ASK A DERMATOLOGIST

What is the best way to treat very sensitive skin that needs both early anti-aging intervention and treatment for breakouts around the jaw line and chin?

Sensitive skin does not disqualify you from anti-aging products but you need to use them wisely. First, be sure your sensitivity isn’t actually an allergy – ask your dermatologist for an easy, painless patch test. Then try using benzoyl products for your breakouts twice a day to the spots as necessary. For anti-aging try a product with a retinol.

I recently noticed that the pores on my checks that are closer to my nose are more prominent than the rest of my face. Can you advice what I can do to minimise or shrink my pores?

Did you know that these may not be pores but my actually be hair follicles? The density of hair follicles is greatest in the midline of the face – the nose and the medial cheeks. Tiny, almost invisible hair grow there and often we think they are pores. The good news is you can definitely minimise the pore size by doing several things. Exfoliate twice a week with a creamy exfoliator, use a retinoid at night, be excellent with sun protection everyday, moisturise with your favourite gentle creams twice a day, and try the pore strips. They will remove any protein, oil, or dead skin from the top of the skin and allow the pore or opening of the follicle to constrict tightly.

I’m confused about chemical sunscreens vs. physical sunscreens. Are you better protected from sun damage when you wear a broad spectrum chemical sunscreen or when you wear a physical sunscreen?

There are chemical sunscreens and physical sunblocks, use them in combination for the best protection. Sunscreens are chemicals that intercept the UV ray and turns it into heat so it evaporates off the skin’s surface without penetrating and causing havoc. But sunscreens get used up the more sun it converts, like gasoline in a car runs out the more you drive. So reapply every one to two hours. Physical blockers literally rest on top of the skin and block the sunlight from penetrating through them. They don’t run out or get used up like sunscreens but they wipe off due to water or sweat, so they need to be reapplied every one to two hours, too. Each chemical has its strengths and limitations so a combination is the best way to go.

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