Summer Struggles: Stretch Marks and Cellulite

Hi, everyone. It's Dr. Ozzy here. Welcome to the more than a pretty face podcast. Hi, everyone. I'm Dr. Azadeh Shirazi, a board certified dermatologist and founder of OzzyMD skincare. I'm here today with my co host Nurse Lacey. Hi, everyone. I'm good. I'm not going to ask you about coffee. No, it's Monday morning. And everybody says that we talk about having coffee on every single episode. So no more. And I'm not going to say happy Monday either, because don't you like you see those people on Instagram? They're like, happy Monday, everyone. How are you? How is everything? And you're like, okay, get to the point just popping in. Is it me or our patients are just getting slimmer and slimmer and slimmer? Yeah, you know, what I was thinking is hearing all these things about technology and how technology is going to make us more efficient. So we have more time. But honestly, I feel like technology is making my life more efficient. But I'm also experiencing less time for everything. Yes, I do feel that way. Making everything go by faster. So anyways, but do you have a beauty and blemish? Guys, beauty and blemish is when we talk about the best things in our life, our beauty, and things that we could just take a real life concealer and just, you know, erase those blemishes from our life. So we're going to jump into that. Okay, well, my beauty is we spent what a weekend in Vegas for the Vegas cosmetic surgery conference. I think it's more like a week. But yeah, definitely felt like a week. Short week in Vegas. So I love that. I love that. You know, we got to bring Selena along this time. Yes. And it was very informative. So I love those trips. You know, I love taking the girls from the office, learning, you know, bonding, and just coming up with better ways to serve our patients better. Really, that's the point of going on these trips to just bring back valuable information that we can apply to our practice. I know. So when we finally get into the office, I have a quiz for everyone to see what kind of work animal you guys are. So stay tuned. I'll tell you guys all about it. But my blemish, let me tell you, you guys, when you're on vacation, when you're on a trip, when you're doing something you normally wouldn't do, that's never a good time to try something new in your routine. I thought it'd be a good idea to use self tanner as like the bronzer. You know, like I've seen so many TikToks. I thought it'd be so easy. I'm like bronzing and like contouring like with this self tanner. And they're even doing it on abs now. I saw somebody on TikTok, like sculpting her abs with self tanner. So contouring is huge with self tanner right now. It looks easy. It is not easy. And then by the end of the day, you know, my necklaces are like rubbing against my neck. I have blotchiness from the tanner. I looked a hot mess, you guys. I was wondering why you're wearing, you know, a turtleneck the other day. I literally was like, it's like July and you're walking around in a turtleneck. I couldn't get it off fast enough. It's so embarrassing. You know what I love for removing self tanners? What? Please tell me I should have asked. They are so great at removing self tanner. I use it all the time because, you know, after a week or two, especially if you get the, like the professional spray, it, it like starts to look really bad. So yeah, I use the clarify pads. It works great. But on the neck, you have to be careful. The next skin can be sensitive. Yes. Yes. Oh my gosh. So anyways, how's your beauty and blemish? Good. So my beauty is that, you know, my beauty is going to be the same as yours, which is going to Vegas, spending time with, with our team from the office. My blemish would be, oh my gosh, did you see that patient that came in the other day? The one that was like, had like a gauze and like a bandage, like on her face on the, on her left cheek there. I missed it. Tell me all about this. Oh, I don't know if you want to hear this. I do, especially even more now. Oh my goodness. Okay. So this poor teenager came in, she had been seeing these videos online of doing menstrual mask for acne. Stop. Don't go any further. I'm done. So period blood facial is a thing. Did you know that? Yeah, no. They need to listen to our podcast. We say no bodily fluids on the face and we really mean it. So apparently she had read online about how PRP, the vampire facial gives you this beautiful texture, smooths the skin, gets rid of your acne scars. And she figured, well, blood is blood. And you know, all these forums online about period blood, having micronutrients and stem cells and improving your texture and all these vitamins. So she decided that she was going to do that. And they actually sell, like you can buy these period blood collectors. Well, I think those are like a form of menstrual cycling. They're like cups. Yes, exactly. So you collect your menstrual blood in a cup and then you use it on your face. You apply the menstrual blood for 15 to 20 minutes and then you wash it off. I mean, I just can't. I can't even make this up. I can't. I have so many questions. So yeah, she's been doing that. The other thing that she said that people, her friends were doing is wringing out the tampon. Like all the blood. I'm sorry. I'm sorry if I'm ruining your day. So wringing out the tampon full of blood in the cup in order to use the blood on the face. So, of course, we have that famous image of Kim Kardashian with the blood, you know, rubbed all over her face. And these teenagers think, well, blood is blood, right? What's the difference? Well, it's not the same thing. This poor girl had an infection because she has acne breakouts. And when you have acne, your skin barrier is disrupted. And that's part of the acne disease is the disrupted compromised skin barrier. And unfortunately, menstrual blood also has bacteria and yeast, dead cells and a lot of impurities. And blood is also a magnet for growing microorganisms. So this poor girl developed an infection from menstrual masks. Guys, just go for the detox mask. I mean, if you want to remove impurities from the skin and have some medicated sulfur to help with your breakouts, that is what I would recommend. Please do not mix the two things together. Blood is not blood. The menstrual blood is very different. It's actually not pure blood. There's a lot of other bad things in there that you don't want to get on your face. Plus, there's articles that say, oh, it's rich in magnesium and zinc and iron. And there's been studies that show there's actually very little concentration of that in menstrual blood because it's really just shedding of tissue off the lining of the uterus. And menstrual blood is not, doesn't have stem cells. That's a big myth that people may believe. But there's really the only thing that has stem cells is a fertilized embryo that's in your womb or in the uterus, but not the menstrual blood. Just say no. So before we jump into our Ask Dr. Ozzie segment, I wanted to talk about some summer skincare. You know, Vogue just dropped their five do's and don'ts. Yes, I saw that. So I thought it'd be fun to see if you agree. Yeah, let's do it because I thought that was a really interesting article. Yes. So the first is choose a broad spectrum SPF. So what does that mean? So broad spectrum means that it blocks or, you know, reduces the UVA and UVB rays. So UVB rays are the rays that cause a burn. And really, when you see that number on your sunscreen SPF, it refers to UVB. Unfortunately, the U.S. sunscreens do not have a UVA rating. Now UVA is, are the rays that cause photo aging. They're longer. They penetrate deeper into the skin. They can actually come through windows. And then there's also visible light, which can cause some damage to the skin in terms of photo aging, but more so pigmentation and discoloration. So broad spectrum means that it covers both UVA and UVB, not necessarily visible light though. Interesting. All right. Number two, pick the right sunscreen for your skin. Yeah, this is a great one. So what types of skin? So there are two types of sunscreens, right? So there are sunblocks, which form a coating on the skin and they block the UV rays from ever reaching your skin. Those are things like zinc and titanium. And then there are sunscreens, which get absorbed into your skin and they transform the UV energy to heat and they dissipate the heat. So those actually have to be absorbed into the skin. That's why they say for sunscreens that are chemical, you need to apply them about 15 minutes before you get out there so they have time to absorb into your skin. If you have sensitive skin, I suggest going with a mineral-based SPF because it just sits on the surface of the skin. It never gets absorbed. And zinc naturally is anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial. It's a natural element. And I recommend that for if you have sensitive skin or, you know, if you have melasma, for example, you want to go with more of a physical blocker because the chemical sunscreens do dissipate a little bit of heat. Melasma-prone patients or those with sensitive skin may have some irritation from these sunscreens that are chemical-based. They have things like apopenzone, oxalate, and those can cause a little bit more of a reaction. The nice thing with the chemical ones, though, is that they rub in really nicely. They don't leave a residue behind. Nice. Number three, don't skip on applying your sunscreen. So how often should you apply it? Well, it really starts to wear off after a couple hours. So you really want to reapply, especially if you're out there on the water, you want to reapply every two hours. Now, if you're not really in the water, you don't have to reapply with the lotion because that's really the best protection. But you can use a powder, which is one of my favorite ways of reapplying. Like I love the Sunkiss SPF powder. It's just pure mineral SPF. If you have sensitive skin, the UV Clear is amazing. It only has four ingredients. I mean, talk about a pure product. It is purely an SPF. And I love that it's clear because you don't have a tint or anything, you know, left behind. The guys love it. And the guys love it because it's just a clear, you know, and it soaks up sweat and moisture. If you use the tinted one, it gives you a little bit of coverage. So it helps with shine and things. But that's my favorite way to reapply. Perfect. Number four, don't rely on your makeup for SPF protection. True. Yeah, you agree? Yes, I agree. SPF is highly regulated by the FDA. So SPF and makeup, really, you have to put so much on. You know that girl online, Meredith Roxbury, you know how she applies her foundation. If you apply your foundation like Meredith Roxbury, which is just, you know, half the bottle, then you might reach that SPF that's on the bottle. But you want to look for the drug facts on the back of the foundation. Now, if they have that, that means they've gone through the FDA testing and that SPF is sufficient. And you also want to get an SPF 30 or more. Nice. I am such a basic girl and I just simply use my Hydra Tint BB Cream. I stopped wearing foundation and now just wear Hydra Tint BB. I have it on now. I can't wear foundation anymore because it feels so heavy, particularly in the summer. A lot of times foundation is oil-based, whereas the Hydra Tint BB is water-based. So it has glycerin and hyaluronic acid. So it's lighter. And I think great for summer. I feel like it gives me enough coverage, just a little loose powder on top. And I don't feel like I need to wear any foundation. Yes. Okay. Number five, don't wear a low SPF. So do you agree? Like what should somebody wear at the office versus when they're at the beach? So again, you know, people get hung up on that SPF number, the sun protection factor. But it really only applies to UVB rays, that rating. Unfortunately, the US does not have a rating for UVA or visible light. If we're talking about being indoors and just damage from light that comes through our screens, our windows, our lights, then you really want to look for a sunscreen with iron oxide in it. The iron oxide is what helps attenuate the visible lights if you're going to be indoors. So it's not so much the SPF number because if you're inside an office, you're not worried about getting a sunburn, right? You're more concerned about photo aging than anything else. So go with a mineral-based SPF with iron oxide to really prevent the scattered light. Now, if you're at the beach, then yeah, you want to go with at least an SPF 30 or higher because at that point, you are concerned about getting a sunburn. And you know, it doesn't take long. Like if you're fair skin, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, and you could be having a sunburn, the problem is you don't know until you're sunburned hours later. And by then it's too late. It's too late. So I would say if somebody doesn't like to put on a lot of the sunscreen, like the amount, then go with an SPF, you know, 60 or 100 because even if you don't get a lot of the product on your skin, it's going to give you more protection. Not a lot more protection, but I find that the SPF 100 is useful for people who don't get enough of it on. Like for sprays, for example, I don't think people get enough spray on their skin. Yeah. Okay. So now I'm sure everyone's dying to know, what is your summer skincare routine? So I tend to, you know, go a little lighter. I tend to up my exfoliation. So what I do in the morning is I will use the exfoliating cleanser. Normally I'll skip cleansing, but a few times a week, I will do the exfoliating cleanser. And then I will apply Illuma C, which is pure L-asorbic acid in a very stable formula with ferulic acid. And I'll apply that to damp skin. And then I will apply my Hydro Tint BB on top because I find that combining vitamin C and your tinted SPF really gives you the ultimate protection because vitamin C and antioxidants like ferulic acid they really help repair and protect your skin throughout the day from UV, from environmental damage. So for me, that's a key ingredient to use in the morning. I love it. Yeah. And then I just touch up with the Sunkist, you know, SPF spray. Yeah. I love it. But I have a whole YouTube video all about SPFs. So check it out, as well as one on how to treat a sunburn. So if you guys want to do even a deeper dive, then check out those videos. But before we jump into questions, guys, I want to tell you about July. It is UV Awareness Month and OzzieMD Skin Care is offering 10% off of all SPF products, including the Hydro Tint BB plump, the SPF powders and the UV Defense Body Spray at ozziemdskincare.com. Use the code UV10 for 10% off all SPF products on ozziemdskincare.com. So be sure to take advantage of that. I love it. All right, you guys. Now it's time for Ask Dr. Ozzie where you, our listeners, get to email us, DM us all your beauty, skincare, lifestyle questions for Dr. Ozzie to answer on the podcast. For those wanting to email or DM us, you can email us at morethanaprettyfacepodcast at gmail.com or DM us on Instagram at morethanaprettyfacepodcast. Now let's jump into our first question. I'm so excited for it. I have Kaylee on Instagram and she wants to know, she says, I've always had cellulite on my thighs and my butt and I would love for it to go away. I'm considering sculpture for a butt lift. Will that get rid of cellulite on my butt? And what about the thighs? Is there injections for that as well? Oh, cellulite, cellulite. I would say 90% of women have cellulite. So many of us have it, you know, skinny, you know, not skinny. It doesn't matter your shape and size because it is not a disease of the fat. A lot of people don't realize that cellulite is actually a condition of the skin and it can get worse with age. And the reason being is you have these thick fibrous bands that will lodge bulges of fat in between. It's almost like tufts on a button, like on a cushion, you have these buttons that are tufted and the fibrous bands will then bunch up the fat lobules in between, which then causes this irregular texture. So it's really a condition of the skin. And sometimes, you know, even if you lose weight, you might still notice that. There was a great injection on the market called Quo that would go in and dissolve those bands because really, ultimately, that is the treatment for cellulite. Once you get rid of those bands that lodge the fat in between them, then the skin smooths out because there's nothing that's kind of, you know, bunching them up. And fortunately, it caused so much bruising that they decided that they were going to take it off the market. And the bruising was intense. I mean, it worked. The treatment definitely worked. It was easy. It was relatively painless, yeah? Yes, yeah. But unfortunately, the butts, I mean, everybody would come in and they would look like they had plums. Yes, I was just gonna say plums, yes. So what are some other ways to do it? I personally favor doing subcision, going in manually and breaking up those fibrous bands. And this can take multiple sessions. Usually, I recommend three. And then we inject collagen boosting injections to help firm the skin. Things like... Is this just on the butt that we're still talking about? Anywhere, really. Thighs, buttock, really, that's the treatment for cellulitis is releasing those bands that are pulling down on that skin and causing the tufting. There are also lasers like there is Cellfina. But I find that it's much more invasive and really expensive to do because it requires to mess in anesthesia and, you know, you go in and it cuts it with a blade. But nevertheless, it's still pretty invasive. So I find the subcision and collagen boosting injections to work the best because sometimes people think they have cellulite, but really they have skin laxity, which is just loose skin. The Cellfina or devices like that will not really work for that. You need to use the collagen boosting injections. And so we have a little cocktail we use in our office using calcium hydroxyapatite, PRP, hyaluronic acid, as well as Sculptra at times for firming that skin. But what can you do at home? Because, you know, we talk about in office procedures and not everybody wants to come in for a procedure. And so there's been some research that have shown things like bromelain, which are found in pineapples. They help with cellulite as well as circulation, like exercising and really toning up your muscles. Dry brushing. I don't know if you guys know what that is, but it goes along with the circulation. It's a brush that you use. You start kind of at the bottom of your feet and you brush up towards your heart and you can do that like before you get in the shower. But you want to do it dry and that does help with, you know, boosting circulation. Is that meant for exfoliating though? It also helps exfoliate as well as help with the circulation in that area. And then you can do a coffee scrub because a lot of times cellulite is worse because of lymphatics and fluid that gets trapped in these fat lobules. And so you can do a scrub with coffee, coconut oil. And I've seen also some people make the scrub, put it on and then wrap it with saran wrap. And what that does is it draws out all the fluid from these fat lobules so they don't look as lumpy. I mean, technically, it's not going to get rid of your cellulite, but it will help for sure. Another reason to love coffee. Yeah. And then other things would be LED lights that you can use. You've seen those wands. LED light does help with boosting collagen and help firming up that skin. So these are things that you can do at home. Yeah, that's a lot. There's a lot. I guess I never realized how many options there were. Yeah. All right, number two. Our question is from Bonnie on Instagram, and she said, it's easy to avoid sudden weight gain when you are not expecting. My question is, I have 11 kids. Whoo, girl. What? 11 kids. Good for you. God bless you. You're such a hero. Yes. And stretch marks to the wazoo since my first. OK, so a lot of stretch marks. She said a lot have faded, but I still have some. Will they ever eventually go away on their own? And what are my treatment options? You know, stretch marks are like tears in the skin from the skin stretching. And they're similar to scars. And they are permanent in the sense that that skin is forever changed. If you look closely at a stretch mark, you see that there's no pores in it. The skin is thinner. And when they first come up, they're very red, right? So just like scars, when they first come up, they're red and then eventually they become pink. And if you've got darker skin, they may turn brown, you know, hyperpigment for a while before they will eventually become skin color or just a little bit lighter than natural skin. So unfortunately, they're not ever going to go away forever. But with time, usually a year, a couple of years, that redness will fade and they blend in so you don't see them as much. So if you did nothing, you know, after a couple years, they do go away. What can you do at home? I would start on silicone gel, you know, as soon as you start to see them. Silicone helps with remodeling scars and stretch marks. Also start on Retin-A. So Retin-A also helps with stretch marks. I love Lift and Renew because it's a little bit more gentle and it's a serum. So a little bit goes a long way. You can rub that in and it helps with skin remodeling. It helps with the texture. It helps with the redness fading faster. It also has Bacushiol and other antioxidants to help with healing. So silicone gel and retinol. And then if you want to come into the office early on, you want to do the V-beam laser, which has been shown to help with reducing stretch marks much faster. Then if you've got established wet stretch marks, like, you know, like the white ones or the ones that, you know, are older, then you can do resurfacing treatments like the halo laser, the profractional laser. Those all help blend in the stretch marks better and make the texture, you know, smoother and more similar to normal skin. You could also do microneedling, RF microneedling. All those treatments help with remodeling the stretch mark. And I'll say it doesn't matter if you had one kid, 11 kids, no kids, you are still, you know, prone to getting them. I mean, it's all in the fluctuation of your weight, right? And genetics, you know, some people just genetically will get them now. It's interesting because some people, like I have stretch marks from growth spurts, you know, so I have them on my hip, but I didn't get them with my kids. And so sometimes, you know, just because you got them as a teenager doesn't necessarily mean you're going to get them when you have kids. But I love bump butter. So if you want to be proactive and do something to prevent them, although studies say there's no true way to prevent stretch marks, it doesn't hurt to massage the area with a balm like bump butter from Bumpology. My friend Lily uses that and she swears by it. She didn't get any stretch marks with both of her kids, but you can use that as a way to massage and nourish that skin that's being pulled and stretched. Yeah, I will say, because I've had stretch marks at a young age, I was very concerned that I was going to get them on my stomach. So every night that was like my routine. I just grabbed so much moisturizer and just like made it my nightly routine of massaging my belly every single night. Yeah, I don't know if that helped, but I didn't get any on my stomach. But is it hereditary? I know you said it's genetic. It's genetic. I mean, yes, but you know, there's no specific gene, right? So your mom may have had it, but then doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to get that because even though you may inherit some of her genes, you may not express, you know, those stretch mark genes. So it gets a little bit more complicated. Okay, that makes sense. All right, you guys. Question number three comes from our quiz or question box when we had a poll up on Instagram. And so somebody asked, I'm allergic to mosquito bites and they leave huge marks, which I can never get rid of. What do you recommend? Do not scratch your mosquito bites. Whatever you do, don't scratch them because they can turn into these little hard bumps called dermatophybromas. And you may have seen them on your legs, on your arms. They can also come up like from ingrown hairs, but you don't want to cause further trauma because then it will harden and form permanent marks, which are very difficult to remove. So what you want to do is stop the inflammation. And how do you do that? You can ice the area. That also helps with scratching and itching. You can use a medicated cream like Soothe HC. You apply that several times a day, cover it with a pimple patch so your fingers don't get to it. And it makes the medication work better. And you can use a anti-itch cream called Sarna anti-itch. Put that in the fridge and apply it cold. So if you use the medicated, you know, cream with the pimple patch after a week or two, it will go away. You will forget about it. And hopefully you will not get these little, you know, dark spots on your leg because once you have them, they're really difficult to get rid of. And if you have them already, which was the question, I totally missed. Prevention, though, is always key. So for those of you who might get mosquito bites, you really want to use like an insect repellent as well. I didn't talk about that. But anyway, if you do have them, yes, the pigment that's behind. What can you do? Yeah, I know. I mean, I'm getting to the question. Went on a little detour. Kentucky. So you can use a bleaching agent. So Dermabrite pads with 2% hydroquinone is as strong as you can get over the counter. So you can use that twice a day. After a week or two, it will start to fade, but it can take up to two months for those to fade. Don't forget to use sunscreen on it because a lot of people don't realize how much UV causes hyperpigmentation and scarring. So be sure you use sunscreen. Dermabrite pads, which can be on the expensive side if you're looking for something less expensive. The one spray is for the body has 10% glycolic acid. And that also helps fade hyperpigmentation. And then vitamin C, vitamin C serum applied to that area right before you put on sunscreen also helps. So since we're on and retinol, I can go on. You can use Retin-A, retinol, and you can use azelaic acid, like azelaic 10. Just so much stuff. There's a lot of skin lighteners. OK, Kentucky, I will stop. I was going to say since we're on the bug bite, like theme. Yeah, and it is summertime. There's also bee stings and jellyfish stings. Like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I don't also. Well, don't pee on your jellyfish stings. OK, I know there's a friend's episode. Why not? I would want somebody to pee on it right now. Right now. If it hurts, I've never been stung by one. So have you seen that friend's episode? Actually, there's people, there's forums online that tell you to pee on your jellyfish. That's all I've ever heard. Obviously, they are not. They need to subscribe to our channel because they are in the dark. You know, so no, you do want to rinse it off with warm water or dilute white vinegar, because that is what if you do have any stingers, that is what's going to kill the stinger. But once you rinse it off, then you want to use an anti-inflammatory, like a medicated cream, like cortisone 10. If you're at the drugstore, Soothe HC, again, with aloe and cortisone, that helps calm the inflammation. You can also take antihistamines like Claritin or Zyrtec to help with that histamine-like reaction that a lot of people experience with bee stings and bug bites. A stronger antihistamine would be Benadryl if you take that too. So realistically at the beach, now I also have my beach bag aside from the Soothe, I need to keep a bottle of water and a bottle of distilled vinegar. You know what, though? A lot of lifeguards have vinegar because of that. Well, this is good to know, you guys, that you don't have to run straight to urine, I mean. You might be tempted, but that is definitely not the right thing to do. Okay, good to know. This is very valuable. Question number four is from Morgan on Instagram, and she said, my question for the podcast is, how do you feel about the at-home flasher lights for hair removal? For example, Nude, Braun IPL, et cetera. Yeah, so there's a lot of devices on the market now. A lot. One thing with those is they are IPLs, right? So they're not lasers per se, meaning that they incorporate a wide range of light to target melanin that is in the hair follicles. Unfortunately, if you're tanned or dark skin, it's also going to target the melanin on the surface of your skin and cause a burn. So you have to be really careful with those. I suggest looking for devices that have a chill tip because they tend to be safer and the fluence on those can go up a little bit higher because of the chill tip. They're great for like maintenance, you know, you have to do, you have to do a treatment like several times a week to really get the benefit because they're not powerful laser devices that you would see in the office. So after doing a series? Yeah, I think that's an option if you want to, you know, use it in between your, you know, after you've gone through a laser hair removal package and now you want to do some maintenance because you see some hairs coming back. I think it's really appropriate. I have an entire YouTube video on at-home laser hair removal, so check it out. But YouLike is a good brand because it has the chill tip and I would be cautious on the face because it uses low level light. It can actually stimulate hair growth, particularly if you are Middle Eastern or Asian or South American, Latin. It's been reported to cause something called paradoxical hair stimulation. So great if you've got really light skin and you're not tan and you've already gone through some, you know, hair removal sessions with your dermatologist. Would you say laser hair removal decreases like ingrowns? For sure. Yeah, if that's something you suffer from, just removing the amount of hair, reducing the density of hair significantly helps with ingrown hairs. Even if you do one or two sessions, the bikini and thigh area is so responsive to hair removal. It's crazy. It's much more responsive than the face. You'll see better results faster in that area. All right, guys. Well, this was so fun. Happy summer. I hope that you guys found some value in this podcast. Remember, sharing is caring. So share this with a friend. And if you're on Instagram, take a screenshot, share it to your stories and tag me at Skin by Dr. Ozzy so I see your story. Also, don't forget to follow us on more than a pretty face podcast. We love to hear from you. Yes. Bye. Until next time. Bye, guys. Bye.