Fun in the Sun!

Fun in the Sun! How honored was I when top NYC dermatologistrn, Francesca Fuscornagreed to be interviewed for Reflections? Very! AlthoughrnFrancesca is my dermatologist; I know that she is amazingly busyrnand sought after, so I was thrilled when she agreed to answer somernquestions about my treatment, skin care recommendations and gettingrnclear about sunscreen. So...summer is just a round the corner (yay!!!) and I wantedrnto find out some skincare tips and recommendations from the expert. rnI think in many ways we all know much of the basics when it comesrnto sunscreen and skincare at this point, right? Well...no. Francescarnenlightened me about some real basics that I had not known aboutrnand maybe you didn't either. For example, SPF #'s beyond 50 have such a slightrnincremental difference that it's almost not worth getting them.rnFrancesca told me "A sunscreen with an SPF of 15 confers 95%rnprotection from burning and skin cancers and SPF 50 gives you 98%rnprotection from there going up the percentage is sooo incremental.rnSo, the bottom line is just wear a good SPF 15 and it should bernlabeled Broad Spectrum for full UV protection." But, she did sayrnthat "from a purely cosmetic and vanity point of view" someone thatrnis extremely fair should use SPF 50. So now we know what # SPF to buy, but there are soo manyrnsunscreens on the market that is really hard to decide. What’s a sun lover to do?! When Irnasked Francesca for her opinion of the best sunscreen she told me,rnshe usually steers away from recommending anything, but had to tellrnme about one product in particular, "What I LOVE for the face is ShiseidornSPF 55 Line because it is cosmetically elegant. It does not leaverna white, masky, ghostly look. It feels good on the skin. And peoplernreally like it either alone or with their makeup over it." Thatrnsounds great to me. Who doesn't want be elegant and not ghostly, Irnask ya?! When it comes to the most common misconception about sun andrnskin Francesca says: "Having a tan, either for real or using a selfrntanner can serve as protection on the skin against burning andrnsubsequent damage" . So, if you go to the tanning salon or use a selfrntanner to get a base tan before that fabulous Caribbean vacation,rnit doesn't give you any sun protection factor...only sunscreen willrndo that. I also have to give my real plug for what Francesca has donernfor me and my skin. I have been lucky enough to be able to get onrnher client list and have been seeing Francesca for the last 4rnmonths and I have never been happier with my new skin! Growing uprnwith lots of acne and oily skin, I had what Francesca told me wererncalled "Sebaceous hyperplasia glands" or little (some not sornlittle! Yuck!) bumps all over my face, but especially in the cheekrnand temple areas. In order to take care of those and the overall look and feelrnof my skin, she is doing a combination of a TCA chemical exfoliantrnand what she calls "Search and Destroy" which is the process ofrnfinding and burning off (don't worry it just stings for a fewrnseconds!) those little bumps. Now I am starting to have skin likerna baby's.... (I told myself I wouldn't use that phrase, but I hadrnto!) My treatment is the basic of what Francesca does for people,rnespecially if they don't want anything invasive like needles (canrnyou say Botox?!) or fillers. I would highly recommend this coursernof treatment to anyone. Now, that I'm educated and have arnbaby's....I'm ready for some safe and protected fun in the sun! *Francesca is located in Midtown Manhattan and can be contacted atrn212-684-2626