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With sun safety tips from a Derm PA ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| When it comes to our “Take a Shower With Me” series, we are equally as nosy about what products everyone uses. However, when interviewing an industry expert, we listen extraaa carefully! For this week’s newsletter, we interviewed Esther Agepogu: a physician assistant who specializes in cosmetic dermatology, based in the Aloha State.
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Skin is my passion. I’m originally from Los Angeles, now living island life in Maui, Hawaii, and I’ve been a practicing physician assistant in cosmetic dermatology for 20 years. I’ve had a long history of eczema, to the point where in college there were days I didn’t go to class because I was so embarrassed by it. It wasn’t something I could easily hide. I hit a turning point in my twenties, when I left everything that was safe and secure in Los Angeles to grow up a little more on my own and live life before starting graduate school. I lived in New York doing post-baccalaureate work at NYU. One day, the girl at the front desk looked at me and said, ‘Oh my god, what’s wrong with your face?’
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That’s why going into this field felt like a calling. Since I was a dermatology patient myself, I have so much empathy for my own patients struggling with skin issues. It feels like my way of giving back.
I always do my facial care in the shower. Before I actually wash my face, I use a cream cleanser to take off makeup. My current go-to is the
Kylie Makeup Melting Cleanser. It’s a great product. I have three bottles of it in my cabinet because I’m afraid she’s going to discontinue it (like my previous go-to was). I massage it over my makeup, tissue it off, and then cleanse with
Skinceuticals Simply Clean Gel. If you like a cleanser that foams, washes your face, does everything, that’s the best one. A
good facial exfoliator I love is by iS Clinical—a skincare line that’s a ‘can’t live without’ for me.
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And as I’m just turning 50, all of a sudden I can see the skin on my neck, my chest, and my belly aging and changing.
When I was first introduced to Soft Services, I was so impressed with how they targeted different parts of body skin that aren’t usually paid attention to, like hands, for example. Because I come from a medical background, I am flooded with all kinds of products that companies want me to try, and they’ve got great marketing campaigns, so I’m always very skeptical of new products. I feel like products have to be science based, not just a marketing campaign, and I love that Soft Services products incorporate ingredients like retinol and urea—ingredients with medical benefits that we actually use daily in dermatology.
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I advise my patients to exfoliate once or twice a week. It’s such an important part in increasing skin cell turnover to create new, healthier cells.
Buffing Bar is a great option to exfoliate areas with thicker skin, like your heels and elbows. When I go surfing, I slather layers of sunblock on my feet and the backs of my hands, so I come home covered in a thick film of it. I heard a tip about using Buffing Bar to remove all those layers of sunscreen—I can’t wait to test that out. After being in the ocean,
Speed Soak is such a nice gel to put on, I actually put mine in the cooler. I always—because I tend to be a little bit drier—like to feel very moisturized.
I have also been using
Software Update on my neck and chest every other night, followed by Speed Soak to minimize the chance of irritation. Remember when I mentioned these areas have started to show their age... it’s such a great product to target this. I wish I could slather it all over my body most nights! I use
Theraplush for my hands, and I’ve even gotten [my husband] Chad to do it with me right before we go to bed—I’ll give him a pump, I get a pump, and we rub it in. We often neglect men’s skincare needs, and I don’t know if it’s just because I work in this field, but I feel like he’s been wanting to have more products to use on his skin. He always says, “Just put it out for me and I’ll do it.” He has
keratosis pilaris, so I showed him the Buffing Bar. I’m like, ‘Don’t scrub
that hard!’ He was a little aggressive at first.
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| What does safe sun look like?
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There’s no other option. If you can get into the daily habit of applying it daily, just like brushing your teeth, that is the best thing I can recommend.
Since chemical sunscreens are banned in Hawaii, I’ve always recommended physical sunscreens or mineral-based blockers because they physically block UV rays from number one, causing sunburns, but also preventing aging of the skin. I surf, so I like the heavy-duty stuff. But since I’m a woman of color and the skincare industry has created and tested these products on a different type of skin than mine, it can be challenging to find something that isn’t sticky or pasty looking (which a lot of the heavier types of sunblock tend to be).
This one by Koa blends in nicely like moisturizer and is effective. I have been able to find a hat that I can wear while surfing, in addition to wearing surf pants and a
rash-guard that’s long sleeve, which I wear even when I’m not surfing.
When it comes to spray-on sunscreen formats, they’re good for reapplication, but not as your sole method of protection. For a first base layer, you need a good dollop (or several) spread evenly all over your body. With sprays, not all of that is getting on your skin, especially if you’re applying it outdoors and it’s windy.
And yes, you
will still tan if you have sunblock on. Remember, UVA rays are associated with aging and cause changes in the DNA at the cellular level. UVB rays cause the skin to burn, and despite using a broad-spectrum sunscreen, it’s not a guarantee. Especially if not enough is applied (and reapplied throughout the day). Some skin types are just prone to burning. Lighter, fairer skin types don’t tan, they burn. Some darker skin types only tan and don’t burn. But most of us are somewhere in the middle where we may burn a little bit, but we also tan a little bit. It mostly depends on your skin type. But yes, you can still tan when using sunblocks.
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| Esther’s favorites mentioned:
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