Halloween Makeup Safety Tips

By Teresa Zawada, aesthetician at Windsor Dermatology 

It’s that time of year again...Halloween. For aestheticians such as myself, this day isn’t just about candy and trick-or-treating, it’s also about advising our patients how both they and their kids can safely use Halloween makeup. Parents often ask me about the “safety” of using Halloween paint or makeup, especially if they have young children who want to be painted green as goblins or yellow as Sponge Bob. So here are some quick tips to help:

Using makeup is one thing, but when paints are formulated to glow in the dark, congeal like blood, or shimmer and shine, chemistry is throwing its weight around in formulations. In recent years, many companies have come under scrutiny for including lead, nickel and chromium as ingredients, but not labeling them on the packaging. Keep in mind, “expensive does not equal quality,” however, there are exceptions when it comes to Halloween makeup.   

If you have the option of buying 10 colors for $3, or one color for $3, opt for the latter. Make your purchase, take it home and do a few tests for yourself. 

First, you want to check if the product or the company has had any recalls. Secondly, you may want to test a small inconspicuous area on your body with the paint a few days before you need to use it.

 
If you are prone to allergies or have had allergic reactions to cosmetics or costume jewelry in the past, you may want to have an anti-allergen like Benadryl on hand. If you’re using the product on small children, spot test them as well, but also look for wording on the package such as “FDA approved,” “non-toxic” and  “child toy safety” ratings. This will ensure the product went through rigorous tests and if the product should get into the nose, eyes or ingested, it is not toxic.

After all of that prep, you were thrilled with the outcome, you were the hit of the party, and now it’s time to take off all that gook. For adults, use a gentle cleanser, I do not recommend mixing cleansers with active ingredients, but rather, using a creamy gentle cleanser with a microfiber cloth. For children, nothing is gentler than the old fashioned baby wipe, and with less water run-off, it’s more easily controlled when wiping their delicate faces. Proper cleansing at the end of the night will ensure that your face makeup will not make a new home in your pores, and you will wake up looking like yourself again!  

Happy Halloween!

Tips to Keep Skin Healthy in Cool Weather

By Dr. Brian Keegan

Do you find that your skin gets dry or itchy in the cooler months? It’s no surprise, living in New Jersey, and the surrounding states, we’re subjected to extreme temperature changes that affect our skin. The lack of humidity in the cooler months wreaks havoc on the skin. Luckily, there are several methods to prevent dryness, itching and inflammation.

To understand how to keep your skin healthy in cool weather, you need to think of it like a brick wall. Your skin cells are “bricks” that make up a significant percentage of the skin. However, if you stack a brick wall without any mortar, no matter how solid the bricks are, the wall will break apart over time.

Taking care of the “mortar” that holds the skin in place is integral to skin health in the cooler months. Amino acids, fatty acids, triglycerides and ceramides are some of the components that keep the skin cells together making the skin not only strong, but flexible. During less humid months, the skin can be dehydrated causing it to dry and crack. This often leads to itching and rashes.

When the temperature drops, I suggest moisturizers and/or barrier creams to help keep the “bricks and mortar” performing at its best. Some of the brands I find most effective at keeping the skin hydrated are CeraVe, Cetaphil and Aveeno. If the skin is really dehydrated, there are prescription barrier creams we can use to help get the affected areas under control, such as Hylatopic Plus and EpiCeram.  If necessary, we can also prescribe topical anti-inflammatory medication to help with the itch and irritation.

Here’s another tip for the cooler weather: Use sunscreen when you’re outside, especially if you’re participating in winter sports. Just because it’s cool outside doesn’t mean that the sun can’t dry out or even burn the skin. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends that when applying sunscreen, the SPF level should be 30 or higher to protect the skin from the sun’s rays.

It’s really easy to take good care of your skin in the winter months now that you know what to expect when the weather changes.

If you’re suffering from dehydrated skin, call Windsor Dermatology at 609-443-4500 or visit Windsor Dermatology to make an appointment.

October is Eczema Awareness Month—How to Avoid Flare-Ups

By Dr. Jerry Bagel

I am often asked by clients who suffer from seasonal outbreaks of eczema why their skin “flares-up” the minute the weather turns from warm to cool—and what they can do to proactively prevent this from happening. Fortunately, thanks to our growing knowledge base about this sometimes severe skin condition, we have many tools at our disposal to lessen, or in some cases, stop eczema breakouts in its tracks.

 

First, to treat eczema we have to understand what it is and what environmental factors contribute to its severity. Eczema is typically referred to as a family of skin conditions that leave the skin inflamed, irritated and itchy.

While eczema itself isn’t contagious, it does cause severe itching. Scratching could result in an open wound that may become infected. Some infections, like staph infections, are contagious and can develop if an eczema wound is left untreated.

So, what causes eczema to flare-up?

A primary cause for eczema flare-ups is what we call thermoregulation.  This means the body has been subjected to sudden climate changes indoors as well as outside. The cool weather reduces the humidity from the air, drying out the skin, causing eczema to flare. Household heaters in the winter drop humidity levels, which also create a perfect environment for eczema flare-ups.

So what can eczema sufferers do to prevent environmental changes from wreaking havoc on their skin? One way to control thermoregulation is by layering your clothing so that your skin isn’t subjected to significant temperature changes when going indoors or outside.

Stress is also linked to eczema flare-ups. When stressed, your body is reacting to a physical “threat” and it’s trying to protect the skin via the immune system, causing a flare-up. The immune system sends a concentration of white blood cells to the affected area causing the skin to become swollen, irritated and itchy. Obviously, stress is a part of mostly everyone’s life, but most patients find that there are many ways (meditation and yoga) that can keep their stress levels from going into the red zone.  Small changes in your routine, such as getting more exercise, building better sleep habits and finding ways to incorporate relaxation into your day, can have a very impactful effect on the severity of future outbreaks.

If you experience an eczema flare-up, we often suggest taking an antihistamine such as Benadryl to relieve the itch. It’s important to use moisturizing creams and mild soaps, like Dove, to help prevent the skin from drying out.  Also, when you dry off after a shower or bath, gently pat dry instead of forcefully rubbing the towel over the affected areas.

For more severe or persistent cases, we typically treat eczema with a prescription for a medicine such as a mild topical Cortisone ointment.

If you suspect you may be developing eczema, or think you are having a flare-up, it’s important to see a dermatologist as soon as possible. If left untreated, eczema can cause permanent changes in skin pigmentation. Also, the longer you’ve had eczema, the more challenging it is to treat.

Eczema is a disruptive and serious skin condition that can strike almost anyone at any time, but luckily, proactive behavior takes advantage of all we have learned about this condition, and enables the patient to control and manage it.

For more information about eczema or to make an appointment with a dermatologist, visit www.WindsorDermatology.com or call 609-443-4500.