, making it more flexible when your tummy starts to expand. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, stretch marks still show up – in which case, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatments, where we inject the area with proteins that stimulate collagen production, helps even out skin tone and promote healing.

Hair Loss

A side effect of pregnancy that can feel more traumatic than labour, telogen effluvium is a temporary form of hair loss prompted by a stressful event. In pregnancy, it’s often hormone-related and although the hair thins to a noticeable degree, the good news is that it usually grows back.

It’s critical to consult your dermatologist for this condition, as dietary changes and supplements can have a positive effect. PRP treatments have also proven very effective in re-stimulating hair growth and avoiding prolonged or chronic hair loss.

Dark Circles

Hormonal imbalance during pregnancy can cause blood vessels to dilate and give the impression of dark circles under your eyes, but they could just as easily be caused by insufficient physical activity (lethargy tends to make skin puffy) or sleep deprivation. The lack of sleep can affect women either during or after pregnancy, as sleep can be compromised by things like morning sickness, acid reflux and of course, frequent feedings postpartum. Genetics may also play a role.

It’s hard to get rid of dark circles, but we have found PRP treatments to be quite effective, though they must be supported by proper lifestyle habits, including a balanced diet, regular exercise and quality sleep.

We know you wouldn’t trade being a Mom for anything, but that doesn’t mean you have to live with the unwanted side effects of pregnancy; give us a call to schedule a consultation.

OUR CARIBBEAN SKIN SERIES / Keloids

Have you ever had a cut, which – after it has healed – feels bumpy or raised and often looks worse than the injury itself? That’s a keloid. Caused by scar tissue that keeps building up long after it’s necessary, keloids are about 20% more common in skin of colour.

They can happen around any type of laceration – acne, burns, cuts, viral infections like chicken pox, surgical incisions, even piercings or tattoos. Though benign, they can be uncomfortable or sensitive to the touch and, depending on their location, may cause some people to be self-conscious. Keloids typically occur on the earlobes, arms and torso and while many show up directly after an injury, some grow slowly but steadily over the course of months or even years. 

What are your options?

Surgery can remove keloids instantaneously, but they will likely recur at the incision site. With some patients, applying pressure to the area reduces blood flow and increases the chances of keeping keloids flat.

Steroid injections can help reduce keloids’ size and sensitivity, and cryotherapy, in which we freeze the area, is also effective, particularly with smaller scars.

Finally, laser treatments not only flatten keloids, they reduce associated hyperpigmentation.

Despite all these viable options, keloids can be tenacious. A good first step is for us to treat any underlying skin conditions in order to reduce the likelihood of recurrence, so if your keloids are really irritating you – aesthetically or otherwise – come in and see us. We’ll help determine which treatment may offer you the best shot at conquering your keloids.

IS WATER YOUR SKIN'S BFF?

We’re all familiar with the 8x8 water rule, which touts the importance of drinking an eight-ounce glass eight times a day. Recent research by Harvard Medical School, however, suggests there’s no one-size-fits all answer, with most people needing between four and six glasses a day to stay hydrated. Water undoubtedly has positive effects on our health, but is glowing skin one of them?

Here’s what happens when you drink water: it’s absorbed by the intestines, after which it’s distributed throughout your body via the bloodstream. This is great when it comes to things like temperature regulation, stable organs and efficient metabolism, but there is no direct scientitic correlation between water intake and skin hydration levels.

Hydrate skin from the outside in

We know what you’re thinking: How is that even possible? We’ve all seen the effects of dehydrated skin, a desert against which every line seems more pronounced – but because skin loses moisture through the epidermis, it needs a topical solution, just like a desert needs rain.

This is where good moisturisers like our incredible SkinCeuticals range come in. Scientifically formulated for all skin types and available as serums, gels or creams, they help restore skin’s protective barrier and keep precious mositure in.

Follow the skin’s golden rule

When it comes to skin health, a better rule to follow is The Golden Minute, whereby you moisturise within a minute of getting out of the shower in order to seal in that hydration. SkinCeuticals moisturisers, full of active ingredients like ceramides, fillagrins, and hyaluronic acid go much further for your skin than eight daily glasses of water ever could.

Here’s a quick look at some of your best bets…

SkinCeuticals Daily Moisture

This is part of our everyday routine! We love its barely-there feel, so our skin doesn’t feel bogged down or greasy. Bonus? It help minimise the appearance of pores and is durable enough to keep moisture locked in for the day without having to reapply.

SkinCeuticals Hydrating B5 Gel

An amazing hydrating serum that makes skin feel smoother and younger. We love that it’s completely oil-free and uses hyaluronic acid, a natural hydrator, to retain moisture where it’s most needed. Great for skin that’s prone to breakouts.

SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2

This is a super anti-ageing cream that nourishes and hydrates skin, encouraging self-repair by restoring strength to its external barrier. Fine lines and wrinkles? We can hardly see them!

SkinCeuticals Metacell Renewal B3

An aqueous emulsion that helps halt early signs of ageing by increasing the cell turnover on the skin’s surface. The result? Clearer, more evenly toned skin. Gorgeous!

So…should you drink water? Absolutely – once you also treat moisturisers like water for your skin.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

At Serpentine Dermatology, we believe that beauty starts from deep within, and that women have much more to contribute than just what they look like.

The theme for International Women’s Day 2021 strives to bring more women to the table in order to create “an equal future free from stigma, stereotypes and violence” — and we could think of no better woman to share what she thinks about inner beauty and equality than Wendy Fitzwilliam: Miss Universe 1998, mother, attorney, Carnival lover, and a staunch advocate for HIV/AIDS education and awareness.

We hope the story of her beloved grandmother inspires you…

I have always found beauty in the most complete women. My maternal grandmother, Thin Granny, was girlie, strong, fiercely independent and kind to everyone with whom she interacted. Thin Granny dressed meticulously every day in the beautiful dresses she made herself.

Whether in her garden, at Mass or on a sojourn in her 80s to a Caribbean island with her wing woman, Aunty Naomi, her attention to detail and her confidence manifested in everything she did: raising her two children, preparing a meal, caring for the children often neglected in her village of Tortuga, holding her ground in a T&T not particularly celebratory of an independent woman, making her own way. She created her own successful lane by building an army of like-minded women who provided support to each other to navigate an often hostile professional environment not ready her. She did so with kindness, steely determination and glamour.

Many of the women I admire have these qualities in spades. Sharon Imbert, Meiling, Audrey Hepburn, Oprah, Rihanna, Mia Mottley all share a quiet confidence, steely determination and an ability to forgive, be kind and build up the people around them in ways big and small...like Thin Granny.

It is through our example of being the best version of ourselves, truly supporting each other as women and confidently occupying our spaces that we will achieve equality. As we celebrate International Women’s Day this month, let us joyfully, confidently support and celebrate each other.

OUR CARIBBEAN SKIN SERIES / Vitiligo

Your skin is as individual as you are – Caribbean skin even more so, thanks to its beautiful diversity. Vitiligo, which is characterised by a gradual loss of skin pigmentation that typically occurs in sharply defined patches, equally affects people of all ages, races and genders, but it is more noticeable in people of colour.

Links to autoimmune diseases

The condition may first manifest itself in parts of the body that are exposed to the sun, but other areas are soon affected, getting larger, whiter and more pronounced. There is currently no cure, but as work continues into determining precisely what causes vitiligo, this may someday change. Doctors suspect a genetic predisposition, perhaps triggered by environmental factors, or an autoimmune disease link, whereby the immune system attacks the cells that create skin pigment. In most cases, the loss of pigmentation happens on both sides of the body. As with other autoimmune conditions, vitiligo can be brought on by stress or other types of trauma. We can usually diagnose the condition from a skin biopsy.   

Social ostracisation

Sadly, vitiligo tends to attract a lot of social stigma, which is why having role models like Winnie Harlow is so important, as it helps people to understand the condition and hopefully, change their mindset. She advises young women to “make [their] own mould for what beauty is”.

Still, many patients – particularly younger ones – may grapple with self-esteem issues after diagnosis, including depression. We’ve therefore found that any treatment plan should ideally include psychological support. Public outreach at the national level would also be useful, as patients should not be made to suffer from greater societal ignorance or intolerance about the condition.

Other than the psychological distress and impact on quality of life – which are real issues – vitiligo is considered a benign condition, although patients are more easily prone to sunburn. In severe cases, it might contribute to vision problems and hearing loss, though these side effects are much less common.

Treatment options

The approach to treatment may differ depending on the patient’s age, as well as the extent and progression of the condition. Other than the regular sun protection advice, vitiligo treatment may involve a combination of topical creams, medications that control inflammation or regulate the immune system, and light-based therapy.

The hope is that future treatments may include drugs that stimulate the melanocytes, to either prevent loss of pigment or control the spread of vitiligo. While come people report results with alternative remedies, it’s important to let your doctor know what you’re taking, in case there are contraindications with some prescribed medicines.

If you notice lighter patches on your skin that you’re concerned about, have a family history of the disease, or feel that you may be at risk because of stress factors or underlying autoimmune conditions, just give us a call or schedule an appointment.