Mimi: I have been experiencing severe dryness under my eyes for the last 6-9 months. Have tried numerous eye creams and have seen no improvement. I am 48 yrs old and menopausal...I eat healthy, exercise regularly and all I drink is water---at least 6-16 oz bottles a day or more. I have always taken very good care of my skin...wash, masques, moisturize...I don''t like to look in the mirror anymore...feel old and very frustrated...can you please help? thank you for your time and knowledge.

Dr.Dima: It would be helpful to know a few things to be able to give an adequate response to this question. Among them are age, any existing skin conditions, any history of allergies and whether the dryness has any associated symptoms. But, having said that, I will do my best to give you a few recommendations.

Q: What is Latisse? And does it really work to grow your lashes?

A:  The short answer: Latisse is a prescription eye solution used to grow eyelashes making them longer, thicker and darker. Yes, it works. My sister is an eye doctor so I had the inside scoop a long time ago and tried it myself and it really does work!

The long answer: The chemical name for Latisse is bimatoprost and it was discovered in the 1930s as a new class of drugs called prostamides (yes, as in derived from the prostate – my goodness what we’ll do for beauty…).

Q: What scrubs do you recommend for normal skin? How oftern should you use them?
A: We usually “scrub” our skin to achieve one purpose: remove dead skin cells to achieve a healthy, radiant glow and softer skin. For all skin types, I recommend using a combination of physical and chemical exfoliation methods to achieve the best results. “Normal” skin types tend to be able to tolerate more frequent and stronger types of exfoliation than sensitive skin. Remember that our skin naturally exfoliates daily and that about once a month we have the pleasure of a new epidermis. When selecting an over the counter product to assist with this process, keep in mind that natural is not always better. Some products with “natural” scrubbing particles such as sugar, salt, almond meal or fruit kernels do not have uniform surfaces and can often be too large and abrasive for the face. Choosing an exfoliant with uniform particles is, in my opinion, best for the face and neck. A couple of products I recommend are Illuminating Moon Rock Anti-Matter Polish by Dr. Dima’s Cosminology, Sweep Gentle Refining Exfoliant by Remede Laboratoire and Medi-Morphosis Self Adjusting Exfoliator by Cosmedicine Test the product by rubbing a little between your thumb and index finger. With regard to frequency, my recommendation for normal skin is “as tolerated” but at least twice a week.

Q :I need some eye cream for dryness around my eyes. Do you recommend a great one?
A: It would be helpful to know a few things to be able to give an adequate response to this question. Among them are age, any existing skin conditions, any history of allergies and whether the dryness has any associated symptoms. But, having said that, I will do my best to give you a few recommendations.

First and foremost, our skin has a built-in mechanism for keeping itself hydrated and one of the most common causes of dry skin under the eyes (or anywhere really) is dehydration. So make sure you’re drinking plenty of water daily and the water in ice tea/coffee/soda don’t count.

The number of skin cancers I remove off of people under the age of 40 is alarming. Granted, there are many factors that can influence the development of skin cancer (genetics being among them), sun exposure is by far the one factor we have some control over. Let me be blunt: Chronic sun exposure without protection will invariably lead to some form of skin cancer or at least pre-cancer. Not to mention wrinkles, blotchy skin, early cataract formation….the list goes on.

When I was growing up, we lived in a house on the beach and spent every weekend swimming, building sand castles and basking in the rays. I remember my mother rubbing me and my siblings with baby oil and squeezing lemon in our hair to get natural highlights. Getting that “sun-kissed healthy glow” was a good thing….or so we thought.

Fortunately, today’s technology allows us to not only diagnose but to treat decades of accumulated UV exposure. The skin analysis system we use in our office is called the VISIA. Through multi-spectral technology, it allows us to image a person’s skin and calculate various scores, including a UV score that allows us to customize our treatment recommendations. Our most popular “anti-cancer” treatment modality is called Photodynamic Therapy (PDT). It combines the use of a chemotherapeutic agent called Amino Levulanic Acid and a light source to essentially “zap” abnormal (precancer/cancer) cells, returning skin to its natural, healthy state. It so happens that when we address the skin’s health from the inside out, it looks healthier, firmer more radiant and youthful. I will be addressing these modalities as well as oral and topical anti-oxidant therapy for the skin in future articles….so stay tuned.