Ways to Maintain the Health of Your Skin

Healthy skin protects your interior health and also helps you look younger and more vibrant. At Midterm Dermatology in Tulsa, OK, Dr. Lynn Anderson and Dr. Kristen Rice help patients of all ages  care for their skin and truly feel good about how it feels and looks.

Your skin and caring for it

Highly innervated and vascularized, your skin constitutes your first layer of protection against disease, injury, and infection. As your largest bodily organ, your skin requires care and attention, not just with a yearly exam with your Tulsa dermatologist, but on a daily basis at home.

The New York Times reports that heredity combines with your daily care regimen to keep skin healthy, attractive, and functional. No matter if you have oily, dry, or combination skin, you'll benefit from cleansing your skin, moisturizing your skin and protecting it from the sun's harmful UV rays. Here's how:

Cleansing your face

Do this first thing in the morning and just before bedtime to remove dust, dirt, pollutants, dead skin cells, cosmetics, and oil. Use a mild soap or cleanser, clear water, and your fingertips. Be gentle, never scrubbing or abrading your skin. Rough treatment exacerbates acne blemishes, too.

Moisturize your face

A quality moisturizer seals in important skin oils, decreases dryness, and reduces the appearance of fine lines associated with aging. Ask Dr. Lynn Anderson and Dr. Kristen Rice to recommend a product right for your skin type.

Also, stay well-hydrated. Water intake plumps and smooths the skin, avoids damage, and helps your skin feel better in general.

Protect your skin

Skin cancer affects millions of Americans of all ages. Almost 10,000 new cases are diagnosed daily, says the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). Excessive exposure to the sun's strong ultra-violet radiation leads to skin cancer and to early signs of aging (wrinkling, sagging, hyperpigmentation, dryness, and more).

Accordingly, your dermatologist recommends the daily application of SPF-30 sunscreen lotion to all exposed areas of your skin. Stay out of the sun during its daily peaks between 10 am and 2 pm, and if you sweat off your sunscreen quickly, re-apply it. Cover up with long sleeves and a broad-brimmed hat.

A word about smoking and skin cancer

If you're a smoker, try to quit. Tobacco worsens psoriasis and other chronic skin conditions, pre-disposes you for skin cancer, dries and spots the skin, and makes you look old well before your senior years.

So simple and so worthwhile

At Midtown Dermatology, Dr. Lynn Anderson and Dr. Kristen Rice provide excellent skin care for patients of all ages in the Tulsa area. They'll give you ways to love and care for your skin every day. Phone (918) 728-3100 to get in touch with their office.