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Why you need an eye cream + how to shop for one

The skin around the eyes is up to ten times thinner and more delicate than the rest of the face, therefore making it vulnerable to the effects of sun exposure, environmental pollutants and glycation. As we age, oxidative stress generated from sun exposure, environmental elements/pollution, and glycation produce destructive structural changes that favor collagen degradation.

The under-eye skin, lids and surrounding skin is extremely thin, with the lowest elasticity, firmness, and oil production, the worst barrier function (i.e. limited absorption of actives and poor protection from environmental stressors and often times develops the deepest wrinkles. Dark circles and puffiness usually come hand in hand and are usually caused by a circulatory problem in which the small blood vessels and  capillaries, as we mature, lose the ability to return the blood back to the system and tend to back up into the lymphatic tissue (which is called edema) where fluid is accumulated and thus causes puffiness. Sounds so encouraging, right? Well, we have some tips to help navigate through the sea of treatments to determine what is best for you.

Looking to target issues of puffiness and dark circles, choose an eye cream which contains anti-inflammatory fighting ingredients such as Arnica, Caffeine and/or soothing tea extracts.


“Everyone should be using an eye cream/treatment by the mid-twenties.” Dr. Goldfaden says 

Dark Circles

Visible changes under and around the eye area include hyperpigmentation or” dark circles”, some fine lines and textural changes due to the thinness of the skin from diminished levels of collagen production. Look for treatments which contain antioxidants and anti-inflammatory ingredients, including –  Red Tea/Rooibos, which has high levels of Vitamins A, C and E to ward off free-radicals and give an extra boost to collagen production and Arnica –  a plant that has the power to fade bruises, heal sprains and fight inflammation in different areas of our body, including under our eyes. By building collagen, the treatments help to minimize the appearance of dark circles that are in-part caused by blood vessels close to the surface of aging, thinner skin and reduce inflammation around the eye area.

Dark circles can be a result of dehydration, so using a deeply hydrating ingredient such as hyaluronic acid (which has the ability to hold up to 1,000 times its own weight in water) will help combat the appearance of darkness but also help with strengthening and plumping the skin as well.

Fine Lines

Retinol creams and treatments for those who can tolerate them, gentle can be helpful. Retinol can help to increase cell turnover thereby minimizing dark-circles and textural changes. They also can help stimulate collagen production thereby preventing volume loss and strengthening the skin.

Peptide-based eye creams often present an effective alternative (especially if you have sensitive skin) to retinol-based products. Peptide based eye products can be beneficial if you’re looking for an alternative to dermal fillers/plastic surgery or just for maintenance purposes in the interim. Peptides are designed to provide collagen-boosters to your skin and improve circulation, so you can often expect reduced darkness and an increase in skin plumpness and elasticity.

Puffiness 

Mild swelling or puffiness under the eyes — are common as you age. With aging, the tissues around your eyes, including some of the muscles supporting your eyelids, weaken. Normal fat that helps support the eyes can then move into the lower eyelids, causing the lids to appear puffy. One of our favorite ingredients to combat puffiness? Caffeine.

There’s a reason caffeine is often found in products that are meant reduce the appearance of puffiness. Coffee is chock-full of important antioxidants that can prevent or slow down the damaging of cells, therefore reducing inflammation in your body. Caffeine also works to reduce the amount of blood that accumulates under the eyes (a major factor that contributes to dark circles), so it acts as a double-power active for the eyes.

Shop Goldfaden MD’s eye treatments 

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Everyday Habits for Glowing Skin, Dr. G Reports

Spring is here, summer is on its way, and it is the perfect time to take extra care of our skin and prep for that desired summer glow. Healthy and glowing skin starts from within through exercise, a healthy diet, proper sleep, and there are also multiple things that you can do for your skin topically to keep it looking fresh and youthful-looking. With skincare, consistency is key so implementing healthy habits into your daily routine is the best way to reach your skin goals.

We enlisted Dr. G to give us the tips on how to maintain my soft, healthy, and glowing skin from the inside out.

What level SPF do you recommend patients to wear every single day, and why? 

The protection is all factored on the time spent in the sun. SPF, short for “Sun Protection Factor” primarily measures UVB protection. When one wears an SPF 30 for example, you could stay out in direct sunlight for 30 times longer before UVA/UVB damage occurs than a person with no sunscreen. This is how SPF factor’s are designated. However, this is dependent on the individual’s skin. The key to proper sun protection is the reapplication throughout the day. There is NO one miracle sunscreen that covers and protects you completely throughout the day. Everyone should be wearing an SPF 30 daily. When outdoors in direct sun or swimming reapplication is crucial.

A physical sunscreen is always better in my opinion than a chemical one. Chemical sunscreens, due to the nature of having to be absorbed into the skin, can interact and cause irritation rashes or clogged pores. Another downside to a chemical sunscreen is that the sun has to actually touch and reach the skin, whereas a physical sunscreen is blocking the UV rays from ever touching the skin.

A physical sunscreen contains physical blocking ingredients such as Zinc or Titanium oxide. Both of these ingredients sit on the surface of the skin creating a protective barrier from UVA and UVB rays. They are white in color and work immediately on application. Another type of Physical block can be clothing.

What are some of the best types of food to eat for healthy skin, and what are the benefits of each?

Eating fried foods, processed foods and sugar can wreak havoc on your skin causing puffiness, redness, blemishes, blotchiness, and in all cases Glycation. The Glycation process is sugar (from food and alcohol) breaking down the collagen fibers in the skin and speeding up the aging process – think premature wrinkles and loss of elasticity. Eating ‘superfoods’ will benefit the internal health as well as the external glow. 

Salmon: rich in Omega-3 fatty acids is none of the most beneficial due to its ability to greatly reduce inflammation and dryness and increase circulation – a key attribute to healthy, youthful-looking skin.

Fermented foods: Think kimchee, sauerkraut or pickled vegetables. These foods contain probiotics which help keep the gut healthy.  A healthy gut helps the digestive system and immune system. Probiotics have been shown to help with skin issues such as eczema, rosacea, acne and aging skin.

Foods rich in antioxidants:  Leafy green blueberries, blackberries, avocado, broccoli, nuts. These all contain high levels of antioxidants which are crucial for overall help and fighting off free radical damage.

Does eating ‘healthy fats’ really have an impact on skin health, why or why not? What are some of the best food sources of these healthy fats?

YES. Eating foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids like salmon, avocado and almonds can greatly reduce inflammation, reduce dryness and increase circulation – a key attribute to healthy, youthful-looking skin. 

In general, if you had to pick, what are the top ingredients to use for healthy, glowing skin? 

The best thing you can do for your skin is exfoliate. As humans age the rate of skin cell turnover slows down dramatically. Dead cells on the skin’s surface hang around much longer, a fact that tends to accentuate those fine lines and make your complexion look dull and lifeless. By removing these dead skin cells, exfoliation helps make up for the gradual slowing down of the natural skin renewal process, improving the tone and texture of the skin. Removing dead and damaged skin cells on the surface allows the fresh new skin underneath to become visible. This newly exposed layer of skin feels much softer and smoother. Its surface reflects light better, making fine lines and other small imperfections harder to see. Age spots and other areas of unwanted pigmentation are less noticeable because the dead skin cells containing the pigment have been removed. Exfoliation unplugs clogged pores and allows for the release of natural skin oils. Regular exfoliation also helps to maintain open pores, decreases pore size, and minimizes many types of superficial scarring. In addition, removing the top layer of dead and damaged cells allows other health-promoting agents such as moisturizers, antioxidants, and collagen-boosting ingredients to better penetrate the skin and work more effectively.

One of the benefits of Doctor’s Scrub is that it delivers our signature  ‘Goldfaden Glow’. Ruby Crystals are used because they are perfectly round and have no jagged edges, which can cause irritation or broken capillaries. Targeted hydrating emollients Hyaluronic Acid, Jojoba Oil and Apricot Kernel oil are incorporated to hydrate and nourish the skin.

Vitamin C:

Vitamin C has the ability to revitalize aging skin due to its ability to stimulate collagen production in the skin while also helping to block the enzymes that break down collagen.

Red Tea:

One of the most important existing antioxidants is Red Tea or Rooibos which contains some of the most potent natural antioxidants known for protecting your skin from the free radical damage that can cause aging. These include vitamins C, E and beta-carotene. Red tea is known to possess 50 times the antioxidant capacity of green tea due to a high concentration of a special enzyme called superoxide dismutase (SOD for short), a major scavenger of free radicals. The combination of these natural vitamins and enzymes found in red tea aids in promoting new skin health after the removal of dead and damaged cells, giving your skin a smoother, brighter, and healthier appearance. In addition, red tea also contains a number of powerful polyphenols and flavonoids that help heal and rejuvenate the skin.

Aspalathin (found only in red tea) and nothofagin, are two main flavonoids that can help strengthen your capillary walls by decreasing the permeability and fragility of veins and lymph vessels. Flavonoids also have strong anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. In addition, the alpha hydroxy acid found in African red tea gently stimulates healthy cell turnover, leaving your skin noticeably softer and smoother. Red tea also contains zinc which helps heal and cleanse impurities while delivering calming and soothing benefits to the skin. Regular and continued use of red tea with its antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties will visibly improve skin clarity, brightness, tone and texture. Red tea helps reduce the appearance of many types of skin imperfections, including fine lines, acne scars, and dark spots, resulting in younger, healthier-looking skin.

Hyaluronic Acid:

The volumizing effect it has on the skin adds vital fullness that can minimize facial wrinkles, plump up thin skin and maintain proper moisture levels by preventing dehydration in the skin. Our favorite obsession is our Needle-less product (say goodbye to fine lines, naturally).

How much water should we be drinking?

Your skin is made up of about 65% water (it’s the largest organ of the body), which means that you need to be hydrating your body all throughout the day. I’m sure you’ve heard this way too much, but drink lots of water! Most people are not consuming enough water every day (8-10 glasses on average), but water is a necessary nutrient for healthy, glowy skin. Make sure that you are not allowing yourself to get dehydrated and drink multiple glasses throughout your day. Fill up a large water bottle or fill up your favorite glass many times, and drink that water! Your complexion will show!

What are some tools that we can be using at home? 

Dry brushing your body is a great way to stimulate your lymphatic system and drain waste to smooth the skin. The mechanical action of dry brushing is wonderful for exfoliating dry winter skin. It also helps detoxify by increasing blood circulation and promoting lymph flow/drainage. Dry brushing unclogs pores in the exfoliation process. It also stimulates your nervous system, which can make you feel invigorated afterward. It’s also excellent for exfoliation by sweeping away dry patches of skin, and can even smooth cellulite. Our favorite is Goop dry brush!

 

 

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Painless Injections: Alternatives To Needles

If you’re not ready for a lift, injection or overall tweak to your complexion, advancements in skincare formulations and ingredients mean that there are plenty of viable topical alternatives you can add into your skincare routine that rival in-office treatments geared for lifting, plumping and smoothing the skin. We sat down with Dr. G to learn more about how to obtain that youthful-glowing complexion without any needles.

If you don’t want to try injectables yet, what sort of effect will products alone have?

Anti-aging, plumping, filling serums will cause the skin to feel tight, fuller and diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. A topical serum is a great place to start of you’re unsure about getting an injectable.

Why do you think some women are still choosing to find results from their product over injectables? What are the pluses when it comes to products?

Many of my patients over the years have been afraid of needles or simply putting anything foreign into their bodies. This lead to creating our Needle-less serum. The pluses from choosing to use a topical product versus an injectable are anxiety, foreign ingredient in the body, price, bruising, possible over use of an injectable resulting in a frozen or, waxy or “overdone look”. In rare instances allergic reaction may be a deciding factor. However, for the most part injectables when performed by a professional are very very safe and allow people to look and feel their best. For optimal results in targeting fine line and wrinkles, I would recommend both anti-aging injectables and topical products. Topical products will help with maintenance between treatments and will allow the effect to last longer.

How long do you need to use them for to see results?

Topical products generally take 6-8 weeks to see the result. These products have a cumulative effect and need to be used very consistently, usually twice a day. I always recommend using these in conjunction with exfoliation as the newer the skin the better the results.

Is there a type of delivery system that’s particularly effective?

There are many wonderful products/delivery systems on the market, but Needle-less serum is a water based serum which delivers Acetyl Hexapeptide and Hyaluronic acid directly to the surface of the skin. With continued use, your skin will reap the benefits of looking younger, feeling smoother, and appearing more radiant. Ideal for all skin types.

What ingredient should you look out for if you want lifting/firming/smoothing/plumping?

  • Acetyl hexapeptide-3 is a powerful wrinkle-reducing peptide that works by hindering a signal protein called catecholamine that triggers muscle contraction, thereby relaxing your facial muscles.
  • Hyaluronic Acid helps skin to  feel plump, appear firm and diminish the appearance of fine lines and deep creases. Both found n Needle-less serum. CoQ10 is another powerhouse ingredient which helps protect skin from free radical attack and damage and my help the skin appear fuller and balanced.
  • Vitamin B3 is one of the most effective ingredients in reducing collagen breakdown while simultaneously increasing fibroblast production. Vitamin B appears in just two main forms: nicotinic acid (also known as niacin) and nicotinamide (also called niacinamide).
  • The ability of vitamin C to revitalize aging skin is largely due to its beneficial effects on collagen. Collagen is a tough, fibrous protein that is relatively inelastic and very strong. It supplies the basic framework that gives your skin its form, firmness, and strength, while elastin provides flexibility. Fortunately, topical vitamin C has been scientifically proven to help stimulate collagen synthesis. It also helps block the production of enzymes the break down collagen, making it one of nature’s most effective anti-aging nutrients.
  • Plant-based stem cells contain high levels of active proteins, which work topically to regulate the stem-cell division in our skin cells. They essentially act as a massive protective barrier for the skin to allow our cells to regenerate at a healthy speed without being compromised by external factors including pollution and UVA/UVB rays. They aid in the reduction of the appearance of wrinkle depth, the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, an even complexion, plumper appearing skin and the longevity of healthy human skin cells. Some of my favorites to formulate with (found in our proprietary PURFLORA complex) are Raspberry Leaf Extract, Comfrey Stem Cells, White Tea Leaf Extract, Garden Crest Sprouts and Birds of Paradise extract.
  • Retinol is a form of Vitamin A. Retinol can improve the appearance of lines and wrinkles and increases collagen production. Retinol delivers an overall tighter, firmer, plumper appearance to the skin.

Is there anything especially preventative you can do instead of filler/Botox etc?

  1. Protect your skin. The Sun is the number one environmental damage for skin.  Both UVA/UVB rays are harmful. Protect yourself by wearing a hat and sunglasses. Shielding your skin, head and eyes can help with sun damage and pollution-based aging. Always wash you face to remove the residue and makeup from the day.
  2. Eat a diet high in anti-oxidant rich foods such as leafy greens and berries and foods high in essential fatty acids (salmon and almonds). Stay away form foods that can encourage and cause Glycation. The Glycation process, which is basically, sugars (from food and alcohol) breaking down the collagen fibers in the skin and therefore speeding up the aging process. Foods that feed Glycation and cause inflammation in the body and the skin are carbohydrates, fried foods, sugar, fatty meats and alcohol.
  3. As you grow older, the rate of skin cell turnover slows down dramatically. Dead cells on your skin’s surface hang around much longer, a fact that tends to accentuate those fine lines and make your complexion look dull and lifeless. By removing these dead skin cells, exfoliation helps make up for the gradual slowing down of your natural skin renewal process, improving the tone and texture of your skin.
  4. Facial massage, gua sha, micro current, lymphatic drainage all can help the skin’s appearance.
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