Your Questions Answered: Beauty Tips and Questions on Skin Health, Skincare and Aging (Part 2 of 2)

Hello and welcome. I’m Dr. Trevor Cates. This is part 2 of my question and answer session where I answer your skin health, skincare and anti-aging questions. I know it’s something a little different, but I have received so many questions on skin health, skincare and aging. Along with requests for the best beauty tips that I decided to dedicate two entire episodes to answering your questions. If your question is not answered leave a comment, join our group, or hit me up on social media and I can address your questions in future episodes.

Your Questions Answered:

• Question:
• A couple of months ago I noticed a rash on one of my eyelids and most recently noticed that the skin in the area was lighter. My dermatologist thinks is Vitiligo and ordered some blood test that I’ll be getting done next month during my 6 month check up. The dermatologist also mentioned that I could have an autoimmune issue. I have had a lot of stress and also have done some wax in the affected area. Is there any information you may be able to give me about Vitiligo? Any recommendation about what I should do, etc? I’m 58 years old and generally have always been healthy.
  • Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease
  • We want to calm and balance the autoimmune system
  • Digestive or gut balance microbiome issues
  • Avoid food allergens
  • Take antioxidants such as ALA
  • B vitamins such as B12 and Folate  
  • Low vitamin D has been associated with vitiligo (recent study – March of this year)
  • Get vitamin D levels tested
• Question:
• I just wanted to ask if you are considering making skincare products for the body to compliment the products you have made for the face?  Thanking you, and letting you know I have received my Daily Essentials Skincare range on May 12th, so I am looking forward to using them and experiencing positive results.
  • We are looking into this option
  • It will be awhile before we have body products
  • But it is interesting to know what products you want and need the most
  • Feel free to leave feedback like this on our comments
  • In the meantime, use the face cleanser on your body
  • It won’t foam like a body wash, because it has mild acidity
  • For moisturizers – use coconut, almond and jojoba oil
• Question:
• I’m 64 and still get pimples.  I’m permanently on on a low carb high fat diet.  Any suggestions?
  • Reducing high carb foods such as refined grains helps balance blood sugar.
  • Not all carbs are bad – veggies and some fruit – antioxidants (protect against oxidative damage – acne) and fiber
  • High fat – what types? Balance is key.
  • Also dairy fat can make it worse. Eggs I’ve seen contribute to acne – but not for everyone
  • Diet is important but it’s not all – do you have gut issues, nutritional deficiencies, hormone imbalances?
  • And what are you putting on your skin – don’t want to clog pores
• Question:
• Tell me more about powerful chemicals in wrinkle creams.
  • Top ingredients to avoid are fragrance and parabens,
  • Formaldehyde releasers – Quaternium-15, diazolidinyl urea, DMDM hydantoin, Bronopol, or imidazolidinyl urea.
  • Check out my blog on The Spa Dr. –  Are Your Skincare Products Causing a Hormone Imbalance – Are you covering your face with toxins.
  • There are more. I will cover these more in depth in my book.
• Question
• I deal with Vitiligo which is an autoimmune condition.  But my main concern is that recently the skin on my arms and legs have started looking “crepey.”  I would love to know if there are things I can do (or stop doing) that would improve this condition.
  • This is caused by collagen loss
  • To support collagen, try collagen protein use clean sources
  • Vitamin C helps support collagen, take vitamin C and collagen together
  • Bone Broth a good source of food collagen
• Question:
• Hi!  I am 64 years old and taking BHRT.  I feel great, but sometimes breakout from oily skin and little bumps. This is probably from the testosterone.  Any suggestions on how to handle this?
  • You may need to lower your testosterone dosage. BHT can help you feel great but it’s about balance.
  • Have your DHT levels tested. Are you having hair loss too?
  • Are you taking DHEA as well – that can trigger oily skin; If so, talk with you doctor about switching to 7 Keto DHEA
• Question:
• My question is will you be introducing a body cleanser/moisturizer & shampoo/conditioner to your skincare line? I’d love to be “ph-balanced” from head to toe!
  • We are considering these along with other products. And, you’re right – pH balance is important – not just on the face. It helps to keep skin clear and aging gracefully
• Question:
• I am looking for green, clean effective skincare for eyes, neck, body and face.  I have esthetician training and always used effective but expensive products.  As a health Coach and 63 years young I am interested in effective, green and clean skincare.
  • You have come to the right place. The Spa Dr. Daily Essentials Four Step System is a great product that fits your needs
• Question:
• You have  interviewed a number of experts and they all have some similarities in what they recommend eating but also have a few minor differences. I was wondering if you recommend peanuts or eggs? If you think that they are not foods you recommend, can you say why.
• Also since Dairy is frequently one that most of the guests have recommended we stay away from, what do you recommend for sources of calcium especially for kids.
• Lastly, what do you pack in your kids lunches?  Sandwiches with bread seem to be the mainstay. Is there a particular bread that you think is ok?
  • For some people peanuts and eggs are OK, but for many people these can be trigger foods, especially when it comes to skin issues.
  • In my two week program these are some of the foods I take people off of
  • Try eliminating them for 10 days and see how your body feels, when you reintroduce them, do it one at a time
  • Our bodies don’t absorb the calcium in dairy very well
  • Incorporate green leafy vegetables and salmon or bone broth
  • For kids lunches try wraps or lettuce wraps, gluten free breads, or what can you do instead, like use almond flour tortillas
  • Experiment with options
• Question:
• Would using coconut oil on one’s face be clogging? Even for dry skin?
• Is argan oil safe for skin?
• What’s the lightest oil for the face?
• Wouldn’t eating a mostly raw diet be counterproductive in the long run unless you live in a warm climate?
  • Coconut oil can be great on the face, but for some it can be a trigger for acne, be careful if you tend to get acne
  • Argan oil is fantastic for the skin
  • Jojoba oil is the lightest oil for the face
  • Raw vegan diet can be great short term, but not beneficial long term
• Question:
• I am wondering how to eliminate both dark ‘circles’ and puffy ‘bags’ under the eyes. My understanding is that what you eat and how much nutrition is absorbed by your body, as well as having a balanced gut microbiome speaks volumes in the nourishment of your skin. I have read that ‘too little water consumption’ creates the dark circles and inflammation causes the puffiness and bags of the lower lids, but I don’t know this to be true. What have you found to be the causes of these issues and what do you recommend to eliminate them?
  • Dehydration, sleep and allergies
  • Gut health, microbiome,  nutrition and what you are absorbing all matter

That’s all the time I have for answering questions today. Be sure and listen to the first half of this question and answer section in the last episode. If you have any more questions for me, be sure and leave them in the comments below. Also, don’t forget to join the Spa Dr. community, so that you never miss an episode!

Resources mentioned in today’s show:

Blog Post: Are Your Skincare Products Causing a Hormone Imbalance?

Additional links to check out:

• TheSkinQuiz.com – Get your customized skin profile. It’s free, and based upon your answers, it will give you great tips for glowing skin and vibrant health.

Don’t miss out on all of the latest tips to get glowing healthy skin from the inside and out. Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Join the conversation!

If you enjoyed this show please leave a review on iTunes

Hi there. I’m Dr. Trevor Cates, Welcome to The Spa Dr Podcast. Today, I’m doing something a little different. I’ve received so many questions about skin health, skincare, aging, and beauty tips so I decided to designate an entire podcast today answering your questions. I will get through as many as I can today and will answer more in upcoming podcasts.

At the end of the podcast, if you haven’t had your questions answered, I’ll explain how you can get additional questions answered as well as give some insight into good skincare habits. Let’s go ahead and get started.

Here’s the next question, this is from Martha. “Hi Dr Cates, I love listening to your podcast and learn a lot from the interviews.” Thank you, Martha. “A couple of months ago, I noticed a rash on one of my eyelids and most recently noticed that the skin in the area was lighter. My dermatologist thinks it’s Vitiligo and ordered some blood tests that I’ll be getting done next month during my check up. The dermatologist also mentioned that I could have an autoimmune disease. I have had a lot of stress and also have done some wax in the affected area. Is there any information you may be able to give me about Vitiligo? Any recommendation about what I should do, etc? I’m 58 years old and generally have always been healthy. Thank you so much for your time and for what you’re doing.”

Okay Martha, vitiligo is an autoimmune disease that impacts the skin. What we see is we see these hypo-pigmentation areas, these light in contrast to the regular skin. Those patches of areas can be on the face, it can really be anywhere on the body. In the beginning, it can be in small amounts but then it can start to spread. In some people, it’s very visible and very noticeable. In other people, it’s just very mild. It does again have to do with the immune system. Anything that you can do to balance your immune system and keep it working in a way that is working well but not overactive.

An autoimmune disease happens when your immune system is attacking itself. We want to calm down the immune system in a way instead of just boosting the immune system. We want to calm it and balance it. One of the ways to do that is to look to see if you have any food allergies and make sure you’re not eating foods that you might be reactive to. If you’re eating a food that you’re allergic or sensitive to, it flares up the immune system and can aggravate autoimmune disease. It’s important to start identifying any foods that might be trigger foods for you, and avoid those.

A lot of times, the people have autoimmune disease or have a lot of allergies, it has to do with gut issues. There might be some issues going on there, you might need some digestive support with your gut microbiome, balance of microorganisms that are in your digestive tract might need some support.

In addition, you can take antioxidants. Some of my favorites for example are alpha-lipoic acid which is particularly good. Also, B Vitamins, particularly B12 and folate are important for vitiligo.

There’s a recent study that looked at vitamin D levels, this is blood levels of vitamin D. Low vitamin D was associated with vitiligo. This study is from March of this year. I would have your vitamin D levels tested. You ask for 25 hydroxyvitamin D and you want to make sure that your level is within the normal range but not only within the range but more mid-range and not on the low end of the range. If they are low, then I would definitely consider supplementing with the vitamin D3 supplement. I hope that gives you some ideas for vitiligo.

Next question is from Angelina from Australia. “Hi Dr. Cates, I just wanted to ask if you are considering making skincare products for the body to complement the products you have made for the face. Thanking you, and letting you know I have received my Spa Dr’s Daily Essentials Skincare Range on May 12th, so I am looking forward to using them and experiencing positive results.” I’m excited to hear back from you, Angelina, and your experience.

Yes, we are looking into this option. Thanks for asking. It’ll be a little while before I have body products, but we are working on some ideas for that. It’s good to know that that’s an interest of yours. We always like to know what are the products that people really want, what is it that you want next. We have our Four Step Daily Essential System and we’re looking into developing other skincare products as well. We really want to hear from you and know what is it that you need the most, what are the products that you want.

If you want to give us that feedback like Angelina has done here, feel free to post us comments, contact me on social media, let us know what you want to see, what you want developed.

In the meantime Angelina, I would say what you can do is you’ve got the face cleanser, you can probably use that on your body. You’d probably want to order more of the product. It doesn’t foam like a typical body wash, that’s because it’s got that great mild acidity, but you can use it all over the body. We’ve been thinking about bundling up the cleanser into a pack so people can use it for their body. As far as body moisturizers for now until we have something, some of my favorites are coconut oil, almond oil, jojoba oil. These can be great natural moisturizers for the skin.

Next question is from Bob. “I’m 64 and still get pimples. I’m permanently on on a low carb, high fat diet. Any suggestions?”

I do think that reducing carbohydrate load such as reducing refined grains, it helps balance blood sugar. That can help with reducing acne breakouts. I just want to point out that not all carbs are bad. I don’t want to sound like you should never eat carbs because vegetables and fruit are also carbohydrates. I think some grains can be beneficial because vegetables and fruits have lots of antioxidants that protect from oxidative damage.

When it comes to acne, one of the reasons we have these breakouts is because of the oxidative damage occurring in the skin. Antioxidants can be very beneficial. Eating these colorful fruits and vegetables which are carbohydrates are a great part of diet.

I’m guessing you probably already do this but you’re thinking more along the lines of grains. Limiting grains can be beneficial for many people, to go into a more gluten free whole grain with some options like quinoa and brown rice in moderation. I think they’re good. Also, they can add fiber like fruits and vegetables that also have fiber in them. We need fiber for healthy digestion which then helps with healthy skin.

As far as high fat goes, I want to mention that. You did mention high fat diet. It’s really about balance. I image you’re not overdoing on fat, you’re eating the right kinds of fat. I just want to make sure because you want to be careful to avoid trans fats, hydrogenated oils, and instead enjoying things like coconut oil for cooking and olive oil and avocado oils for salad dressings. It’s really about balance. We know that we want to get a balance of carbohydrates, fats, and protein in our diet in every meal, making sure we get plenty of vegetables.

Of course I do want to mention that dairy fat, if you’re eating a lot of dairy fat, that can be a trigger for acne. We do find that the number one food for acne breakouts is sugar or anything that turns to sugar. Certainly, watching your carb count can be beneficial. However, also the second big foods are dairy products. Dairy is one of those trigger foods for skin and can cause acne breakouts.

Unfortunately, another one that I see not as often but for some people are eggs. I know that for people who are eating more of a high fat low carb diet sometimes are eating a lot of eggs. Something to watch out for. Simply, you can take out eggs for ten days, reintroduce them, see if your skin reacts to them. Those are some dietary things you could be doing.

Of course, I’m always trying to look what is the underlying cause? Are there gut issues going on for you? Are there nutritional issues? Deficiencies? Are there hormonal imbalances that you might want to address? All these things play a role in what you’re putting on your skin, how are you cleaning your skin, are you overstepping it, are you getting the right kinds of cleansing, the right kinds of nourishment for your skin. All things to think about and that mild acidity is also key.

Here’s another question. “Tell me more about powerful chemicals in wrinkle creams.” This is from Tahira.

Some the top ingredients to look for in skincare products, especially wrinkle creams because they often times will have these are fragrance. Unfortunately, fragrance is in a lot of products and it’s an opportunity for companies to hide a lot of harmful ingredients, a lot of hormone disrupting chemicals are hidden here such as phthalates are plasticizing agents and they’re in fragrance. Diethyl phthalate is in fragrance to help it last longer, to help the smell last longer, to preserve that smell. Unfortunately, synthetic fragrance is not something that you want in your personal care products.

Also, paragons, you’ll see methyl, propyl, beauty parabens, these types of parabens in your skincare products. They’re used as preservatives but they also have estrogenic qualities and they’ve been found in breast tumor tissues, so definitely something to avoid.

The last one that I want to mention, because there’s so many but I just want to mention a few on what to look for. The last one is formaldehyde releasers. When we put these ingredients on our skin, it releases formaldehyde into the air around us and we breathe that in. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, so you want to be careful with this.

You will not see formaldehyde listed on the ingredient label though, here are some of the things to look for. Quaternium-15, diazolidinyl urea, DMDM hydantoin, Bronopol, or imidazolidinyl urea.

Check out my blog here and then there’s a blog called Are You Covering Your Face With Toxins? I have all of those listed on there. I will also be covering this a lot more in depth in my book.

Next question, this is from Donna. “I deal with Vitiligo which is an autoimmune disease. My main concern is that recently my skin on my arms and legs have started to become creepy looking.  I would love to know if there are things I can do or stop doing that would improve this condition.”

Donna, one of the biggest things that cause the creepy skin are collagen loss. When we lose collagen in our skin, it starts to sag and get really thin and creepy. The things that you can do to help support collagen is if you eat animal protein, you can get straight collagen protein. For example, I make a supplement called collagen Plus and it has collagen along with some other nutrients in there that help the absorption of it.

Collagen, you can take straight collagen, it does come from an animal source, we’re sure to use clean sources. When you take that, your body can hopefully be using some of that. It’s also great for your digestive tract, great for your joints, your hair, your nails. It’s great for the skin too.

If you want some additional support or you don’t eat animal protein, maybe you’re vegetarian, vitamin C we need to help support our collagen. Often times, I actually tell people to take—I have a vitamin C powder and a collagen Plus powder. I tell people to take those two together because they help support each other so much. You can also take vitamin C on its own to help support collagen.

Hopefully, that would give you some ideas. Also, you may have heard me talk about bone broth and that being a good source of collagen in food. Again, if you’re a meat eater, you can make some bone broth and that can help support your collagen.

Next question is from Audrey. “Hi Dr. Cates, I am 64 years old and taking bioidentical hormones. I feel great, but sometimes breakout from oily skin and little bumps. This is probably from my testosterone. Any suggestions on how to handle this? Thanks!”

Audrey, I think bioidentical hormones can be fantastic for people. They can, like you said, make you feel great especially during pre-menopause or after menopause making us feel more like ourselves when our hormones really start to drop off. However, you can get too much. You don’t want to go overboard with the hormones. I would talk with your doctor, maybe you’re getting too much testosterone. Or maybe your body is not metabolizing the testosterone very well.

You can actually have your dihydrate testosterone tested to see if maybe you’re not metabolizing it very well, especially if you’re also noticing some hair loss. If you’re noticing hair loss or any facial hair growth along with it, then maybe you’re getting too much testosterone and you’re not metabolizing it right.

Also if you’re doing bioidentical hormones and you’re doing DHA, I’ve also known that hormone to trigger oily skin and sometimes skin breakouts, especially in women. Just go ahead and talk to your doctor about that. If you are on DHA, you might want to consider switching to something called Seven Keto DHEA which doesn’t seem to have the same kind of effect.

Next question is from Danielle. “Hi Dr. Cates, thank you for all of the helpful & educational information that you share with your audience through your social media outlets. I am a monthly subscriber to your Daily Essentials 4 Step System for the face & neck. It has become my AM & PM routine, and I appreciate that your products are natural and toxin-free. I am 54 and I am now enjoying a smoother, softer, clearer and glowing complexion.” That’s great Danielle, thanks for sharing that.

“My question is will you be introducing a body cleanser, moisturizer and/or shampoo and conditioner. Okay great, that’s another question in this topic. She said, “I’d love to be pH-balanced from head to toe!” I love that, Danielle.

We are considering these and other products. You’re so right, pH balance is important for our skin. It’s not just for the face, it’s for our entire body. It helps to keep skin clear and aging gracefully. Danielle, stay tuned, we’ll let you know when we’re creating more of these products.

This is from Anthippi. “Hello, I am looking for a green, clean, effective skincare for eyes, neck, body and face. I have esthetician training and always used effective but expensive products. As a health coach and 63 years young, I am interested in effective, green and clean skincare.” You’ve come to the right place.

I’ve created my own skincare line, The Spa Dr Daily Essentials is a four step skincare system. Definitely contact us, come to the website or you can just go directly to our store. Try out the products and let us know what you think. I’m always excited to hear back from people with experience, estheticians, and dermatologists. We have a lot of professionals using our products because they work so well and they’re clean and non-toxic.

Moving onto a question from Veronica. “Dr. Cates, you have interviewed a number of experts and they all have some similarities in what they recommend eating but also have some minor differences. I was wondering if you recommend peanuts or eggs? If you think that they are foods you recommend, can you say why?

Also since dairy is frequently one that most of your guests have recommended we stay away from, what do you recommend for sources of calcium, especially for kids? Lastly, what do you pack in your kids lunches? Sandwiches with bread seem to be the mainstay. Is there a particular bread that you think is ok?”

Okay, we’ve got a few questions here. Peanuts and eggs, I think that for some people these foods are okay. For many people, especially people with skin issues, these can be big trigger foods. In my two week program, these are two of the foods that I do take people off of in addition to dairy and some of the other foods that I find are big trigger foods.

Peanuts and eggs, what you can do is eliminate them for ten days, see how your body does, how you react to it. If you feel better, that’s going to be a pretty good sign. When you reintroduce those foods, introduce one at a time. If you reintroduce them and you notice you have more problems, then those are probably trigger foods. Or, you can have some food intolerance or allergy testing to find out.

As far as calcium and dairy products goes, that’s a really great question. I get asked this a lot. Actually, even though dairy products have higher amounts of calcium than any other food, your body actually doesn’t absorb it as much as certain other foods like those of green leafy vegetables and salmon. Those are foods that I would say look at incorporating those, even bone broth can have high amounts of calcium when it’s made straight from bones.

As far as what to put in your kid’s lunches, there are a lot of options. There are a lot of different things you can make with wraps, you can even make lettuce wraps, you don’t have to have sandwiches. But if you’re going for a sandwich, there are lots of gluten free bread options out there that might be okay for your kids. I would really try and say what can you do instead of bread, what are some of the things you can do that you can make instead.

I’ve started making tortillas for my daughter from almond flour and she really loves those. Just get creative and experiment. There’s a lot of different options that you can include in your child’s lunch box.

This is from Malka. “Hi!  Since you asked, would using coconut oil on one’s face be clogging? Even for dry skin? Is argan oil safe for skin? What’s the lightest oil for the face? Wouldn’t eating a mostly raw diet be counterproductive in the long run?

I’m going to go through each one of those. Coconut oil can be great on the face, it can be great used. It’s natural, it’s clean, it can be used on the entire body. For some people however, straight coconut oil can be a trigger for acne. I would say be careful with coconut oil on the face if you tend to get acne. If you don’t, it’s probably alright.

I should say in my cleanser, we have a little bit of coconut oil. Because we have it combined with other ingredients, it doesn’t cause the breakouts. If it is an ingredient in it, it may not be a trigger. But if you use it by itself, it can be a problem.

Argan oil is fantastic for the skin, absolutely, full of antioxidants, full of nutrients that are good for the skin and skincare. The skin loves it.

I would say one of the lightest oils for the face would be jojoba oil. Jojoba oil is great for the face, very light, great for all different skin types. In spite of doing a raw diet, I think raw vegan diets can be great short term. I don’t personally think that it is beneficial long term. I think we do need some animal protein in our diet even if it’s a little bit of cheese or eggs or fish or something along those lines. I know I just said cheese when a lot of people are triggered by dairy. For a lot of people, that’s not an option. Eggs sometimes isn’t an option for people. Fish is usually well tolerated by people.

If for philosophical reasons you want to be a vegetarian or vegan, I completely respect that. Understand there are ways to be vegetarian and still be healthy. However, I think eating some cooked food is good. For example, there are raw vegetables that the cruciferous family have these goitrogenic substances in them that can actually aggravate thyroid conditions and make it worse. We need to be careful sometimes with just eating a raw diet.

Again, I think it can be great short term, I think it can be beneficial. But in the long term, I think it’s good to eat a little bit of cooked food.

This is the last question for today. This is from Judy. “Hi Dr. Cates, I am wondering how to eliminate both dark circles and puffy bags under the eyes. My understanding is that what you eat and how much nutrition is absorbed by your body, as well as having a balanced gut microbiome, speaks volumes in the nourishment of your skin. “ Absolutely, Judy. Alleluia, thank you.

“I have read that too much water consumption creates the dark circles and inflammation causing puffiness and bags under the eyes, but I don’t know if this is true.” I don’t know, Judy, that drinking too much water would create that puffiness. Some of the things I’ve mentioned before having to do with dehydration, sleep, and allergies.

Those are the things that I would pay attention to, the things that you already mentioned about your gut health, the gut microbiome, your nutrition, what are you absorbing, and your hydration, your sleep, your stress, all of that I think are really important.

She asked what would’ve been the causes. I think I’ve answered that. Certainly if you have further questions about that, go ahead and post them in the comment section.

That’s all the time I have for answering questions today. If you have questions that I did not answer or you want clarification on anything that I talked about today, please post in the comments section below this video on YouTube or here. I’ll do my best to answer all of your questions in upcoming podcasts.

Also, I want to invite you to join The Spa Doctor community on my website or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes so you don’t miss any of our upcoming podcasts.

If you haven’t done so already, you can get your customized information, your own skin profile at theskinquiz.com. It’s free and based upon answer to just a few questions, you’ll get great tips for glowing skin and vibrant health just specific to you based on your answers.

Another way to ask me questions is on social media. You can join me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram and join the conversation. I hope you guys enjoyed today, really can’t wait to hear for your feedback. Thank you and I’ll see you next time.