What do you wish your clients would stop doing?

I wish my clients would:

• Stop smoking
• Stop sun bathing and tanning
• Stop picking at acne breakouts
• Stop going to bed with makeup on
• Stop buying into products that are over-the-counter or from the mall

I wish my patients would not smoke, and not spend time outside without sunblock.

I wish they would stop:

• Running to the mirror after surgery expecting to see the final results
• Smoking, and yes, lying about smoking (we can smell you!)
• Sunbathing (wrinkles, sun spots and skin cancer are NOT pretty)
• Picking, squeezing, scratching at pimples
• Waiting til 5:01 on Friday afternoon to call the office with a problem they've known about all day

Using expensive, highly publicized products that may have no proven benefits before consulting their dermatologist.

I wish that my clients would stay out of the sun and use sun block more and not just on their face. Hands and the décolleté are very important parts of the body as well to cover, they are constantly exposed to the sun and reflect that sun exposure in dramatic ways if left unattended. In my travels across the globe, the most damaged and dehydrated skin I have come across is sun damaged skin.

I wish my clients would stop skipping meals and skipping exercise-they’re not optional.

Sunbathing to get a healthy tan. With so many self tanning and bronzing products available today, there are easier and safer ways to get a bronzed look, if that is what you are looking for.

I wish my patients would stop using their teeth as tools to chew ice, chew bones, open wrappers, hold pins, etc.

I wish all of my clients would STOP using over the counter products. They are too weak to give any substantial results and many give false claims. Many OTC products on the market today are also very expensive, sometimes more so than products from physicians, which are proven to be more effective in maintaining healthy, firm skin.

I wish that our clients would stop going without SPF and avoid the use of tanning accelerators.

• I really wish my clients would stop going in the sun without sunscreen. I can’t emphasize enough just how damaging the sun can be to the skin.
• I also wish my clients would stop hopping around from one product to another in pursuit of the best deal or cheapest price possible. Most of the less expensive products sold over the counter in the chain drugstores will never achieve any results. The ingredients are not very good and you can easily start developing skin allergies.
  • You should only consider using products that are sold by medical practitioners who know the chemical components of these products.
• I also advise my clients to be a critical reader and a critical shopper. Do your research online and read many different sources to ensure that the product you are putting on your face will be effective and get good results.

I wish all of my patients would stop tanning and smoking.

• I regularly see women in their twenties with skin cancers from sun exposure which requires reconstructive surgery. In addition to skin cancer, the cumulative damage from lying in the sun causes the skin to lose its luster and smoothness and causes wrinkles. The self tanners available today will give you a great look without the skin damage.
• Smoking deprives the skin of oxygen, and the nicotine causes the supporting ligaments to loosen, which can cause the face to sag.
• Stop smoking! The hidden effects of smoking on general health and well being are immense. Smoking effects on the skin are seen with collagen loss and aging. We spend so much time and effort to replenish lost collagen with lasers and fillers but forget how much smoking robs from the skin.

The biggest wish I have for my patients is to refrain from smoking. It is absolutely the worst thing you can do to yourself in regard to speeding up the aging process, especially of the skin. In addition to the severe cardiovascular and respiratory problems it causes, smoking also negatively affects the healing process after surgery.

Overdoing with the sun is what my clients should stop doing. We have such an active lifestyle, and you don't want to begrudge people their outdoor activities, but know that that comes with a price your skin has to pay for. So organize your activities early in the day or late in the afternoon whenever you can.

I wish my clients would stop licking their contact lenses and putting them back in their eye. They would be better off rinsing the contacts in a toilet than in their mouth, because the toilet has fewer germs!