Make Your Skin 'IN' This Year With These 5 Tips

Want-It Wednesday: 

Oh, my poor skin. 

We demand the most of it, but for many of us, it’s one of biggest areas we ignore. We’ll spend buckets of money on the best lipstick and foundation, but when it comes to caring correctly for our skin most of us just suck.

Lastyear I had made a resolution to be better to my skin with a real grown-up skin care regimen instead of the splash of Noxema or wipes I might do. While I tried really hard to be after the first 90 days to be adament about my daily and nightly routine, I will admit many days the only thing my skin received was the softness of my pillow when I hit it each night.

However, 2013 is a new year and a new attitude about creating a BETTER ME.Unfortunately, I’m a year older, so a little dab of moisturizer ain’t going to make me look like a 20 year-old all of a sudden. So I went to see board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Tanya Reddick Rodgers of Skin Specialists in Addison to learn what I should be doing to be skin to make it look the best it can be.

Dr. Tanya Reddick Rogers of Skin Specialists of Addison/Allen recently on Fox's Good Day Dallas. (Photo from Facebook.com)

I learned so many amazing things from this beautiful doctor and mom – especially that basic skin care doesn’t to cost a lot of money if I’ll listen to her advice!

Here are her basics you need for good skin care:

Sunscreen:
No matter if you’re actually going to be outside or not, all of your exposed skin areas should get a coat at least 2 times a day (and more if you are planning to be outside for an extended amount of time.)

Moisturizer:
This and sunscreen should be the most important steps to preventing aging and skin cancer. Use a oil-free and noncomedogenic brand so it won’t clog your pores (and cause blemishes.) 

Cleanser:
Clean your skin with a non-harsh, liquid, fragrance-free cleanser two times a day.

Anti-Aging Creams with Retinoids and Antioxidants:
Daily you should use a cream that contains antioxidants like vitamins C, E or ferulic acid to boost the power of your sunscreen in the prevention of oxygen radicals. Prevent wrinkles with an anti-aging cream containing a retinoid (retinol, retinaldehyde, Retin-A) as its active ingredient nightly to reverse the collagen loss that causes the wrinkles and fine-lines of aging skin.

Chemical Peels:
A medical-grade peel can safely improve the texture and tone of any skin color or type. These can also be customized to target a variety of problem areas like acne, wrinkles, dark spots and rosacea.

The most important thing to remember is that you should visit the dermatologist annually, just like you should get a physical once a year to check for skin cancer and other ways to keep your skin healthy.

BUT what do you do when your face looks less like a grape and more like a raisin?

Next Wednesday I’ll take a look at the magical world of:

• Microdermabrasion
• IPL and Laser Treatments Skin Resurfacing Treatments...
• Skin Tightening
• Neurotoxin Treatments
• Injectable Fillers
• Chemical Peels 

In Dallas where there’s just as many med spas as there are Starbucks and McDonalds (want proof, look here), I’ll take a look at the newest options for making you look like a million bucks (or at least take a few years off your face.)