Posts Tagged ‘hyperpigmentation’
March 26th, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
It is not only what you should do. it’s more important what you shouldn’t do. Say “no” (big ones) to the following UV: wear sunscreen! No to suntan. No to sunbeds (who invented those)? Oxidants: no to benzoyl peroxide! Don’t over-peel. Your skin barrier is precious Why not? UV, oxidants (ROS*) break your cell’s DNA and cause mutations. They also break proteins and polysaccharides, they damage cell membranes. In short, they damage and kill. “Over-peel” will denude your skin of its skin barrier, its “raison d’être”, the reason for its existence, which is to separate the body from the environment. Peel and peel and then there is a continuity between…
December 19th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
KIEHL’S Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution Ingredients: Water, Propylene Glycol, Glycerin, Denatured alcohol, PEG/PPG/Polybutylene Glycol-8/5/3 Glycerin, Hydroxypropyl Tetrahydropyrantriol, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, PPG-6-Decyltetradeceth-30, Phenoxyethanol, Salicylic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Potassium Hydroxide, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Lavender Oil, Disodium EDTA, Adenosine, Linalool, Butylene Glycol, Tocopherol, Chinipi (Japanese orange) Peel Extract, Paeonia Suffruticosa (Mudan or Moutan or tree peony) Root Extract. In this relatively short ingredients list, you will find solvents (denatured alcohol, water, propylene glycol, butylene glycol), pH adjusters (Potassium Hydroxide, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate), fragrance(lavender oil, Linalool), thickeners (Xanthan Gum, Hydroxyethylcellulose), emulsifier (PPG-6-Decyltetradeceth-30), humectants (PEG/PPG/Polybutylene Glycol-8/5/3, glycerin), preservatives (Phenoxyethanol), It may help: orange peel extract contains nobiletin. Better? Skin…
May 19th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
The basics of skin pigmentation are the same for different skin colors. Here they are. My skin color is different from my daughter’s. In fact, all skin colors are different, because there are infinite combinations of amounts and types of pigments present in human skin. The color of our skin is partly due to the pigment called melanin. Other factors are the content of diet carotenoids, the bluish-white color of connective tissue, and the abundance of blood vessels in the dermis and the color of blood flowing in them (oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin). Other minor pigments (minor unless you have a bruise) are bilirubin (the yellow hemoglobin degradation product that colors…
September 19th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Remember: All protective mechanisms in the skin are interconnected and regulated by redox-dependent processes. What is glutathione? Figure: glutathione (a.k.a. γ-L-Glutamyl-L-cysteinylglycine), with that all-important SH group. When oxidized, two glutathione molecules are joined together to make a S-S bridge. L-Glutathione (gamma-L-Glutamyl-L-cysteinyl-glycine) is a tripeptide composed of the amino acids L-glutamine, L-cysteine, and glycine. Glutathione is part of the antioxidant defense system of the cell, together with superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutharedoxin, thioredoxin, alpha-D-tocopherol (vitamin E), ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and others. GSH protects cells by neutralizing (i.e., reducing) Reactive Oxygen Radicals (ROS*). This conversion is illustrated by the reduction of peroxides: 2 GSH + R2O2 → GSSG + 2 ROH (R…
July 22nd, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
A burn by any other name is a burn. Plasma sounds so scientific, it has been used before to baptize old skin care products. But those products did not burn your skin! Show me the research! It does not exist. But “plasma pens” are available to hurt your skin and some people are ready to pay for this experimental “treatment”. Once again, women will pay for damage done to their skin and hair, just as they have done for decades (centuries)? Would you pay a stranger for burning your skin? Women do. “Health Canada is advising consumers that plasma pens (also known as “fibroblast” devices), promoted for cosmetic skin treatments…
May 8th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
You may think that drastic interventions like cosmetic surgery, collagen injections and laser are the way to improve your skin, but there are alternatives. With drastic intervention comes a high risk of messing up your skin. Before you take that path, make sure you try the route that involves coaching your skin into making the changes with the help of the actives that we at Skin Actives can provide you. One example? After a couple of months using our Vitamin A Cream and Collagen Serum, you may not need blepharoplasty (look it up in Wikipedia, but skip the horror movie photographs!). Not only is the cost extremely high ($5,000 or…
September 25th, 2015 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Check out this new video of Dr. Hannah Sivak’s TCA Peel on YouTube. It demonstrates how to properly use our TCA Spot Peel Kit and the amazing results we achieved when we treated her sun spot last month.
February 9th, 2015 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
The basics The color of our skin is partly due to the pigment called melanin. Other factors are the content of diet carotenoids, the bluish-white color of connective tissue, and the abundance of blood vessels in the dermis and the color of blood flowing in them (oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin). Other minor pigments (minor unless you have a bruise) are bilirubin (the yellow hemoglobin degradation product that colors bruises) and the complete sequence, which includes hemoglobin to biliverdin to bilirubin to hemosiderin. The different skin colors among individuals and races do not reflect major variation in numbers or size of melanocytes, but rather different kinds and amounts of melanin produced by…