2021 may be a thing of the past, but taking care of our skin is a lifetime priority. Improving your skin care is a great New Year’s resolution. Here are our top 6 dermatologist-recommended skin care tips for 2022:
- Get your Vitamin-D in a safe way
- Prioritize your body
- Take care of all of your skin (not just your face)
- Take care of your lips
- Find the right cosmetic treatment
- Optimize treatment results with the right products
Let’s dive into the details of each below!
1. Get Your Vitamin-D in a Safe Way
You’re probably thinking “I’ve heard this one before.” You’re right. However, protecting your skin from sun exposure is a skincare tip for 2022 and beyond! Applying SPF every day is an important aspect of your skin care. Whether the sun is out or it’s cloudy, chronic exposure to UV rays can age your skin quickly and may lead to skin cancer. It’s also no surprise that we’re going to suggest wearing protective clothing out in the sun when you can. Wearing long sleeves or seeking out the shade can help keep your skin healthy and smooth.
2. Prioritize Your Body
Taking care of your body is one of the top skin care tips for 2022. Understanding what you put into your body and how it reacts to the different foods you eat can help create a clear complexion. While many people are aware of their food allergies, there are other foods you may be eating, such as heavily processed foods, that can be affecting your skin.
Exercising is also an important aspect of maintaining healthy skin, but make sure to follow up your exercise routine with the appropriate skin care. Sitting around in sweaty clothes can cause more acne and skin irritation. The skin care benefits of exercising also include increased blood flow, which helps leave your skin radiant by making sure all of the nutrients reach every inch of your skin.
And last, but not least, when it comes to prioritizing your body, that means staying hydrated. You can hydrate your skin by drinking plenty of water and moisturizing daily. Moisturizing can be tricky though, so it may take some time to find the right regimen and products for you. Your dermatologist can help recommend different products that work well with your skin tone and lifestyle.
3. Skin Care Isn’t Just About Your Face
While it’s definitely important to take care of the skin on your face, it’s also important to take care of the skin on the rest of your body. Other areas that can age quickly include your neck, chest, and hands. Protecting these areas of skin, as well as including them in your daily skin regimen, can help improve the texture and complexion of these areas as well.
A new skin care concern popping up in the age of technology is called “tech neck”. Tech neck is when you repeatedly hang your head down and forward when on your phone or computer. This can lead to premature lines on your neck, which ages your skin more quickly. How can you avoid this? Focusing on your posture is the main way to prevent tech neck, but a proper skincare regimen can help you keep the skin of your neck hydrated and wrinkle free.
4. Take Care of Your Lips
With masks being a large part of our lives for the last two years, one of our top skin care tips for 2022 is to take care of your lips! While most people consider the extent of lip care to be applying lip balm, we’re here to tell you there’s more to it. Not only can dry, chapped lipsaffect the appearance of your lips, but they can hurt!
It’s important to remember to apply SPF to your lips as well. This should be applied every day, and reapplied regularly. If you are currently dealing with chapped lips, then you’ll want to use a light scrub to remove the dead flakes. It’s essential to be gentle when exfoliating your lips as the lips are more sensitive than your skin. If your lips are cracked and bleeding, skip the scrub and moisturize.
Following exfoliation, you want to use products that lock in moisture. Products that contain shea butter, beeswax, and white petrolatum will help lock in moisture to keep your lips soft. We lose the most moisture from our lips at night, so apply a lip balm before bed as part of your nighttime regimen.
5. Find the Right Cosmetic Treatment
While maintaining a regular skincare regimen is important, it’s also important and fun to try new cosmetic dermatology treatments as your skin changes throughout your life. Depending on your skin and skin care goals, there are many cosmetic treatments available to help improve skin texture and complexion. These include chemical peels, microneedling, and CoolSculpting.
Three types of chemical peels are used to improve the appearance of the skin – superficial peel, medium peel, and a deep peel. The superficial peel, also known as a lunchtime peel, uses a mild acid to penetrate the outer layer of your skin. This type of chemical peel is used to treat mild skin discoloration, acne, and rough skin. The medium peel penetrates the middle layer of your skin and is used to treat age spots, fine lines and wrinkles, freckles, and moderate skin discoloration. Vujevich Dermatology Associates does not perform deep peels.
Microneedling is a minimally invasive treatment used to treat fine lines and wrinkles, acne, and pore size. Microneedling is not limited to the face as it can be performed on the hands and neck. Microneedling uses the Bellus Medical’s SkinPen to create micro injuries in the skin. These injuries are small enough to minimize cellular damage, but still cause the body to stimulate the wound-healing process. As the skin repairs, the body produces more collagen, which creates a plumping effect on the skin.
CoolSculpting® is the only FDA-approved, non-surgical fat-reduction treatment available. Controlled cooling is used to target stubborn fat and can eliminate up to 25% of fat in the treated area. CoolSculpting® is not a weight loss treatment, but is used to eliminate fat in the abdomen, back, arms, thighs, and chin that has resisted exercise and dieting. The treated cells are frozen and then die through a process called cryolipolysis. In the weeks following the treatment, your body naturally processes these dead cells and eliminates them from your body.
6. Optimize Treatment Results with the Right Products
Skin care tips for 2022 aren’t just about what you put into your body, they’re also about the products you use. If you’re putting in all the effort to have flawless skin, prioritizing what you put on your skin is another important aspect. Vujevich Dermatology Associates provides a line of skincare products, Vu Skin System, to help you achieve your best skin.
Vu Skin System is available both in our offices and online. Vu Skin System has products for all of your skin care needs, from moisturizing to anti-aging. Products are also available to help with sagging skin or acne. These products are made by combining the science of dermatology with advanced absorption technology to ensure that your skin is soaking in all of the effects of the skin care products.
If you’re wanting to improve the texture of your skin and are unsure of the best skincare regimen or cosmetic treatment to try, our expert dermatologists can help. Vujevich Dermatology Associates offers medical, surgical, and cosmetic dermatology from some of the most highly trained physicians and clinicians in the greater Pittsburgh area. You can reach our team at 412-429-2570 or visit our contact page to see all of our locations. You can also follow us on Facebook to learn more skin care tips for 2022 and see what’s new in the world of dermatology.