To remove existing calluses, take a
shower or bath so that skin is soft and
pliable, then buff feet with a foot file, a
pumice stone, or a pad premoistened
with a cleanser, such as Kerasal Callus
Removal Cleansing Pads. Follow with a
cream containing urea, which "eats away
at and loosens up the dead skin cells,
and makes the skin really smooth and
hydrated," says Kathy Fields, an assistant
clinical professor of dermatology at the
University of California-San
Francisco.
You can find urea in Curel Targeted
Therapy Foot Cream (which smells of
coconut, since company research revealed
&
Aesthetic Surgery. The Cynergy is
similarly effective as sclerotherapy,
but
the latter can be more painful, depending
on the dermatologist's
experience level
with the procedure, she adds.
YOUR BIKINI LINE IS DOTTED
WITH RED BUMPS
The hair here often emerges from the
skin only to dive right back down. "The
skin thinks the hair is a foreign body like
a splinter, and becomes inflamed," says
Arielle Kauvar, a clinical associate professor
of dermatology at New York University
School of Medicine. Kauvar recommends
STRETCH IS FINE FOR YOGA
CLASS, BUT NOT FOR YOUR SKIN
When the skin is pulled during pregnancy
or weight
gain, "the collagen
and
elastin fi bers in the middle and deeper
layers of the skin literally get stretched
and probably
torn,"
says Dover.
"Microscopically,"
says Kauvar, "there
is no difference between a stretch mark
and a scar." Most creams are useless in
preventing
these scars from forming,
but Narurkar is convinced that the cult
eye cream Relastin,
which contains
antioxidants,
moisturizers,
and a zinc
compound,
can help by ramping
up
elastin production in the skin. Likewise,
that most women dislike peppermint
scents at night, when they're most likely
to apply cream). For a stronger treatment,
ask your doctor for a prescription cream
that contains 6 percent salicylic acid or
40 percent urea.
the majority of ingrowns. Every year or
so, a touch-up session may be required
to zap resilient strays. Many women
and fade pink stretch
prefer to wax the area because skin stays
smooth for four to six weeks, and the hair
grows back softer and finer. But Kauvar
early stretch mark. But once the marks
YOUR LEG VEINS LOOK
LIKE MAPQUEST
says waxing has the highest incidence
of ingrowns because not all of the hairs
the few things known to help. Multiple
sessions may fade marks by about half
in some people, Dover says.
"I don't care if you're a runner;
I don't
care if you cross your legs; I don't care
if you wear tight everything-90
percentish of unsightly blood vessels are genetic,"
says Seth Matarasso,
clinical professor
of dermatology
at the University
of
California-San
Francisco. Women with
extraordinary
foresight can help prevent
visible veins by dutifully wearing support
stockings and elevating the feet when
possible. For the rest of us, veins can be
masked with shimmering lotions, or selftanner, which minimizes color contrast
against fair or medium skin.
No creams exist to treat veins, but
you can render them invisible with
sclerotherapy,
in which a doctor injects
a soap or sugar solution into a vessel,
irritating it until it closes down. (Blood
is harmlessly
reabsorbed
into deeper
channels.) The procedure is by far the
most effective for clusters of spider veins
and mini varicose veins that are not
bumpy, and usually involves no more pain
than a few fine needle pricks, although
there is usually bruising for about a week.
At the recent annual American Academy
of Dermatology
meeting, information
about a new device called the Cynergy
was presented. One or two sessions with
it are very effective at targeting both
smaller spider veins and larger blue veins,
says Hirsch, president of the American
Society
of
Cosmetic
Dermatology
laser hair removal-though
it's costly; it
usually takes six treatments to achieve 80
to 90 percent reduction of hair and thus
are cleanly extracted.
"The root may
coil up under the skin surface when
a prescription retinoid applied daily for
six months has been shown to shorten
marks
in about
80 percent of women. Lasers that target
redness also can drain the color from an
have taken on a silvery color, pulsed dye
lasers and fractional
lasers are two of
the broken remnant snaps back," she
says. To help prevent ingrowns
from
YOUR LEGS FEEL STUBBLY
HOURS AFTER SHAVING
waxing, Fields
area thoroughly
The
suggests washing
the
with an antibacterial
soap the day you wax and the day after,
and then applying a cortisone cream to
reduce any redness.
Shaving causes fewer bumps and
ingrowns as long as it is done properly,
which means shaving with a liquid
antibacterial soap and a new razor: "An
old, draggy blade can implant bacteria
in the skin and cause inflammation,"
Fields says. (Save depilatories
for
elsewhere on the body; they dissolve
the hair just under the pore, leaving it
very short, and "ingrown hairs are more
common if the hair is less than a quarter
inch in length," Kunin says.)
But no matter what method you used,
if the bumps have already appeared,
work a scrub onto the outer bikini area
70 percent
of women
JUST
who
are
faithful
razor users, according
to a
Schick survey, can eke out an extra half
millimeter
or so of closeness
simply
by using a good shaving gel or cream,
says Fields. Follow it with a moisturizer
that contains
a soy extract
to slow
down hair regrowth and a self-tanner,
such as Aveeno Continuous
Radiance
Moisturizing
Lotion, to decrease the
contrast between skin and dark hairs.
Laser hair removal
helps prevent
many follicles
from growing
new
hair. But those who don't want to
undergo
the
recommended
four
to
six sessions
have at-home
options.
Gillette is launching an Intense Pulsed
Light (IPL) laser later this year. That
and the Tria, a recently
approved
laser to be sold in doctors'
offices
to help exfoliate clogged, inflamed pores
(use your hands, not a loofah, which can
beginning
irritate skin or transfer bacteria, making
ingrowns worse), and spot-treat ingrowns
with a benzoyl peroxide foam or gel (one
is DDF Benzoyl Peroxide Gel). And avoid
shaving over the area, since that can
irritate skin further.
hair with time and maintenance,"
says Fields.
A third option
is the
No! No!, a device that uses a heated
clinical
this
studies
month,
both
wire instead of a laser to singe
on contact and reduce hair growth
the long term.
"have
and will slowly remove
hair
over
(continued on page 263)
217
DECENT EXPOSURE
(Continued from page 217)
STUBBLE ON GEORGE
CLOONEY IS SEXY-ON
UNDERARMS,
A fresh
razor
YOUR
NOT SO MUCH
blade can make
all the
difference. "Many people let the same
damn razor sit in the bathroom for days,
weeks, months,"
Fields says. "To get
a really clean shave, it should be a new
blade, so go to Costco and buy them
in bulk. Shave once with it, and throw
p:
it away." Hang a nonfog mirror in the
shower so you can see any missed spots.
lu The closest shave comes from drawing
the razor against the direction of growth,
:/. says Kauvar, which usually means shaving
:1:
;:J'
f...
:s
upward
on the underarms.
(Though
this can cause irritation and ingrowns.)
A twice-daily layer of the prescription
hair-minimizing cream Vaniqua will slow
growth further, but Hirsch has just three
words for those with a truly relentless
stubble: "Laser, laser, laser." Four to
six treatments
are standard,
but many
underarm-specific
patients are happy
sooner than that. Again, although the
results are unlikely to be permanent,
"most people get an excellent response
after three treatments,
because the hair
that does come back comes back finer"
and can easily be cleaned up with the
occasional swipe of a razor, Kauvar says.