In-Office Skin Care Quick Fixes [DermTV.com Epi #167]



So the phone rings, and suddenly you find out you only have three days’ notice for a really important interview or meeting or maybe a party or a date, and you just need your face to look its very best. In a previous episode, I discussed at-home quick fixes for problems like facial rashes, acne, dull skin, facial discoloration and lines and wrinkles. Today, for the same issues, I’m going to discuss what a visit to your dermatologist can accomplish in those three days. Let’s start with facial rashes. For that rash, whether it’s red or swollen or just bumpy, you’re going to get probably a prescription-strength cortisone or maybe even an immunomodulator like Elidel or Protopic to help that rash go away real fast. For dull skin, there’s nothing like a glycolic treatment or a microdermabrasion treatment to get rid of the dead cells and give that skin a luster, give it a glow. In addition, if you have acne breakouts, a glycolic treatment is going to be done again and again to get rid of dead cells but, this time, the ones that are helping contribute to the clogs in the pores. In addition, the acne pimples, the whiteheads, blackheads, the cysts, they’ll all be cleaned out to make them go away faster and make them go down sooner. You’ll probably wind up getting a prescription-strength topical antibiotic product to put actually on the pimples and you'll probably also get a prescription- strength product to put on it at night-time, again to help them go away faster. If you have really, really bad or swollen cysts, you may, under special circumstances, even get oral cortisone treatment for just a few days to help them go down much faster. Most lines and wrinkles on your face are helped by fillers immediately the same day you get the treatment. And for certain dynamic lines like forehead lines, frown lines, or even crow’s feet, the Dysport brand of botulinum toxin does its magic in just two days. You’ve accomplished a great deal in these three days but, don’t forget, you can also use the at-home fixes such as green-tinted foundation to help cover red and other things we discussed in that episode. Good luck and have a great time.