Winter Skin Care Plan by Corinne Erickson, MD

The weather gets colder, the holiday decorations come down, and sugar cookies make way for New Year’s diet plans. There are many things about post-holiday winter to make one want to hibernate in a cave and come out in the springtime with the butterflies. But like the butterflies, winter is an opportune time for us to undergo a metamorphosis, and this metamorphosis does not forbid cookies!
While summer is the season we bare a little more skin, winter is the season to improve and rejuvenate it. So cocoon yourself up in flannel PJs and sweaters now – come spring, this winter skin care plan will have you looking and feeling fabulous. This is a New Year’s Resolution that you will want to stick to, for more than a week!

1. See Spot Go.

Most of us, even your fair skinned Dermatologist, notice the unwelcome arrival of brown spots. They show up, uninvited, onto our faces, chests, backs of our once porcelain hands, and make us look (gulp), old. One of my favorite treatments for these spots is a procedure called IPL, which stands for Intense Pulsed Light. This glorious beam targets pigment, and after 2-3 treatments, erases the dark spots. Winter is the ideal time for this treatment, because you cannot get sun in the weeks before or afterward. This is also a very gentle treatment with virtually no downtime, so you can carry about your daily life without anyone knowing that you’ve “had something done.” Investing in eliminating the dark spots this winter will hopefully help you keep another resolution, to wear more sunscreen and not get more dark spots.

2. Iron out the wrinkles.

A wrinkle anywhere on your face is a wrinkle in your plan to stay looking young, so if addressing discoloration and wrinkles is your skin care resolution, then the season for Fraxel has arrived. This laser deposits tiny columns of energy into your skin, destroying hyperpigmentation, and stimulating collagen to fill in your fine lines and wrinkles. Like IPL, sun exposure is not allowed before or after treatment, so it’s critical to get these treatments in before the springtime sun begins to shine.

3. Pursue your leg veins.

There is nothing vain about treating your veins. They are often genetic, keep you from wearing shorts, and seem to multiply every year. The superficial spider veins are treatable with an in office procedure called sclerotherapy, in which a solution that dissolves the veins is injected with a tiny needle into each venous network. I recommend the procedure more in the winter for several reasons. The cooler temperatures make the compression hose you need to wear afterward more tolerable, long pants conceal any post-procedure bruising while it resolves, and it is important to avoid sun exposure due to potential discoloration of the treated areas. One to three treatments will eliminate the majority of the superficial leg veins, and your gorgeous gams will be clear by spring.

4. Dream a little (V)beam.

You had one too many margaritas and spicy meals out last summer, and now your face looks likes it sprinkled with cayenne pepper. Your rosacea has flared, and the repeated “flushing” spells often triggered by having fun, have permanently dilated your vessels and painted you pink. VBeam is a laser that targets blood vessels and can delete the redness with minimal down time. It’s best to have this treatment performed in the winter, again due to increased sun sensitivity.
Heed this advice, and come springtime, you’ll be ready to emerge and unveil your skin to the world, wearing lots and lots of sunscreen of course!