Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Putting Your Best Face Forward


The Arizona hot weather has arrived!! We remember to drink more water in the heat, but it is also a good time to think about taking care of our skin. The most important thing you can do for your skin is to protect it from the sun.  You do not need extra time in the sun to make vitamin D—in fact, your risk of getting a melanoma from sun exposure is much higher than ever having a vitamin D deficiency from lack of sun exposure! Sun block should be applied every 2 hours when outside (that includes when you are in your car—the UVA rays, which cause skin cancer, still penetrate through car windows). Sun block that is in makeup or lotions are not present in high enough concentrations to provide adequate protection.  A separate sun block should be used. SPF 50 or higher is recommended.

Other skin care products can also help with aging skin or protecting against the effects of the environment:
·      General moisturizers that have petroleum based ingredients make a waterproof barrier and will help minimize loss of moisture from the skin.
·      HA products such as TEOXANE add water to the skin and hydrate.
·      Products with glycolic help to gently remove the dead skin cell layers, allowing the other ingredients to more easily penetrate the skin.
·      Plant based ingredients such as chamomile help calm and sooth irritated skin. 
·      Other antioxidants, when used regularly can help the skin repair sun damage and prevent some future damage.



Ask Dr. Bash and her staff for recommendations and TEOXANE specials!
Visit www.bashmd.com for more information

Monday, June 8, 2015

New FDA Warning for Facial Fillers

This weekend the FDA posted a new warning for both the manufactures of facial fillers, and for practitioners who inject the products. New labeling will include the following notice:

Warning: One of the risks with using this product is unintentional injection into a blood vessel. The chances of this happening are very small, but if it does happen, the complication scan be serious, and may be permanent. These complications, which have been reported for facial injections, can include vision abnormalities, blinds, stroke, temporary scabs, or permanent scarring of the skin. If you have changes in your vision, signs of a stroke, (including sudden difficulty speaking, numbness or weakness in your face, arms, or legs, difficulty walking, face drooping, severe headaches, dizziness or confusion) white appearance of the skin, or unusual pain during or shortly after treatment, you should notify your health care practitioner immediately."
Dr. Bash does all of her own injections--she does not have her staff injecting, specifically for this reason. Yes, it may cost a little more that at a medispa (and many nurses who do the injections do a wonderful job). BUT--can they recognize and TREAT a complication??
Make sure you know who is doing your injections and what their qualifications are. Who is the medical director? Where are they? What is the medical director's specialty? Can the medical director treat a complication? Be a smart consumer!!