Here’s why you might want to take care of your body
There is no cure for stretch marks.
You can fry your hair as easily as frying an egg.
And hair doesn’t grow in weird when you shave it.
* Stretch marks
Dr. Kelly Hubbard, a Logan dermatologist, said the main part of skin, or dermis, is made of collagen and elastic fibers. Fast growth, pregnancy or expanding muscles from weight lifting can all cause stretch marks — those annoying, red lines that just seem to appear without warning.
Botox doesn’t do anything to help stretch marks go away, Hubbard said. But there are some treatments that can lessen its effects.
“A pulsed-dye laser helps to stimulate new collagen production,” he said.
It can take out redness, but that’s about it.
Retin-A, the acne-fighter, gives the same results as the laser, but people need to use it for months to get results. Also, Hubbard said it’s probably not safe for use during pregnancy.
* Hair straighteners
Have you ever fried an egg? It’s obvious that the longer the egg cooks, the harder the yolk becomes. Hubbard says that’s because the proteins become denatured, or lose their natural shape.
The same thing happens with hair. Quite often, people use hair dryers with hot air to straighten their hair. This way, people sacrifice healthy hair for speed and style. The proteins in hair often have a natural twist, which causes the hair to curl.
In fact, straight hairs are round, wavy hairs are oval and curly hair is kidney-shaped.
The heat causes water inside the hair to evaporate too quickly and break the hair. Chemical straighteners also break the protein bonds in hair.
“If you do something to change hair, your’re doing something to make it not as healthy,” Hubbard said.
* Shaving
When hair first starts emerging from the skin, it has a fine, wispy tip, Hubbard said. Shaving doesn’t affect the diameter of the hair; it merely gives it a squared-off edge. When you wax, the hair is pulled completely out and is forced to grow anew, once again starting with a fine, wispy tip.
That hair grows thicker when it is shaved is nothing more than perception, Hubbard said.
* Skin care
If there’s anything people need to remember, it’s that they should avoid sun exposure and tanning beds.
“I wish people knew or cared how much damage the sun or tanning beds can do to their skin,” Hubbard said.
It causes wrinkles down the road, something Hubbard says is great for his business, but bad for his patients.
–jmdo@cc.usu.edu