Exploring a New Freckle Fighter

I was intrigued by a new freckle fighting cream called Elure.  There are  good clinical studies that it can lighten dark patches in 7-28 days.  Elure gets  its power from a type of naturally occuring enzyme derived from tree mushrooms.  Called legnin peroxidase, it acts by breaking down melanin  in the skin cells.  Unlike hydroquinone, this enzyme is non irritating  and shows no skin sensitivity.

We all know that excess pigmentation is linked  to sun exposure.  What is less well known is that as we get older there is an increase in dark spots and splotches due to a slowdown in the rate of cell growth. In our twenties cells turn over every 28 days.  By the 50′s, the cycle is extended to 45 days.  This means that darkened skin cells  get even darker and stay around longer.

I’ve pretty much eliminated  the dark spots on  my face and neck with lasers, IPL and a maintenance program of retinoids. But dark spots come back and I’m always looking for new  anti-freckle remedies.  To test them out I’ve identified some  pretty big freckles on my arms.  Now to be perfectly clear. I’m not really concerned  about how they look ( I’m not that vain).   But I’m glad that I still have freckles  to be part of my science project.

Elure is an unusual product in that its a two step  process.  In step one, you apply a dab of  active Melanozyme  from  one side of  the compartment in the Elure  jar.  Wait for a minute than top it with the same amount of Bio-Activator from compartment 2.   I’m going to do this both in the evening and in the morning.  In the daytime, I’ll top it with a zinc oxide sunscreen.

My before photo  shows a 1/4 inch freckle on my forearm.  I’m going to continue with the Elure treatments for up to 28 day, taking a new photograph every week.  This is going to be interesting.

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Does Everything Cause Dark Circles?

Apparently in addition to genetics, stress, age, salty foods, sunlight and skin type, allergies  can also trigger  dark under eye shadows.  I  had brought my dark circles under control with Triluma, a combo of Retin A,  hydroquinone and a steroid to keep things calm.  After three months of  use, you could see a real change.  However  Triluma can only be used for three months at a time and then  you need take a three month holiday before it can be used  again.  Its that strong.

In the meantime, I made sure to use a 20SPF sunblock under my eyes and avoided  pizza  and chinese food– two high salt foods– that were big dark circle triggers for me.   When my  three month Triluma holiday  was over, I  didn’t need  to  use it again.  

 I was feeling  pretty smug about  by under eye managemnt when the worst allergy season  in a decade hit the New York area.  And along with coughing and congestion,  allergies bring on  under eye shadows.  After  a few weeks of sneezing, my shadows came back in force.   ( see pix above)  Allergies cause blood vessels to swell, and under the eye,  swollen blood vessels  increase the red/blue   skin tones.  And  allergies are the gift  that keeps in giving.  In addition to  shadows that look like I haven’t slept for a week, the extra fluid  is causing  under eye bags.  If these  continue, the skin will become stretched out and the bags will be permanent long after the last grain of pollen has drifted away.  

Not to panic, I popped a Zertec  for allergies and plucked out  my trusty tube of Triluma.  But when I opened the tube, the once white  cream had turned a lurid yellow and it smelled like rotten eggs.  According to  my pharmacist,  sulfur is used as a preservative and the color and ssmell  indicated that the Triluma  had “expired” – their word not mine.  These things happen, but Triluma is $300/tube and  according to my calculations, I  had wasted about $270.  Instead of getting a new tube of Triluma I decided to try another  approach to dark circles.  Clarisonic which makes an incredible facial brush also has a serum in a unique delivery device. Called the Opal Sonic Infusion System it  promises to reduce puffiness and dark circles.  The serum contains a host  of effective antioxidants, vitamin C  and caffeine–the later known to constrict blood vessels.  Allergy induced dark circles are due to swollen blood vessels and caffeine  should encourge  these vessels to shrink back to normal.    Sounds plausable.

I am going to  try the device for a month and post  the before and after pix.  I’m asking alot  of  this little device to deal with under eye shadows  in an allergy season, but  I hope we’re both up to the challenge.

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The New Wrinkle Busters

It sounds  like a plot of a new Steven Spielberg movie, but its real.  Turns out that our fat is loaded with stem cells  and  that when injected into the face, stem cells actually encourage regrowth  for  healthy fuller contours.  I learned about this and other anti-aging techniques that are  just on the horizon  at a press event hosted by  cosmetic surgery expert Wendy Lewis.  One of the smartest women I’ve ever met,  she assembled a blue ribbon panel  of dermatologists and  surgeons to explain these new wrinkle busters at Waldorf Astoria press conference. 

Park Avenue plastic surgeon Dr Z. Paul Lorenc explored new fillers that  actually stimulated the growth of new healthy collagen.  So when the filler is gradually absorbed, the skin stays smooth and young because of  strong fresh skin cell growth that restores youthful contours.  Dr David Golderg, director of Laser Research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine discussed the role of lasers in cellulite control.  He explained that the lasers don’t destroy the cellulite, but rather tighten the skin, making the cellulite far less obvious– eg less jiggle; Dr Sidney Coleman who is associated with NYU-Langone School of Medicine focused on the benefits of fat grafts to aging, sun-damaged and scarred skin.  Not only do the  grafts restore normal skin  appearance, the benefits become better with time.  Research  indicates that the stem cells in the fat injection are stimulating the regrowth of  healthy tissue.  I was especially impressed by the use of fat grafts to cover up dark undereye circles. Dr Coleman has a grant  from the Department of Defense and he is  using these techniques to repair wounds that soldiers suffered  in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Its amazing to see  once flattened and distorted faces returned to normal.  And  just a side note-  cosmetic surgery techniques that we use today  to turn back time, were originally developed  after World War I  as doctors struggled to repair disfiguring wounds.

But keep in mind that NONE of these new anti-aging developments are legally approved in the US and are still waiting for FDA approval.  ( They are found in other parts of the world and that’s a topic  for another post)  And be aware that non-MD’s are pouring into the field offering   all sorts of anti-aging injections and a wide variety of unapproved techniques.   To avoid dreadful complications ( there were some pretty awful photos at the conference)  make certain you  get treated by a certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon.

And speaking of treatments, today I am actually going to Dr Lorenc for his  super cleansing hydro-facial.  I will post  before and after pix  next  Wednesday.

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My New Beauty Baseline

I got a new high resolution facial imging photo from Dr Bruce Katz  at the Juva Medispa in New York City.  My original image was done with the Reveal   machine– and to be able to accurately judge changes in my skin, I needed to get a new baseline photo from the same machine that I would be using to chronicle the differences anti-aging treatments will make. Equally important, these photos will be “read” by  the same expert  pair of eyes.

The  new photos done on the Visia imaging machine  also provides more information about dark spots, pores, wrinkles and texture.   According to Dr Katz, “the ultra violet light allows you to see what can’t be seen”.  Dr Katz   recommends  that women from 20-80 get a baseline facial imaging to assess the health of the skin– and spot potential skin cancer areas  long before they become a real problem.  Dr Katz  provides this service as part of the care at his skin and laser center (juvaskin.com).  If you want to find  out  where to get facial  imaging in your area, send me your  zip code and I will locate the nearest one to your home. 

My new photos were both interesting and encouraging.   The yellow circles are the computer pointing out areas of greatest sun damage that can be measured later.   The darkened areas over  my eyes look  like some kind of permanent smoky eye make-up.   For my age I am in the 79th percentile for age spots and 97st percentile for wrinkles.  This means that out of 100 women, I have fewer age spots than 79% and less wrinkles than 97% of women.  Remember that these good numbers are after a year of Retin A, IPL and various lasers for spots and hair removal.  I wish I had known about this tool before starting my anti-aging project, but I still have  many options to explore.  First on my list is  my big girl Retin A. I have been putting off starting it, but now I’ve run out of excuses.  In about eight weeks, I will return for another UV photo to check for improvements.

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Measuring Tri-luma

Looking  at my facial imaging photos  ( posted on Oct 8), I saw that that there were two  dark patches under my eyes–  also known as  under eye shadows.  It showed that this was not from indentation creating dark hollows, but true accumulations of sun damage and melanin.  That’s the bad news.  The good news?  This  is the job that Tri-luma was  born to handle.

I had  used Tri-luma last  spring and was pleased with the results, but  this triple powered crem cannot be used indefinately, so I had stopped using it for several months.  I also realized that dealing with  hyperpigmentation under the eyes is not a short term problem.  The cells which produced so much melanin have a very long memory.  They are born to make melanin and given  the right circulstances  — sun exposure and stress– the cells again fill up with  dark pigment.   

But this time, I have another tool.  I am  going to start using Tri-luma  again– first every other night, then slowly move up to every night.  I will use  this first facial imaging photo as a baseline and   over the next three months with Tri-luma, take  additional photos to see if the darkened areas have lightened.  I am so tempted to use Tri-luma under the right  eye and a non-prescription eye brightener under the left eye, but I think that sounds too much like a high school science project.

In my last go around with Tri-luma, I thought that I had seen real improvement and  the standard photos seemed to  show a  lighter, tighter area.  But these  are subjective impressions and I couldn’t say that there had really been a clinical improvement.  In other words, facial imaging will show if the under eye areas are truly lightened, or I am just delusional.

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How Long Can I Stay on Tri-Luma?

I’ve  had good results with Tri-luma.  The blue /black shadows  are pretty much gone, and the reddish blue areas are much much lighter.  However, the latter, which  are caused by leaking of the tiny under eye blood vessels, tend to reappear  with   things like allergies, jet lag and and, no kidding, chinese food. This week, I got an industrial strength migraine headache, and the next morning, the reddish shadows made a return appearance.  Not as pronounced as  before Tri-luma,  but the area certainly looked more shadowy today.  Do I  reach for my trusty Tri-luma.  Not so fast. I have been using Tri-luma off and on since March.  Label instructions advise against using it longer than three consecutive months.   Dr Marmur was pleased that  it worked, but  told me to try to take a three month break before using it again.  She knows that I like to  work on these shadows, but Tri-luma  can’t really be used as a maintenance product like Retin A.  It is a combo of  Retin A, (hydroquinone, a known skin lightener) and a steroid to keep things calm.  But steroids  can  be destructive if used  too much and that’s why  there’s a time limit on Tri-luma. 

I’m going to follow her advise , stock up on concealer and not use Tri-luma again until November.   Now that my skin is so comfortable with Retin A Micro, I wonder if I can use it on my under-eye rea.  Has anyone done that?

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Did Tri-luma Work? Judge for Yourself

I have been using Tri-luma about 3X a week  since  the middle of May.  As you can see from the photos, there is a real difference in the before and after photos.  Before Tri- luma  I had  two types of shadows– greyish blue shadows  and reddish areas.

After  about a month I was really happy to see the greyish blue circles  had faded away and the  reddish tones  were  much lighter and easily hidden by a dab of concealer.  Then just  as  I was about to proudly take  some  “after” photos,  a bad allergy season hit  and the dark circles made an encore  appearance.   The allergy congestion caused the tiny blood vessels under the eyes to leak,  producing more  reddish- blue shadows.  After a trunkful   of allergy sprays, pills, and rinses, the allergies cleared up  along with the  dark undereye circles.I was about to  take some photos to secure my under eye circles bragging rights when the morning after  a “ wild”  book club I could see the reddish circles were back.  –more leakage from tiny under-eye blood vessels.

With the allergies under control and no more book club meetings until the fall, my undereye circles stayed away long enough to take this after photo. So what did I learn?  I can see  certain improvement after  four weeks on Tri-luma — the trick is holding on to these improvements.

I suspect that the  greyish bluish circles were  melanin deposits.  Tri-luma breaks down and prevents new melanin formation.  I helped things along there by  diligently applying an  eye area  concealer with 25SPF to discourage sun-induced  melanin.  The reddish blue areas were signs of leakage from tiny bloodvessels in the area. While Tri-luma did seem to breakdown the hemoglobin causing the discoloration, the underlying conditions which caused the problems, were not always under my control.  Allergies, alcohol, stress, and even chinese food and the reddish circles came back. 

Fillers like Juvederm  can be injected into my under eye areas to both fill in the hollows and create a barrier between blood vessels and the paper thin under eye skin.  This means the leakage from tiny vessels will  just not be visable.   I’m not sure I’m going to take this step, but its nice to know the option  is there.

I’m planning to keep using Tri-luma 2- 3X a week to keep shadows at bay.  According to package guidelines, Tri-luma is not a maintenance  product like Retin A.  I’d like  to keep using it,  but I need to OK this with my dermatologist. 

 Tri-luma worked   nicely for me, but it may not be for eyeryone.  In some people, there can be a darkening of the  skin, the opposite of what you’re  looking for.  If you use Tri-luma under doctor’s supervision, you’ll be fine.  Since its available only by prescription, you really don’t have much choice.

I’d really like to hear about your experience with Tri-luma  Did  it work?  How long did you use it?

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A New Treatment for Dark Circles

After a pretty long wait, my Tri-luma finally arrived from the Canadian pharmacy.  Last night I dabbed on a bit for a patch test.  This morning there was no redness or irritation, so I’m going to apply it tonight.  To prevent irritation, I’m going to start  out every other night.  I’m a little nervous.  Eye tissue is very delicate and I already  had a problem  with an over the counter product  that promised  to “brighten” the eye area.  I don’t know  how you would define “brightness”, but red and swollen doesn’t work for me.

The package insert says to use Tri-luma for more than 8 weeks.  I should see some visable signs in four weeks.  If there is no change I am going to assume that Tri-luma is not going to work for me.

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Stubborn Dark Circles

I have been using two eye care products for about a month and neither has made a visible difference. In the morning I applied a roller with caffeine and at night I used a cream with AHA’s.   My shadows are still there and the slight bagging under the eyes  actually seems a bit worse. So when a dramatic looking package at Sephora  caught my attention, I was hooked.  Called Hylexin,  the box had a photo of  a young woman  with a football players black smudge under  her eye.  The box copy said that this product was for’serious dark circles’ (hence the name) and not for dark circles  that  ’pop up in the morning and are gone by breakfast ’ . 

Directions on the box said  to do a patch test on my arm.  I opened the tube and was rocked back by a heavy fragrance.  I hesitated a moment, took a breath and applied a small amount on my  arm.  Very quickly the spot  felt warm and a bit itchy.  I opened the brochure to read more about Hylexin, but instead of information about the product, it was an flyer for other products from the manufacturer.  Apparently the company was very proud of an item  called ” Boob Job in a Box” .  I don’t know about you, but I have a problem  taking  skin care advice from a company that  sells “Boob Job in a Box”.  Between the  heavy perfume, itchy patch test  and the Boob Job thing, I decided that I did not want to put this product anywhere near my eyes.  I packed it  up, found my sales slip  and plan to take it back today for a refund.

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Stress and Under Eye Circles

It happens to all of us.  When we don’t get enough sleep, catch a cold, work 24/7 or deal with personal problems, the face in the mirror includes dark under eye circles.  It turns out that the body reads all these problems as “stress” and reacts by producing large amounts  of  a hormone  called costisol.  This creates a cascade of changes in the body  that includes  higher blood pressure, a slowdown in cell growth and an increase in heart rate.  Under the eyes, dark circles become  more pronounced.  This is because cortisol increases leaking from tiny blood vessels and slows removal of  body fluids.  The result?  Fluids and hemoglobin build up in the eye area creating dark shadows,

Its really easy to tell people to relax and take it easy.  But while we are waiting  for the world to become an easier place to live, we all need a few quick tools to deal with stress induced circles  Here are three tips to try  until life calms down:

* After a rough night, put cold tea bags on your eyes for 5 minutes.  The caffeine in the tea will shrink wollen blood vessels.  Black tea works better here than green tea because it contains more caffeine.

* Cut salt intake.  Salt  retains fluids in the body that shows up as dark bags under your eyes.  Don’t add salt to your food and  avoid all processed food.

* Raise the headboard of your bed by 2-3 inches. This will encourage fluids to drain from the eye area.  You can do this easily if you put a thick paperback on each side. A nice hefty travel book is just  perfect.

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