The media is a strong outlet for pushing skincare myths onto unknowing consumers, feeding the pockets of cosmetic companies while bringing no real advantages to those looking for simple solutions to skin rejuvenation and age reversal. Here are two very important—and very misleading—lies the media constantly reports.

Myth #1: Moisturizers Heal Dry, Damaged Skin
Did you know that the worst thing you can do for your skin is use moisturizer? Do you think you can moisturize your skin with grease products? There’s no water in them, so when you see a moisturizing cream commercial and the beautiful woman is splashing water on her face, do you really believe that that greasy product will bring water to your face? It won’t. When you rub your skin and it feels dry, that’s not dryness; that’s poor exfoliation. The stratum corneum, the dead layer of skin, is used to protect us some from environmentally caused damage. These cells need to fall off. For example, I have a tree at my house. If the leaves fall and I go the same day with a leaf blower and blow them out, it’s so easy. If I wait one day and it rains, those leaves cake up and don’t come up, killing the grass below. That is what happens with the dead skin.

Moisturizers are also addictive. The patient that uses moisturizers every day for several days or several times a day cannot tolerate the feeling of dryness and keeps using the moisturizer, which has become a true addiction. The skin doesn’t need moisturizers. The skin needs nutrition, protection and exfoliation—old cells being removed at the right time.

Myth #2: Sunblock Provides Adequate Protection for the Skin
Sun block is a joke. If you were leaving work at noon to go home and take a nap and I told you to put SPF 45 on your windows so the light won’t come through, would you believe me? If you think that if you put it on the skin, it will block the light, you are helping so many people to be rich.

Here’s the situation: you go to the beach wearing sunscreen for five hours and get hot. You take a shower, go to a restaurant and take a walk outside. When you go to bed, you are redder and tanner after only five hours in the sun and you think something is wrong. The sunblock still lets a lot of light pass through, causing inflammation defined by redness, tenderness and hotness. The sun block is not fool-proof because it only protects from some sun. Your skin needs to have antioxidants to prevent the inflammation from the sun. Skincare products that provide nourishment and vitamins C and E, like Seda, will give your body antioxidants to fight the inflammation and better protect yourself from sunburns.

MOISTURIZERS NEVER MORE!
My valued Clients

I have talked with many of you about the benefits of our exclusive skin health care system and the risks of using moisturizers. In the second century AD, a Greek physician named Galen developed the formula for a new medicine: one part of white wax that was melted and then added to three parts of olive oil. He added to that mixture some rosebud and blended it well in as much water as he could. He had what was later called cold-cream. If Galen's cold cream were the father of the moisturizer cream, there is no question that the mother of all was born at the hands of Dr. Thereon T. Ponds who started his formulation just before the Civil War. His product line and company grew into what became known as PONDS cream in 1961.

It is fair to accept that PONDS cream initiated the modern era of the moisturizer cream although it was created for the treatment of dry skin. These properties have been exaggerated, and sometimes even misleading advertisements have related this product to skin rejuvenation, skin help, and even anti-aging properties.

However, it is clear the implication of moisturizers in problems such as dry skin, aging and moisturizers. Smooth and silky, well-hydrated skin does not seem to be related to moisturizers. Two good examples are the skin of children and after shaving skin condition. In the particular case of men, the act of shaving removes dead and old cells from the surface of the skin, and that removal gives the feeling of smooth and silky tissue. In the situation of children, it is decreased resistance to the extent of factors such as the sunlight. More evidence exists of skin damage due to moisturizers than benefits.

Moisturizers can exacerbate dermatological problems such as acne, Rosacea, seborrhea and clogged pores. In the majority of people, dry skin is a temporary event most likely due to effects of external factors such as cold, wind, and sunlight. The problem will be corrected as soon as the cause is removed and the natural process of skin restoration is in place. The skin has a well-known regular cycle that should be respected. The occasional and temporary use of moisturizer cream can be beneficial in those cases. Even in that type of condition, the use of moisturizer should be used for only a short period of time. The long-term use of moisturizers does not have any benefit in the texture, appearance or health condition of the skin. The health problems of skin restoration and skin rejuvenation are a complex process and need to be seen as such. Skin condition cannot be corrected with a simple application of one cream; therefore, moisturizers can be used with the right expectation and not with false claims.

The long-term use of moisturizers can produce three important adverse effects: addiction, sensitivity and even an acceleration of the aging process. This addiction results from the use of the moisturizer can give a false sensation of improvement of dryness. The moisturizer over the skin masks the defect and problems of the skin; but as the moisturizer dehydrates and evaporates, the skin again becomes exposed and the defects are even more severe because, in fact, the moisturizer has not changed anything on the skin's structure.
Several scientific studies demonstrate that women who are dependent on moisturizers have more sensitive skin, showing signs of age and more prominent wrinkles.

The answer for a smooth, silk and health skin is definitely not the use of moisturizers but a good exfoliation and nutrition of the skin. The perfect exfoliated and well nourished skin gives the feeling of a smooth skin program is what a patient needs. This well conditioned and healthy skin can be obtained with the use of new mechanical procedures such as Vibraderm and new chemical products where modern delivery systems are able to delivery products such salicylic acid, vitamins C and E, and other powerful anti-oxidants. The combination of mechanical and chemical approaches really produces the quality skin a patient expects.

At the light of the today's scientific data the ideal skin care will be accomplished with morning anti-oxidant products and a good sun protection. If make-up is desired, mineral make up should be used. At night, only skin treatment with anti-inflammation products such as salicylic acid and natural anti-oxidants such as grape seed extract, CoQ10, Vitamins, etc. The other skin problems could be treated with occasional non-traumatic mechanical exfoliation combined with skin chemical conditioning systems, but at the modern treatment there is no place for moisturizers!

Skin does not need moisturizers; skin needs exfoliation, nutrition and protection. Please, come for a few consultations and learn what the new SEDA SKIN CARE LINE can do for your skin,

Best Regards,

Dr. Alex DeSouza
Ps: Free Vibraderm with the purchase of the new SEDA SKIN LINE.