So recently, I watched Beauty Bible and they were doing their last segment for K-beauty/ "Trends Around the World" which is one of my favorite parts of the show. Well, during the segment they had to guess what was popular in each country. Energetic host Kwanghee guessed most of the countries right and then it came to North America/ USA and then the Supermodel Seunghyun said, "Americans don't know much about skincare... some Americans don't even wear sunscreen." Then they show a clip of what was popular which was two-tone lips sticks apparently but I think most of it interviews were shot in back East. After thinking about this it was somewhat true. I thought back to pre-teens years and mostly remember Proactive or Murad; and cosmetics brands like Maybelline, Loreal, and Revlon; but mostly it was plastic surgery and hair care, skincare, and mineral makeup infomercials. It was not until YouTube became huge, that people around the world started sharing their beauty and skincare tips and tricks. Then I saw Asian YouTubers broadcasting from Singapore, then Japan, and then Korea doing something I never have seen before in the makeup routines that made them look flawless because of skincare. Like pampering your skin before the storm of makeup hits your face.
I wondered why we didn't get into global skincare until now. Well, it's obvious we do care about our skin. But being that we are a melting pot of different cultures, idealism, and a hodgepodge of skin issues. Most of the population couldn't afford to spend money on taking care of themselves, let alone even their skin. The advertising norms were Soaps back by Godliness and your local celebrity much like today, drugs that cure wife's supposed behaviors/ mood swings (PMS), and cosmetics latter technicolor at the time took care of the outer and inner issue we had to face day in and day out. It wasn't until the late 1800s, America saw its first sunscreen lip balm. Most of our manufactured creams and lotions were petrol-based, and that didn't come till later. And when bathing suits became a must for the blazing summers at the beach that's when sunscreen was invented in the 30s-40s with later advancements like SPF and UV protection in the 60s and 80s.
Tan skin is certainly the norm here in America so, SPF with UVA/B is nice but even when I do wear sunscreen it's usually when I'm being active outdoors but sometimes your skin needs that 15-30 minutes in the limelight to build that much needed Vitamin D. Most people when they do get scaring or darker completion it's mostly because your skin is trying to protect you from the sun by producing Melanin from melanocytes. Now we call it hyperpigmentation but that is just our body's way of protection. That's where human skin, hair, and eyes get are the color from. Melanin is an effective absorber of light; the pigment is able to dissipate over 99.9% of absorbed UV radiation. But even Southern Europeans go get a tan at the beach, and white Americans who want more definition or some just think they look pasty so they get a spray-on tan even opting out those tanning beds.
Whitening has a long history all around the world by way of miscegenation of a population or class or threw cosmetics. Today whiting cosmetics are so popular in the Eastern world and parts of the Americas, many off-brands or cheaply-made creams or gels popped up destroying the vital cell still in use today. While the rest of the world has moved on to targeted color/blemish correcting cosmetics with SPF. Most of the creams sold in India and even my Dad's homeland Jamaica had access to bleaching gels, and creams that caused huge problems of photo-degradation of certain vitamins, vital to protecting the skin, causing light sensitivities, burns, and even skin cancers.
I had to ask my friend about what she thinks about the Eastern world's perceptions of Westerns. She said something that I didn't really think about at the time. But let me tell you a story that I have told many times that correlates to how I came to writing this post. When I was a pre-teen like many, my acne was horrible to believe it or not. Some people don't even believe me when I tell them. My mom had just taken a nutrition class and wanted to solve the issue because as a kid my skin was #flawless even though I was eating McDonald's for breakfast and Burger King for dinner; I sure did have a boatload of toys now, that I think about it. (Rant: I hear that some organizations are concerned about poor classes diet in the eastern world which is apparently lacking in As so, genetically modified rice (GMO) infused with beta-carotene was created to fix the issue. This stems from the logical problem because most people eat rice every day since it is stable this might do more harm than good and toxicity might not be an issue at first but the effectiveness of beta-carotene is known to lessen over time making it useless to the body causing the same outcome of hepatotoxicity.) Anyways, My mom went on a health kick and today people are finally getting it: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. Anyway, I tried Proactive which worked but wasn't a permanent solution after reading up about the chemicals benzoyl combined with peroxide at the time was very drying and irritating to my very sensitive skin.
When I turned 14, I became determined about trying to find a solution to my Pizza face filled with blackheads and whiteheads. I went to the Dermatologist, and when I found out I was allergic to the common dust, pollen, trees, but also Olives. No more authentic pizza for me and for a lot of people who feel my pain because the struggle was real. He prescribed me to use Retinal A cream, Sulfate based topical ( I could not use Benzol peroxide because it was too drying and back it wasn't advised to use the next ingredient together) and/or Salicylic acid and Sunscreen which of course worked but because I was just a teen I couldn't afford to continue maintaining the routine. So, when I did have an allergic reaction I would use it to get these dime-sized boils on legs full of itchy fluid. So, when I do eat olives, it accumulates in my feet causing the dry itchy flaky skin to occur (Atopic Dermatitis). But one thing is true about this allergy is that I had a lot of headaches as a kid and even today if I do accidentally eat olives in any shape or form. Apparently, the OPAL scale has placed specific species of Olive trees and pollen at a 10 for being the most allergenic, causing a few too many respiratory problems like asthma. Even my mom has issues but, with Avocados which, makes her want to vomit with even the thought of trying to digest its fatty goodness. Apparently, they share similar gene expressions.
Okay, so did you guess it yet? If so, were you thinking Dermatologist? Then yes, you are correct! My friend said we have the top Dermatologist with California having the most in the US, second NY, and third Florida. One branch of Dermatology became an organization called the short ABD which was established in 1932 but, the main organization has been around since 1876. Talks were held by AAD informing that institution that focuses on skin ailments and diseases, the ABD. Recently, the AAD has published an article on the effects of prescribed Anitbotic to patients dealing with diseases and hormonal skin issues that correlate to the flesh-eating bacterium especially subjects with Acne. To those, who are prescribed antibiotics to sum it all uptake it moderation or as prescribed by your doctor which basically is a three-month period while taking topicals like what my doctor prescribed me to maintain the skin or the other option is to be put on stronger medications. After reading the article you will have a better understanding of why you are prescribed certain topicals and or drugs to combat skin issues.
For instance, there has been a lot of talk on the web about Accutane which isn't really explained very well to audiences by users that have severe acne. So, what is Accutane? Accutane is also known as Isotretinoin, is an oral pharmaceutical drug primarily used to treat cystic acne reducing bacterial numbers in both the ducts and the skin surface. It is a retinoid, meaning it is related to vitamin A (or retinoic acid is effective in maintaining normal skin health) and is found in small quantities naturally in the body. This retinoid is successful in regulating epithelial (protective) cell growth. Also, it reduces the size and secretion of the sebaceous glands. Because it is a very controversial drug because it is sometimes prescribed with contraceptives on a trial basis for women as hormonal treatment due to the failure of antibiotics. Some might be prescribed Spironolactone, brand name Aldactone in most countries is a synthetic, steroidal antimineralocorticoid, as well as, to a lesser extent, an antiandrogen, progestin, and antigonadotropin. The side effect is what most worry about because it puts patients at high risk when paired with Spironolactone which, is known to cause depression but, has been effective alongside Isotretinoin in studies. However, Isotretinoin does help to decrease "inflammatory acne on the jawline, premenstrual flares, association with hirsutism, or excessively oily skin." It showed a lot of promise with males who take it alone having no effect on male reproduction proving that it is safe and effective.
Moving on to Isotretinoin's sister is Tretinoin which, is retinoic acid in pharmaceutical form also, the carboxylic acid form of vitamin A. It is a first-generation topical retinoid commonly used to treat acne vulgaris (common acne) and keratosis pilaris (rough red bumpy skin). It is most commonly available in gels and creams. Tretinoin has been highly tested for many types of skin conditions. Both trails treatments for acne have the same or similar side effects of dry, sensitive skin, birth defects, and mood changes. There is another drug called Dapsone that was also used to treat severe acne vulgaris but that's just another option to consider.
Recently, I was watching Youtuber that I am a long-time subscriber who has been dealing with adult hormonal acne. She had come across a "Natural form of Vitamin A." Since she had been on Accutane she had a lot of side effects from taking the drug and although a diet can help, Accutane is one hell of a drug for many. She had come across a "Retinol-like" compound called Bakuchiol which studies go as far back as 2014. The antioxidant compound comes from a plant called Psoralea corylifolia which is abundant in its leaves and seeds of the plant as meroterpene phenol. The plant is native to India and Sri Lanka and was occasionally cultivated in Arabia for its supposed medicinal properties but is also used in Indian and Chinese traditional medicine. It's becoming a "trendy" new anti-aging skincare product ingredient since it doesn't have the side effects of a retinoid but is just as effective in improvements in lines and wrinkles, pigmentation, elasticity, firmness, and an overall reduction in photodamage. It is now being used to treat other skin conditions such as acne, melasma, and hyperpigmentation.
In conclusion, American Dermatology was and still is pretty much at the front in important skincare solutions and discoveries like Vitamin A, being that it is really powerful even on a cellular/genetic level but, all in moderation is best kept in mind because toxicity is common. But amazing Vitamin A and its counterparts have been effective in treating certain cancers and acute to mild stages of the severe virus in studies. I wish I had found out about this sooner a lot of lives will hopefully benefit from this because I have a lot of people in my life who are suffering from a retroactive virus I even lost a family member to it. Thank you for reading till the end I hope you learned a lot and will follow the links to those organizations to learn more.
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