Dr Sapna Skin

NAME CHANGE 🙋🏽‍♀️
- Some of you might have noticed I changed my Instagram name

I just felt like I needed a little upgrade and wanted to make this platform a little more personal!
Unfortunately whilst I’ve been in Australia I’ve had to cut down on any consultations I did so I want to just go back to posting skincare I love as well explaining some science behind new topics 🙋🏽‍♀️

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OLD picture from the autumn

First Australian skincare purchase 🙋🏽‍♀️

I finally visited to explore some new beauty brands! Great to see a lot of emphasis on sun protection for face and body. 🔆🔆🔆

The sun has been intense since I got here so my first purchase was Mecca Beauty to Save Face SPF 50 ☀️
Because of the heat my skin is a lot oilier than usual so I went on the hunt for a much lighter SPF and found one that works! 🙋🏽‍♀️

Warning ⚠️ this is a long caption but it’s such an interesting topic so take the time to read 🙋🏽‍♀️.
Continued in comments 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽

What is a Microbiome?
👉🏿 Your skin's microbiome is your personal environment that's made up of hundreds of thousands of bacteria, virus's and fungi. The microbiome regulates skin pH, water content and inflammation to aide the function of the skin. This is unique to each individual. The organisms each have roles to regulate immunity by releasing signals that upregulate and downregulate inflammatory cells to prevent other types of bacteria growing. Disruption to this microbiome is often seen in irritated and sensitised skin.
 
How do probiotics work?
👉🏽 Probiotics are formulations with living organisms, such as the bacteria, designed to support your microbiome. Although they are commonly known as a dietary supplement, these are now often added to skincare to encourage your skin to restore it's microbiome. The probiotics encourage the release of anti-inflammatory signals from the organisms to help restore the balance with other bacteria and ultimately aim to restore the skin's barrier function
 
See more in the comments 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽

How nice was this set up from a friends wedding a few weeks ago! ❄️ Featuring my “way too happy to be wearing a sari” smile 🙋🏽‍♀️

👉🏼 Dermatology outpatient departments were often overwhelmed even before the pandemic. Since COVID this problem has heightened further. This is due to a number of different reasons. Firstly during the first and second wave, referrals were greatly delayed. Patients were presenting later to their GPs because they often felt skin lesions were low priority or they felt they couldn’t get appointments. The burden on GPS are higher than they ever have been.

👉🏽 Delays in diagnosis from anywhere along the pathway lead to more severe presentations of skin cancer, leading to cancers and conditions that are more difficult to manage.

👉🏾 This short letter to the Journal of European academy of Dermatology highlighted some of the issues and possible solutions. It mentioned the benefit of Teledermatology, whilst it cannot replace full medical examination or dermoscopy, it can improve diagnostic time for suspicious lesions. https://doi.org/10.1111/jdv.17552

👉🏿 Whilst skin concerns may be low priority for some people, please don’t hesitate to seek help thinking that your issue isn’t important or it causes pressures on the NHS. It’s important to be seen earlier and get treatment if needed which is much more manageable by the NHS than more severe disease.

That’s all folks 🙃

Too much acid exfoliation?

🙋🏽‍♀️ I cannot be the only one who has gone a little over the top when it comes to as exfoliation. Especially in winter, when our skin begins to dry up, it’s really easy to get carried away. Every exfoliating product you see your promise bright glowing textureless skin. But does it actually work this way?

👉🏿 The short answer is yes. But only if you use it well. Over exfoliating and over using acids Will cause disruption to the outer most layer of your skin. It’s common to see dry patches around your skin and sore, red, irritated skin. This can lead to worse skin texture then you began with! It can also cause disruption to the barrier function of your skin. This means that your skin will no longer be able to fight bacteria and to retain moisture.

👉🏾 If you feel like your skin is getting too dry, cut back on the acid exfoliation and see how your skin does. Drier skin types often only need exfoliation once or twice a week.
Consider using more gentle products, I really enjoy the acids for this. The Pixi clarity tonic is a very gentle salicylic acid-based product. It’s the first one I tried that caused no dryness at all and it’s great for beginners such as teenagers suffering with mild acne.

👉🏼 If like me, you have too many acid products, don’t be afraid to use them up on some parts of your body. These when used twice a week also help with some of the post-acne hyperpigmentation I have on my back. I also sometimes use them on my legs where I get some ingrown hairs 🙋🏽‍♀️

📚Let’s learn about Eczema

👉🏼Eczema is an inflammatory skin condition that causes swelling between the cells of the top layer of the skin. It disrupts the barrier function of the skin, allows water out of the skin and infection into the skin.

📸 The images from this post are from Canva stock images or Dermnet.nz. Derm Net is a great resource for medical students and doctors looking for a wide variety of images for different Dermatological conditions. They also have many photographs of skin conditions in skin of colour 🙋🏽‍♀️

Typology Paris
I was kindly gifted a little set from Typology Paris . I feel like this brand is the French take on The Ordinary

This was the first time I’d used the brand but I felt like I’ve seen it all over social media lots. To be perfectly honest, the branding from this company really confuses me. They also use the work natural a bit too much 🤦🏽‍♀️ Scrolling through their website is challenging, there’s an overwhelming number of products so it’s hard to choose unless you’ve been recommended something. The serums I tried weren’t for me, the Ferulic acid serum was just too sticky for day time use for me.

Stand out product for me: Botanical mist: Silver fir seeds and organic green tea.
This product did partially feel like I was spraying green tea on my face 😂 but I really enjoy the role of a mist on my face and this definitely did the job.
It’s just hydrating and simple. It worked well with other products and serums. Great for the days where you’re not using an exfoliating toner.
Loses a star because the scent is very strong 🤷🏽‍♀️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ad gifted product -

This one isn’t about skin 🪔
Not dressed up today because we’re both at work but happy Diwali to everyone!
Here’s a photo from the summer from a wedding 🙋🏽‍♀️
Most of our celebrations happen tomorrow so we will be celebrating then ☺️ samosa 👌🏽 thanks for fulfilling all my Diwali pun needs

Being predominantly in a scientific community and culture, I didn’t quite realise how problematic this issue was.

👉🏾 “Clean Beauty” is a term that was probably initially created with good intentions but in recent years had been expanded to scaremonger consumers.

In medical contexts, there are lots of patients who are apprehensive to use medications for their skin or other concerns due to fears about “toxic chemicals.”

👉🏽 From speaking to clients, patients, friends and family, I understand how confusing the beauty market already is, and with added confusion about “clean” and “natural” beauty, consumers have no idea where to go!

👉🏼 Firstly, there is no such thing as “clean” beauty. All skincare is regulated to ensure safety. That goes for all the clean and “dirty” brands. The term clean has no legal definition in marketing, this means that companies can use it however they like.

👉🏻 Instead of falling for marketing tactics, take the time to think about what clean means to you, and what is it you’re looking for.

👉🏾 Please make efforts not to fall for marketing like “non-toxic”, “no nasties” or “natural.” These terms are often just utilised to capture attention without really meaning what consumers believe them to be. If you have particular concerns about products, contact the manufacturers to understand more about specific issues.

I felt like posting this today after being inspired by an incredible panel at House of Hirons. .somaskin . I had a great day with loads of insightful discussions thank you all! ✨✨✨