This is a sponsored article
KEEPING your days carefree and easygoing sounds like a dream to just about anyone who has been fighting stay-at-home – but work around the clock – stress for the past year or so.
Some may have the liberty of keeping good skin hygiene, while others may not even have the time to.
The feel-good factor that you may yearn for when you look into the mirror does not necessarily come just from within, it is also about the effort you put in to pamper your largest organ (your skin).
But before we get into the details on the how-to(s), our friends from Dr. Ko Skin Specialist have some interesting facts to share.
Who would have thought that the comfort of being at home could prompt several skin and hair issues? In a poll conducted, 5,500 of votes collected make up 67% of those having to deal with such problems. 33.9% of them cited skin problems such as allergies, eczema, and psoriasis. The next largest group of 26.2% from the poll experienced hair loss.
Maybe that is why we see a lot of self-care content being pushed to our devices over the past months?
Filter is great, but great skin is better
Those dealing with chronic skin issues not only have to deal with physical strains, but their mental well-being as well.
Everyone deserves to look and feel their best, but in the pursuit of finding the right solution for whichever conditions we want to tackle, it’s important to first understand that each body is unique. Treatment varies from one patient to another.
Common dermatological issues that Malaysians deal with include eczema and psoriasis, apart from skin allergy/infection.
Know the symptoms before you begin to consult for any tailor-made treatments to fit your journey to better skin.
Eczema causes itchiness due to dry skin where it can also result in irritated lesions. Scratching the lesions can cause changes in the skin, including both hypopigmentation and hyperpigmentation.
Meanwhile, psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune condition that causes the rapid buildup of skin cells, which leads to having scale-like skin texture. Typical psoriatic scales are whitish-silver and develop in thick, red patches that can potentially crack and bleed.
Good hair speaks volume
Our body reacts to our environment in interesting ways.
Hair thinning may not be something new that us women face, but the pandemic-ridden world where personal and professional boundaries are blurred isn’t truly helping to ease the situation either.
Extreme stress following a traumatic event, invasive activity, childbirth, and viral infection among others allow for a large shift in our hair pattern, from the growing to the shedding phase.
While [hair] shedding is normal, look out for abnormal hair loss as it may well be Alopecia. In more detail, Androgenetic Alopecia comes first where you would notice repetitive strand loss.
This is then followed by Alopecia Areata, a condition where hair loss occurs in patches. Occasionally, diffused or total hair loss may occur. It may extend beyond the scalp to the eyebrows, beard, and other parts of the body and is believed to be related to autoimmunity.
Make time for you
Reduce triggers. The main priority is to deal with stress, where you can start by maintaining a consistent exercise routine, meditate, pray or conduct whatever stress management technique that works best.
Go easy on yourself. Do not apply practices that exacerbate symptoms by further weakening the skin barrier or hair shaft. Adopting gentle derma care practices and avoiding excess treatment is also key.
Watch what you eat. Vitamin imbalances, iron deficiency, inadequate protein intake, and meals that contain too few calories can all contribute to dermatological problems.
See a specialist. If your skin and hair problems are worrying you, our best advice is to go see a doctor so they can diagnose and treat you appropriately. It’s as simple as that. With over 25 years of experience, Dr. Ko Skin Specialist has been helping to treat allergy-related stresses where treatments are based on individual physical condition and medical history.
*Aside from the scalp, balding can occasionally occur on other hair-bearing areas such as the eyebrows, moustache, or beard. For more information, visit www.koskinspecialist.com or send an email to [email protected]. To make an appointment, Whatsapp/call 0111 922 9228. – The Vibes, September 30, 2021
