Make A Great Impression

The holiday season is quickly approaching and in a blink of an eye the new year will be upon us.  And with the new year brings New Year resolutions. We all make them, resolutions to eat better, work out, make time for each other.  How many of us though make our skin health a top priority?  Our skin tells a story and  is often the first impression we give to others. Why not make a resolution this year to take care of your skin?  If you or your family has never had your skin checked now is a great time. Dr. Badia and her providers will examine your skin from head to toe for any suspicious lesions or moles. We often can provide same day biopsies if necessary for any spot that is suspicious for a cancer or precancerous lesion.  We also urge you to preform self skin check examinations to look for the ABCDs of moles.

1. Assymetry: one side of a mole or lesion doesn't look like the other
2. Borders:  if a mole or spot has jagged edges
3. Color: not only dark colors or any changing colors in a spot or mole
4. Diameter: if a mole or spot is large or has changed in size                     

We can also provide you with great skin care regimens that are affordable and acutally work as well as cosmetic treatments for those of us who not only want to be healthy, but want to look and feel better too.

Make a great impression this year and make a resolution to take care of you!

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

Florida Skin Center

The Dreaded Mask of Pregnancy

The mask of pregnancy or melasma as it is known in the medical world is a very common problem we see in our female patients.  It can often be a very embarrassing problem for women to deal with. 

Although the exact cause of melasma is unknown, it is associated with changes in the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. It is especially common in pregnant women, women who are taking birth control pills (oral contraceptives) and women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) during menopause.

So what can we do about it? 

With so many treatments and creams on the market these days, it can be confusing to know what works and what doesn't.  At Florida Skin Center, we have a variety of treatment options to treat this difficult and often upsetting problem.  We have customized a treatment plan that combines the use of chemical peels, retinol, a bleaching prescription and most importantly sunscreen to treat this problem.  Each of these products works to penetrate into the skin to help exfoliate and diminish the discoloration caused by melasma while protecting our skin from UV rays. 

Chemical peels, sounds a bit scary?  Not really.  We have a trained aesthetician on staff with over 10 years of experience performing these procedures who will tailor the chemical peel to your individual needs. 

It’s time to stop hiding behind our mask!  

Ask us about our Melasma Treatment Package today.

Skin Protection is Important Even at the Nail Salon

 Living in Florida, we are constantly in the sun and reminded to wear our sunscreen when we are outdoors.  But what about using sunscreen before going to the nail salons for our routine manicure and pedicure?

Yes that’s right the nail salon.  The lights used in most nail salons and at home units are UV lights and emit UVA rays. UVA rays penetrate the skin deeper than UVB rays and cause our skin to age and wrinkle.  They also damage the skin cells in the epidermis which leads to skin cancers. 

You may think only a few minutes under the lights what harm can be done? However, weekly trips to the nail salons can add up to significant UV exposure over a lifetime. 

What can you do to protect your skin from UV exposure? Wear sunscreen prior to getting your nails done.  Wear finger less gloves and socks to protect the skin around your hands and feet.  Air dry, it may take longer, but significantly reduce your risk of getting skin cancer.

We have a great selection of sunscreens that are water resistant here at the office that our staff would be happy to give you information on. 

Back to School Means Back to You.

Summer is behind us.  The kids are back to school.  And you finally have a few hours to yourself. 

Why not take the time to pamper yourself.  A great way to look refreshed, and to hide those fine lines and wrinkles without surgery is by doing Botox Cosmetic and cosmetic fillers such as Restylane.  We like to think of them as the dynamic duo.  Botox Cosmetic helps to soften and relax the muscles and works great for those of us who are very expressive.  Restylane helps to fill and give volume to our facial features.  It works great for those stubborn parenthesis lines and for those of us who have lost volume in our cheeks as we age. Both treatments can be done the same day with little downtime.

We know what you are thinking.  These treatments must be expensive.  Call or check our website to find out our latest promotion for these treatments.  You don’t want to miss out.

We hope to see you soon.

FSC

Hair Loss

A quick goggle search for hair loss treatments will end in a multitude of solutions, creams, gadgets and home remedies.  It often leaves us the consumers lost as to what really works and what doesn’t.  We understand how devastating hair loss can be to most individuals.  At Florida Skin Center, we have done extensive research on products that help maintain and stabilize hair loss.  In addition to products, we are one of the only offices in the area to offer the revolutionary treatment for hair loss called Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) treatments. PRP uses your own blood to regenerate hair growth and can be done with one office visit.  Almost sounds too good to believe right?  Well come see for yourself. 

We will be holding our annual PRP Workshop on Saturday Sept 8^th at Noon at the office.  For more details please give us a call or visit us at www.floridaskincenter.com

The 411 on Sunscreens’

Sunscreen, we know we need it, but how many of us have walked into the drugstore and have been bewildered by the different sunscreen brands and SPF options?  Pick an SPF 100 and I’m good to go right?  Not exactly.

The FDA has finally released some guidelines on sunscreens to help us understand what we need to look for when looking for a sunscreen.

Only sunscreens that protect against BOTH UVA rays and UVB rays can be labeled “broad spectrum.  UVA rays are the rays that cause us to age and wrinkle.  UVB rays are the sunrays that actually cause us to burn and can lead to sun damage.

Sunscreens with SPF of 15 or higher can say that they prevent sunburn, sun damage, and skin cancer on their labels. Sunscreens with SPF less than 15 will be required to carry a warning that they have not been shown to prevent skin cancer or aging. It is often tricky to know how much SPF is needed.  The key to any sunscreen no matter the SPF is to simply REAPPLY every 2 hours.  We at FSC recommend an SPF of 30.

Sunscreens will not be able to call themselves waterproof or sweat proof. Remember, no sunscreen can be completely water proof when in the water. They will be labeled instead as sweat/water-resistant. And will be required to indicate how long before the protect wares off.

We hope that clears up some of your questions.  We also carry some great sunscreens at the office.  At your next visit let us know and we can make some recommendations for you.  

Dermatology from the HEART

It’s that time of year again where we will be holding our annual Dermatology from the Heart Children’s Day Event.  Dr. Badia and her staff generously devote their time and expertise to help the children in need in our community. 

This year the event will be held on June 9^th at Florida Skin Center and starts at 9am.   Any child 18 and younger is eligible to be seen that day. In past years, we have been able to see over a 100 children in the community.  If you would like more information about this great event please visit our website at www.floridaskincenter.com

We look forward to this event every year and would love for you to be a part of it.