ÁMEZING NEWS #13: DERMATITIS 101 + MOVIE RECCS FOR COZY NIGHTS
And some Winter Solstice Wishes
ÁMEZING UPDATES
Thank you all for your patience as we pause our studio practice for the year! Please note that booking is closed online until 2024.
If you are looking to book, although space is very limited at the moment for new clients, please email bookings@amezskin.com and we will make our way to you. Thank you again for your continuous support, we wouldn’t be here without you all!! Please be patient as this is a small operation and we want everyone to rest during the holidays.
DERMATITIS 101
Ok! You already know this newsletter is inspired by my conversations with every one of you – in the studio, in my comments and DMs, etc. For the past couple of months, DERMATITIS has been an issue that keeps coming up.
By definition, DERMATITIS is SKIN INFLAMMATION.
What’s tricky is there are a lot of different physical manifestations of dermatitis.
But the three most common types of dermatitis are contact, seborrheic and perioral.
Perioral
This loves to pop up in the fall and winter months! It can be annoyingly red and itchy around the mouth, nasolabial folds, and nose. For a lot of clients, the best way to stop this from occurring is to switch your toothpaste! You may be having an allergic reaction to fluoride, and switching brands or formulas should alleviate the reaction. From what I’ve gathered from clients, yes, this can just sort of happen all of a sudden!
I also recommend incorporating colloidal silver into your skincare tool kit. It can be found in spray or gel form at any health food store, which is perfect for topical use. It’s great for any kind of dermatitis flareup but will be especially useful in perioral cases. (Love colloidal silver in a normal way, not in a Mother God way! The HBO Doc is wild!)
Contact
This kind of dermatitis is so damn vague…it’s the hardest puzzle to solve sometimes. Often, it just means your skin came into contact with something really specific that it didn’t like. Causing an instant or delayed reaction! It can be hard to figure out what the exact trigger was since we come into contact with so many different objects and environments throughout our days. New detergents and soaps can cause contact dermatitis, but so can surfaces, germs, and your gut health. Just about anything!
Seborrheic
This dermatitis predominantly lives on the scalp but it can occur on the face, chest, or back too (but more rarely). I’ve struggled with seborrheic dermatitis since I was 14 and when I say it’s been a journey, that is a total understatement. Imagine going through puberty having dark, almost black hair and an itchy, peeling scalp…NOT FUN.
Medical shampoos prescribed by a derm or Neutrogena’s classic T-Gel can lessen the severity of flakiness or dryness, but only as bandaids. This NEKKO Head Spa pre-wash and shampoo set has been an absolute game-changer for me. I’ve included it on my ShopMy shelf!
Maybe we go into scalp care for our next issue? Let us know if you have any scalp questions!
Why does dermatitis pop up so frequently? There are so many factors at play….
Climate and other environmental stressors (smoke, UV light, pollution, toxins and or chemicals)
Allergens or specific allergies to everyday objects or fluids (two common ones are laundry detergents, all umbrellas of soap or cleansers)
Gut imbalances (ultimately and this is a big one– a compromised microbiome due to foods that cause inflammation. This is the hardest list because it’s full of so many things–alcohol, specifically wine, processed sugars, even natural sugars in fruits with extremely high sugar content, gluten, and dairy).
What complicates things is that all of these factors can accumulate over time and combine to cause one big dermatitis flareup. It’s like your body is just not having it anymore!
How do I treat it in my studio?
Honestly, I kind of don’t! If a client comes to me with dermatitis, I prefer to wait for the flare-up to decrease before I do much of anything. I tend to be conservative when working with clients with skin conditions because I firmly believe in not overwhelming the skin. After a few days when the worst of the flare-up is over, I like to see the client and treat and correct the affected skin accordingly.
Beyond my care, I like to suggest clients suffering from persistent or reoccurring dermatitis work with a naturopathic doctor or acupuncturist. This will almost always help you gain a better, more systemic understanding of what may be contributing to your flare-ups.
Acupuncturists talk a lot about “dampness” in the body, and I think it’s helpful to consider sugar, dairy, and gluten as things that contribute to that dampness.
I’m super prone to inflammation in the body and have become much more sensitive to dairy and gluten as I’ve gotten older. Especially in terms of muscle tissue, so I’ve had to make some lifestyle edits along the way. If you find yourself having continuous flare-ups, I would look at your specific food and drink choices and swap in some anti-inflammatory options when you can. It will help to start there!
Should I go to a dermatologist?
Just like the treatment products I mentioned before, visiting a dermatologist for this kind of skin issue is more of a temporary fix. I respect that they’re doctors…no offense to any derms reading this…but they tend to give you a topical steroid or some kind of dandruff shampoo to treat dermatitis. Both will help, but they’re band-aids more than solutions.
Of course, in a pinch, consult your derm or even your primary care physician to help you get the relief you need. Or like, if you’re about to travel or something and need that shit gone.
How do I treat dermatitis at home?
The best thing to do at home topically is to use ceramide-rich moisturizers or serums to build your barrier back. Again, remember less is more here!
Keep a very light routine during a flare-up. Trust the ceramide products to do the work for you.
No acids BHAs, AHAs, or retinoids of any kind! Remember you are recovering from something that your body is rejecting, so no exfoliating here. Your job is to moisturize gently and consistently. I have a very price-inclusive product list on shopmy of some of my favorite topical products. Brands like CeraVe and Avene have wonderful products that are inexpensive and very effective.
ÁMEZING QUESTIONS
My sinuses are awful this time of year! My nose runs and my whole face becomes chapped and itchy. I feel like I get more whiteheads around my nose when I don’t feel well too. Does congestion = congestion? Tips for preventing and/or healing this?
Totally hear this! I would almost say that sinus congestion redness/inflammation. This is probably a given, but to avoid chapped skin around the nose, use a ceramide-based or occlusive ointment or balm. This will seal the moisture in your skin in and form a much-needed protective barrier.
You’ll inevitably irritate your skin if you’re using a lot of tissues, but a little balm or ointment over your nose and upper lip will be a great help. My favorite is the Doctor Rogers healing balm!
What eye cream(s) do you recommend for mature, dry skin?
Eye creams are funny. They feel good, but I don’t think they are ever a game-changing facial product. I think they’re handy to have in your medicine cabinet, but are most useful as cushions or primers underneath makeup, especially under eye concealer. If you’re not wearing a bunch of makeup, I don’t think eye cream is all that important (as long as you are using other serums and moisturizers to hydrate and treat the skin). I get wanting a great eye cream though, so here are three that are packed with high-performance ingredients. They’re all great for mature skin but can work for all skin types and ages.
Opti Crystal Liquid Crystal Eye Serum AM/PM
Alastin Restorative Eye Treatment with TriHex Technology
Is there a particular skincare ingredient you’ve never tried/experimented with that you want to? If so, what is it and why?
I kind of feel like I've tried them ALL but I suppose it's the combination of certain formulas that are always coming out that feeds my curiosity. I will say I haven’t experimented with too much mushroom-based or adaptogen-based skin care, that's next for me! I usually want to try every new serum I see and will say they are usually in the realm of some new acid that helps with pigmentation or scarring. I feel like the industry always has a new interesting mushroom, plant, or root that is the new buzz.
Are there any skincare trends you want to leave behind as 2023 comes to an end?
I feel like 2023 was the rise of retinol. And again as much as I love me some retinol, but recently a client of mine told me that her 13-year-old daughter bought four different retinol products from TikTok. The influence is real (some ok and some not so much)!!! From a professional standpoint, I do not encourage teenagers to use retinol as it’s unnecessary. They’re too young for vitamin A. I hope we can ditch the narrative of “start them young” which is fine for SPF use, for example, but let's ditch the misinformation that can lead young people and customers astray. Wild how impactful the internet is 🙃.
ÁMEZING MOVIES: PICKS FOR PEAK COZINESS
Lakota Nation vs. the United States
See firsthand how the United States has completely erased and continuously ignored indigenous populations. This is an absolute must, my wish would be that every person in America watch this documentary.
Unzipped
One of my besties forced me to watch this doc about Isaac Mizrahi and by the end, I was inspired. This documentary is so bad that it’s wonderful. A fun and fashion-filled watch!
Bottoms
Just saw this a few days ago and I have to say I laughed quite a bit. The cast is hot, fiery, and perfectly annoying. You won’t be disappointed.
The Sandlot
One word: BENNY THE JET RODRIGUEZ. My first crush and style icon. A perfect feel-good movie, and great prep for DODGER SEASON BABY. This is a forever favorite.
Mean Girls
Are you ready for Mean Girls 2.0 coming out Jan 2024?!?!? Based on the trailers, it looks like this one is going to be more musically inclined. It's the perfect time to relish the OG Mean Girls in all its glory.
ÁMEZING WISHES
I’m wishing you all rest and reflection. Nurture yourself and your bodies with plenty of sleep, yummy food, and good company. We did another year in our body, in this life!
Thank you all for reading and following our little newsletter. We love this community and we cannot wait to further expand it. Sending you all such warm virtual hugs. Be well and healthy. We’ll continue chatting in 2024.
With love,
ÁMEZ SKIN STUDIO