Looking for a cure for your ‘chicken skin’? Or wondering why you’re still getting pimples at age 30? Well, there are some beauty issues that are best left to the experts. Speaking to cosmopolitan.co.uk recently, London-based dermatologist Ginny Hubbard revealed some surprising truths about your skin and body that you never knew…
1. You can’t do much about ‘chicken skin’
“Keratosis pilaris are those red bumps that can appear on the backs of your arms and the only thing that helps it is gentle daily moisturising – I like using a product like Eucerin with 10% urea in – and a bit of sunshine, ironically. Don’t over-exfoliate; it makes it worse because it irritates it.”
2. There are two types of freckles
“There are freckles that people are born with – a freckly type of person tends to be pale with a family history of it – and then there are freckles that are sun damage. These people develop them from sun exposure and they tend to gradually appear over the chest, the upper back, shoulders, the face and backs of the hands. They do look different; sun damage freckles are often a bit irregularly shaped.”
RELATED: Learn to love your beautiful ‘flaws’
RELATED: All you need to know about keratosis pilaris
3. The average age to break out is 27. Yep, 27!
“Even if you’re in your 30s and wonder ‘why have I got acne now?’, the first thing is to get expert treatment, or at least advice, early on. I have a lot of patients in their 30s with acne. The average age for getting spots is about 27.”
4. Acne is not a ‘cosmetic problem’
“I’ve had some people come to me and say their doctor has told them that acne is a cosmetic problem and they can’t do anything about it, but of course it’s not – it’s a skin disease, like eczema or rosacea. The problem is that if acne is left untreated, not only can it scar, but it can also knock someone’s confidence hugely.”
5. Go easy when exfoliating
“Some daily face washes with gentle exfoliation are great, but don’t go for full-on daily exfoliation, especially if you have spots or sensitive skin. Heavy exfoliation can actually remove the protective layers of the skin, leaving you more prone to sensitivity.”
6. SPF 50 is a must
“The eye area is a common place to show sun damage and also to develop skin cancers because people don’t put their SPF high enough up. The lips are also often neglected – special SPF lip balms are a great idea, but try and get a high factor. Women, especially those with darker skin tones, quite often get pigmentation on their lips, a sign of sun damage that is very different to treat, so prevention is key.”
RELATED: 6 effective ways to exfoliate your face
RELATED: The best day creams with SPF
7. Look out for pimples that might not be pimples
“If something’s been there for months, you’ve tried to squeeze it and it won’t go, it could just look like a spot but be something completely different. It could be something harmless like benign fibrous papule. Or, if it is actually growing very slowly, it could be a minor form of skin cancer. So if you’ve got one spot that looks very different to the others and sticks around, it’s worth getting it looked at by an expert.”
RELATED: Do you know how to spot a melanoma?
Do any of these facts about skin surprise you?
You’re both so very normal! I had it so bad at the age of 25 I had to go on Roaccutane – which thankfully fixed it right up and for good. It was a relief!
I love how polaroid sunny’s make everything look so much prettier!
No not weird Trish! you were normal – and I’ve realised I was normal also! ; )
Yeah it’s interesting – I do wear a lot of spf lip balms but lately I’ve noticed a sunspot on my area above my lip on one side of my face so I must have missed a spot – literally!
Oh you are one of the lucky one’s Jannz!!
Yeh I’ve noticed they aren’t very common and quite hard to find! I do like Dermalogica’s primer which has SPF30 in it and I put that all over my face including my eye areas sometimes and it works great to protect my eyes area as well as my face in general.
I have some on my arms and legs and even my chest that doesn’t get much sun which I was born with. They Kind of look different to sun freckles.
Yeh I get like a bump thing occuring on one leg and foot etc and they come and go. I asked the doc and she called it something like a granuloma – sounds like a granny lump and that’s exactly what it looks like ! I’m just glad they disappear with a bit of time and a bit of filing with a nail file.
I find that if I put a suscreen too close to my eyes it can get in and sting. Some are definitely worse than others. If I keep the sunscreen a bit away from the eyes, it doesn’t get in and I avoid that horid stinging in the eyes issue. I saw your comment and just thought I should mention I had the same problem too.
Yeah and here I was thinking I was just a good ol’ late bloomer with my skin acne! I was, as it turns out, very average!
So sorry to hear snuggle. Glad that they get them all for your husband.
Yeah we’ve just found out today that a mutual friend’s husband has a brain tumor and he was a life saver and very outdoorsy so it makes me wonder if it’s come from his skin initially. Very sad. Guys generally didn’t wear as much sunscreen as women in my circle of friends. A guy across the street has lung cancer that started as skin cancer that kept coming back and he’s not going to be aroumd much longer I don’t think either.
Wow you were blessed !!! Incredible foresight that she had. I know my mum did her best with the coastal lifestyle that we had too. She’d make sure we had on our zinc across our noses, the umbrella up for us to play under and a t-shirt on us. I remember she’d wear one of those big billowy 1970’s hats!
Mine definitely peaked in my 2o’s and so at 25 I was off and running to my skin specialist – he was so good and got my skin back on the right track.
Mum was born in 1904 and she had 5 sisters. All lived to a good age and their skin, from simple but regular skin care was absolutely beautiful. She really was way ahead of her time in many ways and thankfully her knowledge has made my skin stay good into my ancient life!!! It helps a bit that ancestry was Scottish, mine adds a Grandmother born in Norway to that.
Thanks, softness – that makes me feel much better knowing we’re both normal although I’d defy anyone to define normal right now!!!! We will get back to normal I’m sure. Thanks for making me smile!!
Haha – note to self – times have changed and it’s six years later and lip balms with high spf are easy to find now! Yay!
It effected my confidence too and it was so bad it was just ruining my life (or so it felt) so I went to a skin specialist – I just had to get help back then- and it was the best thing I’d ever done for myself really – he put me on a course of roaccutane and he promised me it was a guarantee for my skin to be fixed. He made me feel so much better even from day one – and it was true it did fix my skin!
I’ve never had it but a friend from school I remember used to suffer from it but it didn’t really seem to bother her.
Haha yes normal is a broad term indeed!!
Ahh yes European! No wonder! Mine was similar but different: Mum is Dutch, Dad’s line is English but Dad was born in Melbourne. Mum came out as a refugee as a fall out from the World War – she was one of five – with 3 sisters and a brother. The eldest sister was 18 and in love with someone back in Holland so took off back to Holland as soon as they’d arrived in Australia. I’ve never met that Aunt! I’m currently doing my family tree and find this stuff fascinating! The photos I’m discovering are incredible!