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Nobody’s skin is perfect, but since there are so many internal and external factors that affect skin health, it can be difficult to know how your skin is doing, and how you might be unwittingly contributing to its problems. Want to know whether you’re protecting your skin from the sun well enough, or how well your skincare routine is working? A new app might be able to help you figure out what you’re doing right–and wrong.
The App
Made in partnership with Allure magazine, SkinBetter is a free app that scans your skin and searches for problems like wrinkling, sun damage, clogged pores, and a number of other issues. Users take a photo of their face and submit it to the app, as well as answering a few questions about skincare habits and creating an account. SkinBetter uses Canfield Imaging technology (often used by plastic surgeons when planning surgeries with patients) to “map,”analyze and compare the skin to others in the user’s age group, identifying red and brown spots, and assessing overall skin quality.
Suggestions
The second component of SkinBetter is the recommendation aspect of the app. After your skin has been analyzed for damage, the app recommends ways to improve your skin, through lifestyle changes and products (all dermatologist recommended). While it’s no substitute for advice from your own dermatologist, it can help inform your product choices and get you on track for skin health.
Not What You Hoped?
If you’ve tried the app and feel disheartened by your results, don’t sweat it. Skin takes a beating every day, and even if you are diligent about skincare, you can’t control every variable of skin health. Annie Tomlin, a reviewer of the new app on Yahoo Beauty mentions how careful she is about sun protection and skincare, and yet, her skin is far from perfect, according to SkinBetter, with more wrinkles than average for her age group. So what does this tell us? Should you just give up? Is perfect skin elusive?
While it may seem like an impossible task to keep your skin beautiful and healthy, you don’t have to achieve perfection to help your skin stay youthful and healthy. Perfection may be impossible, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from the app’s results and work on improving your skin’s health. The better you understand and care for your skin throughout life, the more likely you are to have beautiful skin as you age.
Rejuvenation Procedures
Even if your skin is showing signs of aging and other damage, there are plenty of great solutions for rejuvenation. Many procedures today offer great results with very little discomfort and downtime. There are treatments available to suit most needs and budgets, and can improve issues like sun damage, dullness, wrinkles, sagging skin, pigmentation problems, and more. Some common treatments include:
- Laser Resurfacing
- Ultherapy®
- Sublime™
- eMatrix™
- Chemical Peels
- Botox®/Fillers
All of these treatments have high safety levels when performed by a qualified cosmetic dermatologist, and can produce great results. Only an expert provider can give advice on specific procedures that might be best for each patient.
Get a Professional Opinion
Remember, always take advice from apps with a grain of salt. As Tomlin observed, “The makers of SkinBetter are careful to emphasize that the app isn’t a substitute for a dermatologist visit. Instead, it’s a tool to help users understand the complexion issues that aren’t always visible.” It’s impossible to get trusted opinions and advice without speaking to a professional. If you’d like to see about improving your skin’s health, then it may be time to seek help from a board certified dermatologist. You can get customized advice, build a skincare plan, and even get any anti-aging procedures performed by a knowledgeable provider.
If you’re looking for the best in professional skincare in the Miami area, come meet with Dr. Diane Walder and her associate, Dr. Stacy Chimento. Dr. Walder is an acclaimed cosmetic dermatologist, who is often consulted with by major publications like Allure and Glamour for her expertise on skin health and aesthetics. To schedule a consultation at Dr. Walder’s office, call 305-866-2177 today.
