TCA Mole Removal - Lower Eyelid

I've had this pesky little mole under my eye for a long time, so I found some courage last week and decided to zap it with 50% TCA chemical peel solution.



I dabbed the solution on with a thin plastic toothpick (made sure no large droplets were on the pick), and though it didn't hurt at all, it frosted right away.



After two days, the first layer peeled off.



Looks like I need to do another application, but it's definitely smaller (yea)!


Remove those Skin Tags before Summer

It's spring, and my turtle necks have been replaced with neck- and shoulder-baring frocks. With great chagrin, I noticed a few skin tags on my neck!

Unfortunately for many women, skin tags starts developing with increasing frequency after age 30; and at 49, I produce 2 or 3 every winter, so I'm thrilled to be able to remove them quickly with TCA peels at home.

Last night I applied 50% TCA to three skin tags on my neck. I dipped the long, pointed end of a plastic hair pick into the solution, making sure there was no large droplet on the tip before touching the wet plastic tip to the first skin tag. I had to repeat the process a couple of times for each. Here's the picture of the frosted skin tags (click on the picture to enlarge):
This morning when I awoke, the tags had already turned dark brown. If they react the same as my skin tags in the past, they will fall off within the next 48 hours.
One of the great features of TCA chemical peel at this percentage is that it also acts as an anesthetic, so there is barely any sensation or pain.


Acne Linked To Sugar And Dairy

It's not a surprise, at least not to me. I posted last year and the year before about switching to a low-sugar and -dairy diet for healthier skin--not only for fewer outbreaks but also for few wrinkles down the road (search my blog for glycation for an explanation of that).


Anyway...

A study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has determined that there is increasing evidence of a connection between diet and acne, particularly from high glycemic load (sugar) diets and dairy products, and that medical nutrition therapy can play an important role in acne treatment.

High glycemic foods are not limited to high-sugar foods - they include foods high in processed grains: cereal, bread, rolls, cake, cookies, pastries, chips, crackers, and much more.

More than 17 million Americans suffer from acne. Acne influences quality of life, including social withdrawal, anxiety, and depression, making treatment essential. Since the late 1800s, research has linked diet to this common disease, identifying chocolate, sugar, and fat as particular culprits, but beginning in the 1960s, studies disassociated diet from the development of acne--a mistake.

"This change occurred largely because of the results of two important research studies that are repeatedly cited in the literature and popular culture as evidence to refute the association between diet and acne," says Jennifer Burris, MS, RD, of the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University. "More recently, dermatologists and registered dietitians have revisited the diet-acne relationship and become increasingly interested in the role of medical nutritional therapy in acne treatment."

Burris and colleagues, William Rietkerk, Department of Dermatology, New York Medical College, and Kathleen Woolf, of New York University's Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, conducted a literature review to evaluate evidence for the diet-acne connection during three distinctive time periods: early history, the rise of the diet-acne myth, and recent research.


Culling information from studies between 1960 and 2012 that investigated diet and acne, investigators compiled data for a number of study characteristics, including reference, design, participants, intervention method, primary outcome, results and conclusions, covariate considerations, and limitations.

They concluded that a high glycemic index/glycemic load diet and frequent dairy consumption are the leading factors in establishing the link between diet and acne. They also note that although research results from studies conducted over the last 10 years do not demonstrate that diet causes acne, it may influence or aggravate it.

The study team recommends that dermatologists and registered dietitians work collaboratively to design and conduct quality research. "This research is necessary to fully elucidate preliminary results, determine the proposed underlying mechanisms linking diet and acne, and develop potential dietary interventions for acne treatment," says Burris. "The medical community should not dismiss the possibility of diet therapy as an adjunct treatment for acne. At this time, the best approach is to address each acne patient individually, carefully considering the possibility of dietary counseling."