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Clearing up skin myths
If only skin were as easy to clarify! Myth:
Shaving makes your hair thicker. Truth: Believe it or not, shaving has no effect on hair growth or thickness. The hair that grows after you’ve shaved feels thicker only because you’ve removed the thin tip and left the thicker middle portion of the hair shaft. If you leave it and let it grow for some time, your hair will feel thinner again.
Myth:
The wrong types of food can cause acne. Truth: This is probably the most common skin myth – many people swear that eating a whole package of chocolate-chip cookies makes them break out. In the first place, eating that much fat and calories will probably give you more serious problems than acne! Secondly, and more importantly, there is no solid evidence that certain types of food can cause acne. Factors such as fluctuating hormones, skin bacteria and genetics lead to an overproduction of oil, which is what can cause bad acne. For the ladies: sometimes your food binges coincide with the time of the month when your hormones make you more prone to acne, making you think food is the acne culprit.
A Slice of Orange is a newsletter designed to help clarify basic health information and offer juicy tips on uplifting your health.
Editorial team Alvin Delfin Christine Llenes Orange de Guzman, MD
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cne is a disorder of the pilosebaceous unit, which is found everywhere on the body and
is made up of a hair follicle, a sebaceous gland and a hair shaft. Sebaceous glands produce sebum, a substance that moisturizes skin and hair. Acne occurs when sebum, dead skin cells and bacteria clog your pores. There are two types of acne: non-inflammatory and inflammatory. Hair shaft Skin surface Sebum Hair follicle Sebaceous gland
Non-inflammatory acne: • Whiteheads – closed comedones; trapped sebum and bacteria are below the skin surface • Blackheads – open comedones; trapped sebum and bacteria are partially exposed to air; the exposed part turns black because it’s exposed to oxygen Inflammatory acne: • Lesions of inflammatory acne occur when the follicular wall breaks and white blood cells (pus) fill the pore. • Papules, pustules (the technical name for run-of the- mill pimples), nodules and cysts are all types of inflammatory acne – papules are the smallest, cysts are the biggest. Nodules and cysts are large and painful because they involve neighboring follicles.
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Myth:
Cleaning your face often can prevent acne. Truth: Facial dirt or oil does not cause acne. Actually, over-cleaning your face can result in irritation, which leads to inflammation that makes pimples worse. If you dry out your skin by washing it too often, your oil glands continue to secrete oil through irritated skin, which also worsens acne.
Myth:
You only need sun protection if you’re going to be in direct sunlight. Truth: Most harmful damage-causing, cancercausing ultraviolet (UV) rays penetrate through clouds, so protect your skin even if it’s a cloudy day. If you’re going to be in the water, it just might be worse because water reflects light, so UV rays can bounce off the water surface and onto you. Also, UV radiation can penetrate through the first 12 inches of water so staying under the surface might not help either. Think you’re safe under the shade? Sand and concrete can reflect UV rays, too! There’s nowhere to hide! Put on sunscreen!!! (We’re serious. Sunscreen. Now.)
Myth:
Cucumbers contain a special ingredient that reduces eye bags. Truth: It’s not the veggie itself, but the high water content in cucumber that helps reduce swelling under your eyes. Don’t worry though: there’s nothing wrong with continuing the practice of putting cool cucumber slices on your tired eyes (besides, the sight of you de-stressing your eyes this way is probably good entertainment for those around you!).
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Myth:
With the right skin regimen and products, you can make your pores shrink. Truth: Pores are not openings that can open and close, but they CAN stretch. Pores naturally enlarge with age. If you don’t keep your face clean, debris in your facial pores eventually expands the pore opening. Proper cleansing and exfoliation help remove dead skin cells to help keep the pores small – and clean. Avoid picking and squeezing your pores because these actions can stretch pore openings (and possibly lead to inflammatory acne!).
Need a good excuse for taking the day off?
SP 15 F
SPF stands for sun protection factor, a measure of how well a sunscreen blocks radiation from the sun. Make sure your sunscreen has an SPF of at least 15 (some dermatologists recommend SPF 30, so you might want to play it safe and buy a product with the higher SPF).
Tell your boss you’re taking care of your skin. This one’s not a myth: Stress CAN make your skin conditions worse. Stress can heighten inflammatory processes, which can aggravate acne, eczema and other skin conditions!
A slice of trivia What B word is actually the trade name of the toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria? This toxin is injected into facial muscles to make wrinkles relax and smoothen out fine lines. Freshen up on your researching skills, send us the answer at orange@activelink-consult.com and win a prize! From those with the correct answer, 12 people will win a 3-month subscription of Metro magazine, and 6 people will win a half-year subscription of MetroActive magazine.
We’ll include the answer in the next issue of A Slice of Orange.
Answer to last issue’s question: What antioxidant has been associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer? It begins with an L, gives tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables their color … and it was recently shown that it doesn’t effectively prevent cancer after all! Tomatoes have long been associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer, mostly attributed to its high lycopene content. Lycopene is an antioxidant compound that gives tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables their
Looking to enhance your corporate healthcare benefits? E-mail us at benefits@activelink-consult.com. The information in this newsletter is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Consult a doctor for all matters relating to your health, particularly for symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention. © 2007 ActiveLink Employee Benefits Made Better
ActiveLink Insurance Brokers, Inc. 104 VA Rufino Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City, 1229 Philippines T: +632 817 4606 / 817 7900 www.activelink-consult.com
color. US researchers reported early this year that lycopene doesn’t effectively prevent prostate cancer after all. To all men: this doesn’t mean you have to stay away from tomatoes. After all, you still need five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Just don’t count on them to spare you from the next rectal exam!
The Orang e wants to h ear from you!
Dying to ask us your health related questio ns? Itching to share your pe rsonal health tips? Want to sugg est topics for future issues? Feel fre e to contact us . You can e-mai l our team at orange@activ elink-consult.co m.