Her Discussions by Dr Faye - Healthy Skin 101: Every Woman Should Know This By 25 | Mini Episode

Starting point is 00:00:00 This episode is brought to you by Accenture. When your advertising operations fall out of sync, everything else follows. Spotify and Accenture are working together to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales, using automation, analytics, and smarter workflows to simplify campaign delivery and access better data across the business. The result? Less time spent on operations, more time connecting brands with the moments and fandoms that matter most. Learn more at Accenture.com slash Spotify.

Starting point is 00:00:28 So I'm going to show you a piece of paper and I would love to know whether you would buy this product or whether you would say bye-bye to this product. Daily SPF. A hundred percent yes. Not surprisingly. There is so much evidence now that protecting your skin has multiple benefits. So importantly, reducing your risk of developing skin cancer, but also protecting you against sunburn and also the. aging sort of process that we are now so sort of tied into and trying to fight on a daily basis. I think when it comes to SPF, there's lots of things that people don't necessarily do too well.

Starting point is 00:01:13 And there's a bit of a debate about whether you should do it all year round or just through the summer. Typically, it's essential between sort of the months of around March to October time. and in particular if the UV index is three or more, and it's really helpful that actually on your weather app on the phone, it actually shows you the UV index so you can see. But I think the important thing is that actually trying to form habits is difficult. And so if we just do something part of the year, it can be difficult to get back into the routine of remembering to do it.

Starting point is 00:01:49 You should definitely do it all year round if you're worried about hyperpigmentation, if you're at higher risk of skin cancer or if maybe you spend a lot of time outdoors or particularly travelling, then those would be reasons to definitely use it all year round. But I think sometimes it is just easier to keep things simple. Now, I know a lot of the listeners will be thinking I have not been able to find an SPF that works for me. They're all too greasy. They break me out.

Starting point is 00:02:19 They don't blend properly. what would be your top recommendations for finding an SBF? Make sure that you find a product that you really like. I typically like to use the La Roche for say, the Anthelios range. It's a really, really popular product. Loads of my patients use it. I get really positive feedback. It's really light and it soaks into the skin really quickly,

Starting point is 00:02:41 which are things that I find help to improve compliance. But there's also, I think, with a product like this, it's really helpful because it shows some certain things that you can look for when you're wanting to try and find a high-quality sunscreen. So if you think about the UV rays that we get through the atmosphere that reach the Earth's surface, it's mainly UVA and UVB rays. And so UVA rays, about 95% of the rays that come through. And they tend to penetrate deeper down into the skin and they can pass through clouds and glass. And those are the rays that typically are associated with skin aging. And so if you're looking for you,

Starting point is 00:03:20 your UVA protection, there's a little sign on here. So it's got UVA written in capital letters with a circle around the edge. And so if you see that, you know that there's good UVA protection. And other brands will use a star rating and you want to be looking for five star UVA protection. And then you've got your UVB rays. So these are the ones we're probably more familiar with. A lot of them get filtered out in the atmosphere. But those that do get through can penetrate into the upper layers of the skin. So they typically cause more of your sunburn type reactions. And so the rating that you want to be looking at for that is your SPF, your sun protection factor. And so we know that different people will take different amounts of time to burn depending on how pigmented their skin is, the racial background,

Starting point is 00:04:08 and the sort of intensity of sun that they might be exposed to. But the SPF is sort of the amount of time that you can spend out in the sun in addition to your normal burn time. So if, for example, you'd normally burn after 10 minutes in the sun and you put an SPF 15 on, then you could stay out 15 times that 10 minutes. So 150 minutes in total before you would get that same burn. But it is reliant on you using the right amount of sun cream in order to get that protective effect. There's a couple of other things that are quite helpful to look at on the bottle. So you want to make sure that it's in date. A really big mistake is seeing that maybe it's out of date.

Starting point is 00:04:51 They sometimes smell a bit funny as well when you put them on. So that can be a bit of a tell-tale sign. But they should all have an expiry date on. And also they'll have a little sign. So there's a little pot here that's got 12M in. And that means that once it's been opened, you have to get rid of it after 12 months. So it's no longer as effective after 12 months are being open. and they can break down more quickly if they're kept in warm places.

Starting point is 00:05:16 So if you leave it in the glove box of the car or something like that, then you do have to be extra careful. Lots of information on here that you might not necessarily otherwise think to look at, but really helpful when you're trying to choose a good quantity. If you want a $3,000 a month payday for life, what would you feel free to do? Maybe take a long weekend, every weekend, or try a bunch of new hobbies. Would you feel free to upgrade and listen, add free? Don't worry, we get it.

Starting point is 00:05:43 Every $20 ticket could win you $3,000 a month for life and supports life-saving cancer research at the Princess Margaret. Feel free to buy your payday for life ticket today. Raffle number 155-2194. Please play responsibly. A common complaint is it doesn't go well in Jamaica or it makes me break out. What advice do you have for people who they just can't find that SBF that works for them? Yeah, so we all have different skin types. Fortunately, now we've got an increasing range of sunscreen options. So for somebody who's got slightly more oily skin, you want more of a fluid.

Starting point is 00:06:22 So something like this sort of product or something that says it's for oil control or non-commedogenic. Those sorts of things can be really helpful for more oily skin. If you've got drier skin, you might want to go for a more cream type version. So the Anthelios ones comes in a tube. So it looks quite different. But it's slightly thicker. It's more hydrating. So it can a bit more nourishing for the.

Starting point is 00:06:44 skin. If you've got more sensitive skin, then obviously looking for sort of more fragrance-free products is helpful as well. Trying it and seeing what it feels like, I think under your makeup is really important and also thinking about how you top up afterwards as well. This is an extremely important conversation at the moment. There's been a huge rise in social media posts talking about how SBFs are toxic. Have you seen any of these videos yourself? Because I certainly didn't. It was one of my friends who came to me and she said, you know, SBF causes, you know, all sorts of diseases. What would you say to people who see that content?

Starting point is 00:07:21 I think it's really worrying that this content is out there. I think you need to be looking at, you know, where that information is coming from, where the evidence is. As far as I'm aware, there's no evidence that the compounds that are used in current sunscreens available from reputable brands in the UK have any link to cancer or other diseases. This is an area that is very tightly regulated. In the past, chemicals and things have been removed, you know, from all sorts of products if they're found to be harmful. And they go through really quite rigorous testing these days to make sure that

Starting point is 00:08:00 they are safe to use on the skin. So with the evidence that we have, I think it's, you know, there's no, there's no suggestion that there are harmful effects. And I would really urge people to not engage with that kind of content. The other thing on SPF, what would you say to people who say, I need the sun for my vitamin D? Great question. So the sunlight is important for us to help us synthesize, make vitamin D, which is important for our general health. But you don't need to have that sun exposure without any protection on your skin.

Starting point is 00:08:37 So you'll still be getting sun exposure through sunscreen. and evidence shows that you should get enough, particularly in this summer months, in order to be able to do that. A lot of people in the UK might be deficient in vitamin D during the winter, especially office-based jobs, etc. There are also supplements available that you can, you know, take over the counter to help top that up. But there's certainly not a reason to be going out in the sun without protection. Tins to SBF. Love it. It's a great product. I think it can really help with compliance.

Starting point is 00:09:11 So getting people to incorporate a good quality sunscreen into their skincare routine. It can act like a light foundation or a BB cream. So it can reduce redness. It can sort of even out imperfections on the skin like you would expect with some kind of cover-up or makeup. But you get that added really high quality sun protection, particularly if you look at brands where you've got that broad coverage. so looking at that UVA, UVB. Tinted versions of a lot of sunscreens will also help protect against visible light as well. And we're starting to understand that that's more of an issue in certain skin diseases and certainly in pigmentary disorders.

Starting point is 00:09:53 So things like post acne marks and melasma. So tinted versions of sunscreens can be really helpful. And also if you're using a mineral type of sunscreen. So sunscreens come in two forms. They can be chemical or mineral. Mineral sunscreens typically contain titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. They tend to be a bit thicker. Overall, they have fewer ingredients, so they can be better for people with more sensitive skin.

Starting point is 00:10:19 There's fewer things for your skin to react to. But because of those ingredients that they contain, they can leave a bit of a white cast on the skin. And so if you have a tinted version of that, it's much more cosmetically acceptable. You get a much better result. Nice. after sun interesting I used a lot of this as a child

Starting point is 00:10:41 which was slightly worrying now that I look back on it you shouldn't need after sun because if you've protected your skin properly then you shouldn't be needing to apply anything to cool or soothe the skin and so my problem with after sun is that it's almost encouraging

Starting point is 00:10:57 as unsafe sun practices and by buying it you're almost giving yourself permission to go and expect to maybe burn a little bit or overdo it in the sunshine. We know that sunburn happens because of UVB rays, as we've talked about, penetrating the upper layers of the skin. And it leads to redness and swelling, pain, itch. And in severe forms, you can get blistering and even feel quite unwell with sort of chills and shivers. And so if that does happen, then a lot of the treatments that are around are there to actually just relieve symptoms. So they're not actually going to change the overall severity of the sunburn or shorten its duration. And so often it's things like taking painkillers, having cool baths, and potentially using soothing moisturizers and lotions.

Starting point is 00:11:53 And often a lot of the aftersons will contain some of those sort of more cooling, soothing ingredients like aloe vera and. and menthol. So they can feel nice and cooling, especially if you keep them in the fridge. It can feel nice on the skin. But they're not ultimately going to change that sort of sunburn process. And sunburn typically starts around two to four hours after that sun exposure. It peaks around 12 to 24 hours and then you start to get that horrible peeling around four to seven days afterwards. It's interesting though, though, there are some actual treatments which have been shown to help sunburn. So things like taking aspirin has actually been helpful,

Starting point is 00:12:33 which I think is fascinating. Using topical steroid creams on the skin, provided there's no infection there, can really calm inflammation. And there was a study relatively recently that showed taking a dose of really high vitamin D, so around 100,000 units, so really high, just as a one-off dose within sort of as soon after the sunburn

Starting point is 00:12:54 as it's happened, can really reduce the severity, which I think is fascinating. We don't properly understand all of the effects behind that, but really interesting, but not a reason to put yourself into that position. There's also an oral supplement, which is called Polypodium leukatomas. Have you heard of it? No, I have not.

Starting point is 00:13:12 Okay, so it comes from a tropical fern that grows in Central and South America, and it's got antioxidant and sun protective effects. And so it's actually marketed. It's available in the UK. and you can take it regularly and it will also help to protect your skin from sunburn and but obviously combined with the SPF, the hats, the glasses, etc. It can have benefits in that area and it can also be beneficial for some skin diseases. So things like Vitiligo, if it's used in combination with light therapy when people are

Starting point is 00:13:51 undergoing that sort of treatment and maybe even for conditions like melasma if people are also using SPF. Wow. I didn't know any of that. That's really, really interesting. On the topic of after cent, I can just hear my mum's voice when I was a kid, you know, saying, oh, well, your burn will turn to tan. Oh, full advice. I think so many people will remember that as well from their childhoods. It's really scary. And the sorts of sun creams that we used as well, you know, start with factor 15 and maybe be on two by the end of the holiday. in some kind of coconut smelling oil. It's, yeah, it's pretty, it's pretty shocking.

Starting point is 00:14:34 Yeah, to thank God's times are changing. Mole mapping, this is, this is a personal, personal one for me. I would like to also, all my friends who ask me about their moles, mole mapping. Skin monitoring, yes, okay, but not everyone needs mole mapping. Okay, so mole mapping is where you use sequential photography to track skin lesions and moles and look for change. It's generally needed for people who are at higher risk of skin cancers

Starting point is 00:15:07 or have lots of moles to keep an eye on so it can be quite tricky. The process of mole mapping isn't just going and having some photos taken and then going home and then pitching up a year later and seeing if anything's changed. Done properly, it involves going to see a dermatologist, them taking a full history, assessing your risk factors for skin cancer, asking about any moles or lesions that you're particularly worried about, and then doing a full head-toe skin examination.

Starting point is 00:15:38 And as part of that, we use one of these devices here. So this is called a Dermatoscope. It has a light, and it's a magnifying lens. And you place it directly onto the skin over any moles that you want to see in a bit more detail. And it provides this really high-quality magnifying. view so that you can then, it improves our diagnostic yield. So it helps to give us more information about the lesion that we're looking at and the risk of that being something that needs to be something done about. And so we'll do an examination using one of these. And then we will highlight

Starting point is 00:16:12 any moles that we're potentially worried about. The patient goes and has full body mapping photos, so get to stand in lots of funny poses to expose all the different areas of the skin. And then then close-up images are taken of any moles that have been flagged as being more worrying. And then the patient comes back at intervals and has those checks. So it's a bit of a baseline. It's interesting because it doesn't always pick up every single mole. So, you know, there are hidden sites like on the scalp, on the genital area, etc., where you might not catch a mole.

Starting point is 00:16:47 Some features of skin cancer can be really quite subtle early on. And so it might not be picked up with mole mapping. Some cancers can be really aggressive. And so in that time between appointments, you can develop a cancer and it can spread quite rapidly. And it's not been picked up. It may encourage a bit of complacency because people just rely on going for that check and not on monitoring their own skin. And so that's why I say it's really important to get to know your skin, to know what moles and things you've got. It can be helpful for you to take your own photos so that you can track changes.

Starting point is 00:17:24 and obviously it's helpful, particularly for areas like the back where it's difficult to view and you might need somebody to help you check. But essentially, you're then just spotting the difference. So you're trying to see, is there anything new that suddenly appeared? Or is there something there that's changed? Does it change shape, size, colour, etc.? And so I would encourage people to do that every three to four months. And then if they pick up a concern, go and get it checked out.

Starting point is 00:17:50 Because that way you're much more likely to pick out something early before, it has devastating consequences. I've got three moles in almost like a perfect straight line along my back, which are a nightmare to keep an eye on. It's really tricky. So two questions. First one is how would someone know if they should be possibly going down the route of getting their moles mapped? So there are different rules about mole mapping in different countries and mole mapping is not available everywhere in the NHS. It tends to be reserved more for people who've got either had two melanomas or more in the past, if there's a very strong family history of melanoma or pancreatic cancer.

Starting point is 00:18:38 If they have more than 50 moles or more than five, what we call atypical moles, so moles that don't look quite right but aren't necessarily cancerous, those would be the main sorts of criteria, often if people are immunosest, suppressed, they may have more skin lesions and that can sometimes be really helpful for helping to monitor their skin. There are lots of services available privately, but they vary hugely in terms of who's delivering that service, what their qualifications are, how much experience they have, and also the sort of technology that's being used. And it can be really difficult as a consumer or as a patient to try and navigate that and really understand what are they offering, what does it

Starting point is 00:19:18 entail what's the evidence behind it? Are they using technology? What's the regulation behind that technology? So it can be it can be quite difficult to navigate your way through that, but it is a service that's available. The second question I had, you mentioned if a mole starts looking a little bit different or funny. Are there any other pointers you'd give for anyone monitoring their own moles and knowing when to go see their doctor? Yeah, this is really important. So this is something that you can go and tell your friends and pass on because it's one of those things that I think the more people that know the better. So firstly, any new or changing skin lesion is something that you should be keeping an eye on. It can be normal to have new moles up to the age of 40.

Starting point is 00:20:04 So just because you get a new mole, it doesn't mean that it's immediately cancerous. And there are lots of pigmented things that we get on the skin which don't have any cancer risk at all. So it can be a bit tricky. but we tend to use the ABCDE approach when we're thinking about assessing our skin lesions. So A is for asymmetry. So does one side of the lesion look the same as the other? If it does, that's great. B is for border.

Starting point is 00:20:31 So does the edge of the lesion, is it nice and smooth and round, or does it have sort of jagged edges or angulated edges? C is for colour? Is it one nice, smooth colour? Or does it have lots of different colours within it? Or is the colour changing? getting darker or getting lighter. That can both be signs to watch out for. D is diameter.

Starting point is 00:20:53 So is it greater than 6mm or is it growing? And E is it evolving? Is it changing? And finally, my biggest tip is the ugly duckling sign. So does it look like any other lesion that you have on your body? If it does, if it's got a friend, that can be quite reassuring. If it's standing out as being really different, that is the biggest alarm valve that you should go and get that checked out

Starting point is 00:21:20 because that I think is one of the most helpful things to pass on and that is easiest to be objective about and think actually, yeah, I need to do something about this. That's really helpful and yeah, if that is assigned, send the episode to anyone to a loved one, make sure that everyone knows those signs, then yeah, do that now. Retinal. Now streaming on Disney Plus,

Starting point is 00:21:48 the Hulu original series Furious follows FBI agent Alice Black, played by Emmy Rossum, on the hunt for a mysterious and calculating serial killer. Both walk their own paths toward justice, and as their lives start to intertwine, the line between right and wrong begins to blur.

Starting point is 00:22:07 New episodes week over week, watch the Hulu original series Furious, Now streaming only on Hulu on Disney Plus. Bye. Definitely. Definitely. Again, lots of evidence for this. So the retinol products are part of the vitamin A family.

Starting point is 00:22:27 They are used on prescription to treat conditions like acne. But they've been shown to have massive anti-aging benefits as well, if used consistently over periods of time. There are over-the-counter versions that you can use. There are also prescription strength versions. So generally we say to use retinal products at night time because they can cause your skin to be a bit more sensitive to the sunshine. So they work by increasing collagen production, but they also increase cell turnover. And so you get shedding of that outermost layer of the skin.

Starting point is 00:22:58 So the upper layer of the skin is thinner. And so it means you're more susceptible to sunburn. And so that increased sun sensitivity means obviously it's better to use it at nighttime. And you absolutely must, must, must use a good broad spectrum as sunburn. cream in the morning. They can also be inactivated by sunlight. So if you put them on in the morning, they just get broken down. So you don't see the benefits of them. They can be a little bit irritant. So generally it would avoid them if you've got quite sensitive skin, exma, certain types of rosacea, perioral dermatitis. You have to be much more careful about using retinal

Starting point is 00:23:35 type products in those scenarios. But if not, generally start with quite a low strength, build it in gradually. So start maybe two nights a week for a few weeks, then build it up to every other night. And then if you're still tolerating it okay, then every night. Use about a pea-sized amount for the face. Spare that delicate eye area and around the lips, because that can be a common area to get rashes and sensitivities. And it can be normal to get a bit of skin shedding in the first few weeks of treatment. But if you feel like your skin is tight or sore or raw when you go to put the retinol at night time, that's a sign you should definitely take a day or two off. If you are struggling to introduce it can be quite helpful to use the sandwich technique. I'm sure

Starting point is 00:24:20 I've probably heard about it before, but just put a thin layer of moisturiser on underneath, then apply the retinol and then apply a thicker moisturiser afterwards and that can really help improve tolerability. I recently had to stop using my retinal. I've used retinol. I've used retinol. I've used retinol for like four years. And then I went away for three weeks and I wasn't using it for three weeks. And then I came back and I think it was a lot of long haul flights as well. So my skin was just probably quite dry. And I came back. I used my retinal for weeks afterwards. I was just getting the crustiest nose, crusty eyes, crusty mouth, everything. My facialist was like, you need to stop. You need to stop and put the retinal down. And I think because retinal has just been

Starting point is 00:25:02 drilled into us as this incredible product, I was completely refusing. Anyway, so I cut it out for a little bit and then now I've been introducing it back in, but with sandwich, with a good old layer of sycoplast, the building it up thing, I think on social media when it's really pushed as this hero product, you don't necessarily always hear about the bad reactions. Slow and steady definitely wins the race when it comes to retinodes and other sort of slightly more abrasive treatments. I think it's quite interesting as well because people get quite nervous about using retinoids in the summer because of the sort of the sun sensitivity.

Starting point is 00:25:38 But actually, most people tolerate it much better during the summer months. And actually it's the winter when sometimes you do have to step down because it's cold, it's dry, the skin dries out. You often have sort of dry cracked lips, etc. So it can be actually that's the time also to sometimes step back, maybe not use it quite so often. I think we all love to have a routine and we don't like to deviate from it. but it's really important that you just get into that habit of just feeling, how does my skin feel tonight? Okay, yeah, it feels good. I'm okay to put my retinoid on. Or actually, it's a bit tight, it's a bit sore. It was a bit stingy this morning. I'm just going to

Starting point is 00:26:14 take a day or two off. And actually, just let the skin settle down. And your skin looks so much better for it. The listening to your skin thing, that is an extremely important lesson. I learned way too late. I don't know if you remember there was a trend a couple of years ago with a red acid. It was a red serum. It looked like a vampire serum. And it was an AHA and a BHA. And I got that when I was going through like a really rough period of acne. You know, my skin was like crying out for help.

Starting point is 00:26:44 It was just constantly red, constantly painful. Me finds this AHA, BHA, extremely abrasive peel, peeling product. And I just refused to listen to my skin. I was applying this, leaving it on, you know, feeling my skin burning and still reading the back of the label saying, well, leave it on for 10 minutes. So I'm in actual pain still leaving it on for 10 minutes. And yeah, it's awful, isn't it? How we've been taught to ignore our skin. Yeah, absolutely. Last but not least. Oh, sunbeds. Back to sunbeds again. Sunbeds. Bye or bye-bye. No question. Bye-bye. Thank you for.

Starting point is 00:27:30 listening. If you would like to hear the full episode with even more jam-packed knowledge, then just click the link in... Ready to take your investing knowledge to pro-level? This is Fidelity Connects, your daily edge in the markets. Get deep insights on real-time market topics that may impact your investment portfolio. Listen to Fidelity Connects on Spotify today and power your next move tomorrow. The description.

Her Discussions by Dr Faye - Healthy Skin 101: Every Woman Should Know This By 25 | Mini Episode

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.