A Good Book for the Beach

I just finished reading a new book about skin care that anyone should read who wants to learn more about their skin and sort through the confusion about skin care. That’s pretty much everyone, so go out and get this book! …

“The New Science of Perfect Skin” by Daniel Yarosh, PH.D., Broadway Books, New York, 2008.

The author, Daniel Yarosh, is the brains behind AGI Dermatics, a company that makes a high-end line of skin care products that goes by the name of Remergent (No , I don’t carry this product line, but dermatologist Gary Novatt, M.D. here in Santa Barbara does). Although understandably supportive of his own line of products, and others containing AGI Dermatic’s compounds, Yarosh is not over the top about it, and has good (and bad) things to say about many other competing products as well. He explains the science of skin care well, on a level that is easily understandable, and pulls no punches when commenting on many of the too-good-to-be-true youth-in-a-bottle products and ingredients. This is a refreshing change from another well-known skin care book that came out a few years ago (“The Wrinkle Cure” by Nicholas Perricone, M.D.) which had a tiny bit of science and a whole lot of hype. Perricone has a new book out, which seems to be more of a wholistic health book, but I haven’t read that one yet so I can’t comment on it.

One of the most useful things you will learn after reading Yarosh’s book is to dissect a skin care product’s ingredient list and have a pretty good idea of what you will be putting on your skin. (You read the ingredient list off the food packages you buy, don’t you? Why not for that skin moisturizer, too?). He also tells you how to avoid spending exorbitant amounts of money on ridiculous products that do nothing, and how to find good products that are reasonably priced.

He thankfully puts to rest the idea that topical potions can do what Botox does, and describes both Botox and dermal fillers in the context of an overall skin rejuvenation plan. Some of this information is already a little dated, but that speaks to how quickly the non-surgical rejuvenation options are expanding and changing.

He goes into a good amount of detail on how the sun damages skin, how sunscreens work, and why no one uses sunscreens properly. I wish he would have gone into more detail on smoking’s harmful effects and pathological changes on skin. This is something I see in my practice frequently, and it seems patients aren’t always that knowledgeable about it. I can tell the facial “signature” of a smoker who has smoked for at least 10 or 15 years. The look is different from that of photoaging (sun damage), although often occur together. It’s no mystery how to stop the harmful effects of smoking, but we could all do better with sun protection. He tells how the Australians, with the highest rate of skin cancer, are emphasizing more physical sun protection (wide brimmed hats, long sleeved shirts, etc) in addition to sunscreens, as they’ve probably got all the benefits they can out of their current use of sunscreen. Here in Southern California, we should be doing the same. So buy a beach umbrella and use it while you read this book!

Douglas J. Mackenzie, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Pacific Plastic Surgery