Quick Derm Chat: Smoother Skin with Dr. Anne Chapas

In case you guys haven’t noticed, I LOVE to talk about skincare. In fact, call me weird but one of my favorite things to do is to sit and chat with dermatologists about any given skin condition (what? I didn’t have a ton of friends in high school). This time around I had a quick chat with Dr. Anne Chapas, a New York City-based dermatologist and dermatological surgeon who specializes in laser surgery, Mohs micrographic surgery for the treatment of skin cancers, as well as cosmetic procedures. In fact one of my fave glossies ELLE magazine featured her as one of 13 “beauty geniuses” for her state-of-the-art use of lasers and energy devices. Cool, right?

So the other day I wanted to know what it would take for very textured facial skin (I’m talking Nancy Gonzalez could possibly make a bag out of it) to get to a smoother appearance and asked Dr. Chapas a few questions…

What causes rough, dry skin on the face? What can be done to avoid it?
Dry skin can occur just water evaporation from the skin or could be the results of the skin’s response to an irritant. Using a daily fragrance free moisturizer can help both problems. Dry skin that does not respond to moisturizer or persists longer than a month should be evaluated by a dermatologist. Occasionally these areas are precancerous skin lesions known as actinic keratoses and need to be treated to avoid developing skin cancer.

What are some at-home techniques one should incorporate into their regimen to achieve smooth skin?
Depending on your skin type, a daily moisturizer with SPF 30 should be used each morning and nightly moisturizer should be used. Exfolliating with a manual brush, or light alpha hydroxy acid a few times a week can help to remove dry skin.

What are some in-office procedures that help get softer skin?
Clear and Brilliant is the newest way to achieve softer skin in the office. Over 4-6 treatments approximately 2-4 weeks apart, fractionated light energy is delivered to the skin to stimulate collagen production. This results in a smoother more even skin texture. Treatments range from $300-500 per session, take under and hour and have minimal recovery time.

Thanks, Dr. Chapas!