“Treating your skin with care and paying close attention to skin damaging elements is paramount to your skin’s health,” shares cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Kenneth Mark, who has offices in Southampton and East Hampton in the summer months in addition to offices in SoHo and Aspen in the off season.  “I live in Southampton, and I grew up on the south shore of Long Island in Sayville, not too far away.  I’ve always appreciated the world-class beaches, quaint towns and of course the people. I was a lifeguard since the age of 16 so I’ve been helping fellow Long Islanders since then. We all crave summer sun, but the dangerous effects of getting too much is a constant concern for Hamptonites.”  Dr. Mark provides easy effective tips on how to keep your skin healthy all summer long in this NEW KDHamptons Beauty Diary below:

“The most important thing by far is sun protection, specifically a SPF of 30 or higher that blocks out the full spectrum of UV rays, preferably with the ingredient zinc oxide. Physically avoiding the sun with a hat, sunglasses, shirt or an umbrella at the beach, taking a golf cart if you’re not walking for sports like tennis where you sweat. It’s also important to reapply your sunscreen even if it’s supposedly “waterproof”every 30-60 minutesdepending on the amount you sweat. When it comes to skincare using the right products and ingredients are key.  Below is a useful guide to better skin that is incredibly comprehensive and user-friendly.”

CLEANSING THE SKIN – You want to remove the day’s build up of debris on the skin, like sweat, makeup etc.

EXFOLIATE – The sun makes skin cells reproduce faster, yet they do not shed faster in the summer. That plus the extra SPF we apply and sweat can lead to blemishes, clogged pores, acne and inflammation. All of these can be ameliorated with exfoliating ingredients such as alpha hydroxyl acids and beta hydroxyl acids including salicylic acid, which is commonly found in many over the counter products.

HYDRATE – If the skin is too dry in general or from any of the above, it can produce too much sebum and oil to try and overcome that. So it’s important to keep the skin balanced with a good moisturizer. One key ingredient is hyaluronic acid, which is in fillers such as juvederm and acts by binding water, up to 10,000x its own weight!

RETIN A – If you can tolerate it, it not only helps to exfoliate, but it also evens out blotchiness, treats and prevents acne, stimulates collagen and even helps prevent pre-cancers and cancers

PEPTIDES – Help the body stimulate collagen and therefore fight fine lines and wrinkles

ANTI-OXIDANTS – Help to fade pigmentation and the skin to fight the damage and inflammation from exposure to the elements

CHEMICAL PEELS – It is a myth not to get peels in the summer. All of the above reasons under “exfoliation” are reasons to get peels in the summer. Note we are talking about “superficial” peels where your skin is not physically peeling off, but microscopically the dead cells are. When done in a medical office they are superficial but still medical grade and quite effective. When done consistently over time, they help stimulate collagen to treat and prevent fine lines and wrinkles besides just exfoliate.

FILLERS – The latest, greatest filler is Voluma, which was FDA-approved over a year ago. It is truly named appropriately as it is more of a volumizer and mid-face lifter than just a filler. Of course juvederm is also great. These products make the skin look healthier and not sallow or sunken in and help replace the loss of volume and wrinkling that occurs with aging.

THE RIGHT PROCEDURES – With a spotlight on non-invasive procedures for summer in the Hamptons:

ULTHERA – The only FDA-approved non-surgical procedure to lift the skin, which literally reduces or gets rid of jowling and lifts the jaw and neck like no other non-surgical procedure

COOL-SCULPTING – Freeze fat away, non-surgically with no downtime. Lose up to 25% of your fat cells in the treated area in one hour. Dr. Mark offers “dual-sculpting” using two machines at the same time to lose up to twice the fat in half the time.

“I have personally formulated a comprehensive anti-aging skincare line of anti-oxidants, exfoliants, herbal ingredients, hyaluronics, vitamins and peptides, dubbed Kenneth Mark Skin Care.  My Antioxidant Hydrating Cream includes Astaxanthin and offers greater antiosidant protection against the premature signs of aging. My Tighten and Lighten Eye Cream has three Peptides to help decrease puffiness and dark circles and fine lines. The Hydrating Mousturizer serum contains Hyaluronic Acid and vitamin B to sooth the skin and hydrate it and my Anti-Aging Mask contains three alpha hydroxyl acids to help exfoliate and give the skin a natural glow.”

Southampton
425 County Road 39a, Suite 201
Southampton, NY 11968

East Hampton
200 Pantigo Place, Suite N
East Hampton, NY 11937
155 Spring Street (between Wooster and West Broadway) 4th floor
New York, NY 10012

* Please call the Southampton office for scheduling an appointment.
Phone: 631.283.0002 or go to kennethmarkmd.com