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033: Tackling Scars And How To Support Sensitive Skin w/ Dr. Anthony Youn

Many of us, especially those with rashed or sensitive skin, are so afraid of irritating our skin that we don't use many skincare products. However, as my guest today explains, having a regimen that is appropriate for your individual skin is essential. 

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Known as America's Holistic Beauty Doc, Dr. Anthony Youn is a board-certified plastic surgeon, best-selling author, and television personality. He is one of the nation's foremost experts on turning back the clock without surgery.

His recent public television special “The Age Fix with Dr. Anthony Youn” has been viewed by millions. He's the author of the bestselling book The Age Fix and the host of the popular podcast, “The Holistic Plastic Surgery Show.”

Dr. Youn is a frequent guest on The Rachael Ray Show, The Doctors, and The Doctor Oz Show. He has been named one of the nation's top plastic surgeons by US News and World Report, Town and Country, and Harper's Bazaar.

Today, we’re talking skincare. Dr. Youn shares some really useful tips for finding products that can improve the quality of your skin, why the microbiome is essential, as well as some encouragement for those of us dealing with skin rash scars.  

What's your skincare regimen? Leave a comment!

 

In this episode

  • Tips for addressing skin rashes while pregnant
  • Why doing an elimination diet during pregnancy may not be the wisest choice
  • Skincare routine recommendations for someone with really sensitive skin
  • The importance of the skin microbiome, and what can change/affect that microbiome
  • Improving the appearance of scars that result from skin conditions
  • Words of advice for someone who has tried everything and has not found products that work

 

Quotes

“We're learning more and more about the microbiome on our skin. We used to talk about the microbiome in our gut, but our skin also has trillions or bacteria that really help to create homeostasis where our skin is healthy…There is this gut-skin-brain axis that's becoming more and more learned about.” [7:52]

“What you put into your gut can really have profound impacts on your skin…Decrease the amount of sugar you eat, decrease the amount of processed foods that you eat…Make sure that you monitor what you eat. Go with organic foods. Eat the rainbow…What you put inside your mouth will definitely show up in your skin.” [16:40]

 

Links

Find Dr. Youn online

Download Dr. Youn's FREE Free eGuides, “What to Eat to Look Younger” AND “Ten Things Every Plastic Surgery Patient Must Know” HERE

Grab a copy of Dr. Youn's book, The Age Fix 

Follow Dr. Youn on Facebook | Instagram

 

We're learning more and more about the microbiome on our skin. We used to talk about the microbiome in our gut, but our skin also has trillions or bacteria that really help to create homeostasis where our skin is healthy...There is this gut-skin-brain axis that's becoming more and more learned about.

033: Tackling Scars And How To Support Sensitive Skin w/ Dr. Anthony Youn FULL TRANSCRIPT

Jennifer:              Hi everyone and welcome back to The Healthy Skin Show. Today we have a very special guest with us and someone who I think makes I think somewhat complicated and also sensitive issues around skin and even beauty. It makes you feel very comfortable. He is so easy to talk to. He's not uptight at all like some doctors are. He really listens to you and he always has very thoughtful and intelligent answers to provide and that's what I really appreciate about him and I wanted to introduce you to him and bring him into our community. Dr. Anthony Youn is known as America's holistic beauty doc. He's a board certified plastic surgeon, bestselling author and television personality. He is one of the nation's foremost experts on turning back the clock without surgery. His recent public television special, the age fix with Dr. Anthony Youn has been viewed by millions and he's the author of the bestselling book, The Age Fix and the host of the popular podcast, The Holistic Plastic Surgery Show. He's also a frequent guest on some pretty big shows. Guys, the Rachael Ray show, the doctors and even Dr Oz and he's been named as one of the top the nation's top plastic surgeons by US news and World Report, Town and Country and Bizarre. Thank you so much for joining us.

Dr Youn:               No, it's my pleasure. Thanks for having me on.

Jennifer:              I know. So. Okay. First of all, I want to admit that for the most part, until basically 2000 at the beginning of 2018 I had no idea how to take care of my skin. I thought that washing my face with water was the best way to go, even though I had rashes and dry skin and all sorts of things because I was so afraid of anything out there. And so, okay, you have a really simplified approach to this because I think that's important. You try to help people stay away, not, not to avoid, cause you do do plastic surgeon surgery, but you also help them without necessarily needing that. So for somebody who's realizing that maybe their skincare routine could be improved and they've got really sensitive skin, what would you recommend to somebody who's listening?

Dr Youn:               Yeah, there's so many things out there and I'm sure your listeners and your viewers know that it's confusing. You go to Sephora or you go to the department store and there's so many products and everything claims to be better than Botox and to do this and that. So when I tried to do is create a very simple option for people who say, look, I want to do what's right for my skin, but I don't necessarily want to do five different things in morning and evening. So I tell them, look in the morning, what do you need to do is ideally cleanse your skin. Now everybody's skin is different. And so you do need to find a cleanser that's appropriate for your skin type and what your friend might really like may not do well for you. After cleansing than we do. I do recommend an antioxidant serum.

Dr Youn:               Typically vitamin C is the most common. Be careful when you get a vitamin C serum. Make sure it's in a jar or a tube that does not allow light in because it can oxidize. If it's Brown, then throw it away. It's, it's oxidized, it's not gonna work. And then after that, we do recommend applying a good a sunscreen one that with an SPF of 30 or greater. Because we do know that UV radiation, especially UVA rays, are the most damaging to our skin and cause us to age more quickly. Would recommend being very careful with the sunscreens you buy. Do not buy one with oxybenzone or octinoxate. Those are two that can be potentially hormone disrupting. Okay. So try to go with something without those options. So that's all you have to do in the morning, ideally is if you cleanse, you apply an antioxidant serum and then a good sunscreen.

Dr Youn:               Then if you wear makeup, go ahead and apply that after that. In the evening same deal. Super important to cleanse your skin. Once again, find a good cleanser for your skin because you got to get rid of that day's worth of grime and dust and pollution and the makeup. Uso cleanse your skin and then you want to apply some type of a treatment. Ufor those of you who have skin that's not that sensitive and I know that a lot of your followers do have sensitive skin, but if you have fairly hardy skin, more oily skin, and go with something like a retinol based moisturizer, retinol is the most scientifically proven anti-aging cream that we have. There's a lot of different brands, even natural brands that have it. I have a my own brand that has a good retinal moisturizer. Uif however you've got very sensitive skin, then go more towards peptides. Peptides are actually more economical. They're easier on your skin. Uwe also have a peptide based cream,uin my natural skincare line as well. So it really, if that's all you do then you're way ahead of most people. One little thing to add is maybe two or three times a week. If you can exfoliate your skin with a nice natural scrub, even like a Clarisonic device, those are, that's a good way to keep your skin softer, smoother and more vibrant.

Jennifer:              So long story short, water as a cleanser is not going to suffice.

Dr Youn:               No, and definitely don't use bar soap. You know, it's, it's really interesting cause I have a lot of men that come into my practice and I get men and women, husbands, wives that want facelifts and you look at their skin and it's so different. You know, women's skin is so much nicer than men's skin because what do you do most of your life? You take care of it, you apply moisturizer, you know, most women don't use necessarily bar soap on their skin and if they do then they're really not doing themselves a favor. Guys. Most guys, they wash their face with bar soap and don't do anything after that. And you really can see as we get older, that big difference in the quality of the skin.

Jennifer:              That brings up a good point. I found through my own research that the microbiome of the skin varies based on where it is. And obviously the skin on the face is different than, you know, the skin on your abdomen. It's just kind of a different environment. So, you know, I always try and press upon people that what you're doing for your body is different than what's gonna happen on the face. So what do you think about that?

Dr Youn:               Yeah, there's a couple of things. So no question. We're learning more and more about the importance of the microbiome on our skin. You know, we used to talk about the microbiome in our gut but our skin also has trillions of bacteria that really help to create homeostasis where our skin is healthy. And a lot of the things that we've done in the past with our skin, like using astringents that are filled with alcohol, they wipe that microbiome out and that can increase your risk of skin issues. So there is this gut skin, brain access that's becoming more and more learned about. As far as the difference in the skin. No question with the microbiome. But the other thing that we find too, if you're doing treatments, you know we do a lot of treatments in my practice, anything from non invasive like lunchtime, chemical peels to actual surgery.

Dr Youn:               The skin of the face in general is much more hardy. Okay. And so you may be able to use a much stronger treatment actually on your face, but you do that to your neck or let's say to your décolletage, your upper chest and what is a very nice treatment for the face may burn the rest of your skin. So you have to definitely be careful because all parts of our skin react differently. And the area that you can definitely pay attention to is your, butt if you look at your, butt typically, unless you're a nudist, your butt has gotten very little UV radiation.

Jennifer:              That's true!

Dr Youn:               And you can see how nice that skin is and just what the difference between let's say your butt and your hands are, and you can see just how protecting your skin can help you age more slowly.

Jennifer:              That's interesting. So so I've gotten a number of questions about, you know, scarring and I thought, you know, I was trying to think like, well what do you do when you have scars that can develop, like say you had acne or you've had really bad eczema and scars formed as a result of all the treatment in the years of putting chemicals and steroids and all sorts of stuff on your skin. I thought you're probably the best person to ask. So what are your thoughts on that?

Dr Youn:               So scarring is very difficult. Like stretch marks. There's no way to just eradicate scars. I wish that we had some type of a magic eraser or you can get rid of scars and stretch marks, but with both of those, it really comes down to improvement, not erasing. Okay. So what are some easy options for scars? Well, obviously number one, it's take care of the source of the scarring. Okay, so don't worry so much at this point. If you're still getting, let's say a lot of cystic acne, you're getting a lot of breakouts, that type of thing that's causing the scarring. Number one is you've got to get that stuff settled down. Okay. Because stop that process. And then once that process is stopped now, then then take a look and see what are some of the options. A very simple option that's very popular nowadays.

Dr Youn:               It's not that expensive. It's called microneedling. Now microneedling basically is an in-office version of the, you may have seen people have these little rollers with the tiny little needles and you roll your skin and it's the, the idea behind that is if you create micro trauma to the skin, tiny little trauma, like little tiny holes in the skin, then the skin [inaudible] skin will, will heal in a tighter packed fashion. And so people are using these rollers on their face in, it does help to exploit the skin a little bit, but creating that trauma so that your skin is actually a little bit tighter afterwards. Well in doctor's offices, med spas, we're using automated microneedles where we can take those needles and make the puncture sites upwards of two millimeters deep. And that in of itself creates a more aggressive yet still controlled trauma that can get that skin to tighten up once again, but you can take the next step because you're creating this little hole in the skin.

Dr Youn:               If you apply something to the surface of the skin in the first hour or so, it will seep into that hole and can impact the deeper skin. And so doctors like myself are using growth factor serums. Okay. We, microneedle, make those tiny little holes at the microneedling and then immediately apply the growth factor serum over the skin. The growth factor seeps into the deeper skin and can rejuvenate the skin from the inside out. You can also do that with PRP where you take your blood and take the platelets out and use those your own natural growth factors as well. Now the great thing about microneedling is it's not an expensive laser. It's much less expensive. You may have a day of downtime, usually not even that.

Jennifer:              Wow. So that there is, there are some options there that people shouldn't necessarily feel like they're totally stuck with this. And is it matter whether it's on your face or your hands or your torso or legs or does it all seem to work, you know, is the results pretty standard across the board? No matter what scars.

Dr Youn:               With the microneedling, you're going to want to go more towards the face. Most places you don't have to. I mean there aren't a lot of prices that treat scarring elsewhere in the body. Usually if you're looking at the other parts of the body, it's more stretchmarks. And there are lasers that can treat that. So if you do have stretchmarks issues, some people are using microneedling for that. There is a laser called the icon 1540, that's FDA approved for stretch marks. But like with scarring, it is improvement, not perfection. And once again, the great thing with microneedling very inexpensive. You know, you can spend thousands of dollars on a laser that gives a very similar result as maybe a $100 to $200 microneedling session.

Jennifer:              Mm. I have a question for you. Cause obviously for those that have had that question about scarring, that's a fantastic option. And to be frank, sometimes having an improvement is better than nothing and staying where you are. But if we, if we pivot for a moment and just talk a little bit about some of the chemical, I feel like it was interesting you mentioned about those sunscreen chemicals. Are there some things that, I don't know, like I feel like people get, they buy into these fancy designer systems and they're spending exorbitant amounts of money and look, I get it. Our skin, this is the only skin you have. This is your like exteriors shell to the world. And so I totally understand and appreciate that and I certainly have my own fair share of skincare products, but they're going and buying all this different stuff trying desperately to see if something works. You'd go into the drug store, the pharmacy going to Sephora, buying things online. Is there, you know, if you as a doctor, what would you tell somebody who is doing this, buying all these different things, trying all this stuff. Do you have any words of advice for them?

Dr Youn:               Yeah, I think you know, and I have gone anywhere from when I started my practice, you know, we use some very aggressive skin care lines that are marketed specifically to doctors because they do create big changes. And so some people will come into my office and they've got so much incredible amount of sun damage. People who have smoked all their lives, they've never worn sunscreen and they walk in really with a ton of sun damage. Now if I were to put them on my natural and organic products, it is going to take a long, long time for them to get to where they want to be. So what I do for some of those patients is we put them on something that's more medically active, more medical grade prescription strength products. You know, for some of those people you can literally see within six to eight weeks and incredible change in their skin and you can't get that necessarily with the natural and organic products.

Dr Youn:               But those are things that you only can typically buy directly from a doctor's office and they're not necessarily things that you want to stay on for the rest of your life. So in general, the way that I recommend for the general population is number one, if you've got skin that really is has advanced aging, you know, and everybody thinks that they look worse than they do, but if you truly have got, I mean, you're filled with sunspots with a lot of wrinkles and sun damage and you've got a history of a lot of skin cancers and things like that, then definitely I would recommend going with a prescription strength medically actives system. We have one in our office called ZO skin health, you know, and it's aggressive. But if you've got skin like yours, like mine like a lot of population where you have taken good care of your skin overall. You know, I mean I know none of us is perfect that I would recommend a line that's made with natural and organic ingredients and that avoids things like parabens and a lot of these other substances that we know of cumulatively could cause issues with hormones and even potential skin cancer.

Jennifer:              And you're also a big fan too of making sure to dial in the nutrition part. Cause I think a lot of times people this outside this exterior is so, I mean it's literally in your face every time you look in the mirror you see it and we're so fixated on what we put on our skin, but we do forget that the skin is made from the inside and works its way out. Do you have any just final words on that?

Dr Youn:               Yeah, I mean there is something called the gut brain skin access I mentioned earlier and what you put into your gut can really have profound impacts on your skin. So it's super important to realize that decrease the amount of sugar you eat, decrease the amount of processed foods that you eat. I betcha now, you know, after the holidays people find that they start breaking out, you know, from Halloween, from Thanksgiving, from Christmas, all this stuff. So really make sure that you monitor what you eat. Go with organic foods, eat the rainbow, okay. And do what's good for your skin because what you put inside your mouth will definitely show up in your skin.

Jennifer:              So you guys, you can't just like say ah, they're not connected. They are, it's all connected. Well, thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate it. And frankly I think it's great to have somebody that straddles both worlds of knowing what to do on the more holistic sense, but also has a leg in the conventional world. And I, I do believe actually that there are, I believe they work together and they can work together when we intelligently integrate the wisdom from both. And that's one reason that I love your approach. So thank you so much for joining us.

Dr Youn:               Thank you it's been great.


Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS is an integrative Clinical Nutritionist and the founder of Skinterrupt. She works with women who are fed up with chronic gut and skin rash issues discover the root causes and create a plan to get them back to a fuller, richer life.


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