Posted 04 August 2006 - 09:10 PM
yeah, i se retin a micro -- i never heard of retin a being anything but great for skin, however I do know that if you get sunlight while using it, yeah, you're probably shooting yourself in the foot.
Also, eating lots of fatty fish can be helpful. I'm not sure I'm much of a believer in topical stuff, but rather systemic things you can do to help your skin out. I know melanin is one the best antioxidants the skin has, so if you're lucky enough to have dark skin, you probably have good skin and are certainly less prone to wrinkling, etc.
Melanin increasing drugs are going through clinical trials, so they offer hope. But other than retin a and glycolic peels and maybe Kinerase cream, I dunno.
Any systemic or foods that people have had great results with? How about cortisone injections? I know of a doctor in NY who does things like that for a lot of money to very rich patients who apparently have great results. He also does tiny, multiple vit c injections in their faces which supposedly have profound results.
I also know that for hyperpigmentation or simply lightening skin tone many in asia inject vitamin c with supposedly (at least anecdotally) extremely rapid results. Glutathione is also used in this regard in reduced form.
Has anyone ever tried an epsom salt bath or a infrared sauna over time to see if the increased sweating and mild heat therapy to the skin produced significant results?
I know certain toxins can ONLY be excreted via sweat ducts -- or so I've read.
Has RALA supplementation in sufficient doses helped anyone's skin noticeably?
I've had definite and fairly fast success with undereye bags by using hot tea bags for 10 minutes or so -- the only thing I've found to really help.
I'm also noticing a more regular sleep pattern to normalize my circadian rhythm is helping and my energy levels are definitely improving and stabilising as a result. I used to be a night owl but I kinda doubt that's healthy actually from the little I've read on that issue. So now I wake up early-ish and at the same time more or less every day.
Silica is supposed to also be helpful and i think it's high in beer and bananas. Also, borage oil, emu oil, DHA and EPA are good. Lecithin I believe is helpful. I had much much better results moisturizing my skin with internal treatment than applying any cream that mainly just made my greasy and gave erythema.
Not sure about the enzyme idea presented above. Is this backed by any actual studies or is it more theory?
what about caffeine? I drink lots of green tea, matcha, cocoa, and yerba mate, and i have to honestly wonder if it's better or worse for my skin due to the caffeine. White tea would seem the better option as it is lower in caffeine and higher in catechins. But still...