Derma Cure, Skin Care Tips, Skin Care Treatments, Home Remedies for Skin

An Introduction to Skin Grafting

2012-05-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

What is Skin Grafting?

Skin grafting in the most basic sense refers to the transplant of skin from one part of the body to another. This technique was first implemented some 2500-3000 years ago by Hindu Tilemaker Caste for restructuring noses that were destructed as a judicial punishment back then. Though the basic skin grafting technique has evolved to a great extent and thus, it is one of the most common dermatologic surgeries today.

Why is Skin Grafting Done?

Skin grafting is basically done to create a protective barrier against open wounds, burns, infections, pressure ulcers (bedsores), or diabetic ulcers [that do not respond to normal treatment] etc. Also it promotes the healing of formerly mentioned skin issues.
Further, skin grafting has now become an integral part of post-mastectomy breast reconstruction and various other surgeries to eliminate cancerous cells.

Skin Grafting Procedure

Where is the Skin Taken from to Perform Skin Grafting?

Generally the skin is harvested from the patient’s body itself which is termed as ‘Autograft’. It is considered best to do Autografting as the chances of body rejecting the skin are minimal. The fleshy parts of body like thighs and buttocks are targeted for skin harvesting. Other body parts considered for skin harvesting are forearms, upper arm, abdomen, etc.
Other alternative skin sources for grafting are:
- Skin sourced from a corpse (called an Allograft)
- Skin sourced from an animal (called a Xenograft)
- Synthetic tissues

Skin Grafting Techniques

Split-Thickness Graft: This is the most common technique of skin grafting, wherein, the top layer of skin (Epidermis) and a part of skin’s middle layer (Dermis) is removed. This technique is used more often as it allows the source area to heal up quickly. Though, the negative aspect of this technique is that the graft created from this is more fragile and can lead to abnormal pigmentation at the sourced area.

Full-Thickness Graft: Under this technique, all the three layers of skin – top (Epidermis), middle (Dermis) and bottom (Hypodermis) are removed completely. Cosmetically, this technique renders much better results than split-thickness and thus, it is generally advised for facial corrections. The only drawback in this technique is that it can be done at areas that feature considerable amount of blood vessels to support graft’s life.

Composite Graft: This technique skin grafting technique can call for the removal of skin, fat, muscle, and cartilage. Composite graft is specifically required in situations where three-dimensional reconstruction is required. For e.g. – Nose

Daily Skin Care Routine

2012-04-29T08:47:00.001-07:00

Daily skin care is extremely important for a healthy looking skin. As we feed our bodies to sustain life, so is daily skin care needed for a nourished and glowing skin. Though in today's fast paced lifestyle, it becomes a little difficult to dedicate a considerable amount of time on your skin care. Thus, here we have brought you an easy-to-do daily skin care regime that would give you a thoroughly nourished skin without putting in much time.

Daily Skin Care Routine for Oily Skin

Take a look at the daily skin care routine for different skin types:

Daily Skin Care for Oily Skin

Cleansing
Since oily skin attracts maximum amount of dirt and dust, it is imperative for people with oily skin to wash and clease their face at least twice a day - once in the morning & once at night before going to bed. Make sure you dont wash your face too often as it can speed up the process of oil secreation. Mattifying cleansers are best to cleanse the deep pores of oily skin.

Exfoliating
Oily skin tends to get acne due to the build up of dead skin, whiteheads & blackheads. Hence exfoliation becomes an integral part of the regular skin care regime for oily skinned people. Mild exfoliating scrubs should be used twice a week to get rid of clotted dead skin. Glycerine and oatmeal mixture is perfect homemade exfoliating agent. Scrub your face in light circular motions and then wash off with lukeworm water.

Toning
Toning is the most essential part of the skin care regime for oily skin. It must be done imediately after cleansing or exfoliation using an astrigent for an oil free glowing skin.

Moisturizing
Glycerin or Kaolin based moistiurisers are best for oily skin. Alternatively, applying an oil free moisturiser from a repurted brand can also be your last step in the daily skin care routine.

Face Mask for Oily Skin
Mix one tablespoon each of yogurt, honey and lemon juice. Apply this face pack for about 15 minutes and then rinse it off with cool water. This face mask is needed only twice a week on oily skin to restore the natural oil free glow.

Daily Skin Care for Acne-Prone Skin

Acne-prone skin should be taken care just like oily skin. Though the only difference is that acne-prone skin needs an additional medicational care in the whole process. Thus, a prescribed acne medicational cream should be applied on the effected areas after cleansing. Benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid based creams are generally advised to cure acne-prone skin. Also, make sure you use alcohlo-free toner for toning this particular type of skin.

How to Get Rid of Dark Underarms

2012-04-28T10:04:00.001-07:00

How to Get Rid of Dark Underarms

Since there is not much of a ventilation in our underarms or armpit areas, it tends to get more sweaty as compared to other parts of our body. It becomes all the more worse if one has dark underarms as well! Especially in case of females who like to be high on fashion but cannot opt for sleeveless or halter tops and dresses because of dark armpits. Scientifically, dark underarms are a result of high body toxins. People who have constant acidity problems are likely to sweat more and thus, get prone to dark armpits. Though, there’s not much to worry about as there are various home remedies for dark under armpits.
Mentioned under are few tips to get rid of dark underarms:

Remedies for Dark Underarms

A Slice of Lemon can Help in Getting Rid of Dark Underarms

Massaging the underarms area with a slice of lemon regularly can help in armpit whitening. Though, massaging the underarms with lemon may cause a little irritation but it is bound to give for effective results in a long run. Make sure you wash your armpits thoroughly after rubbing the lemon slice and then moisturize it with a skin moisturizer.

Potato is Effective in Lightening the Dark Armpits

Potato is a natural bleaching agent and hence, can be used effectively for removing underarms darkness. All you need to do is rub a slice of raw potato on dark armpits regularly and the results can be experienced in a couple of days. In fact one can also apply potato juice on the dark underarms area by grating a raw potato and squeezing its juice. Apply the potato juice for 15 minutes on dark under armpits and rinse it off with cool water to get best results.

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Gram Flour (Besan) can Whiten the Dark Under Armpits

Make a mixture of gram flour, curd, lemon juice and a pinch of turmeric in a bowl and apply it on the dark underarms, let it as it is for about 20 minutes and then rinse it off. Following this remedy for at least thrice a week can effectively help in getting rid of dark underarms.

Cucumber Juice to Get Rid of Dark Underarms

Grate a cucumber and extract its juice by squeezing its strands. Apply this cucumber juice on your dark armpits generously and leave it to dry. Wash it off afterwards with cool water. This remedy would not only help in armpits whitening but also in rendering freshness to the otherwise sweaty area.

Cooling Face Packs for Summers

2012-04-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

Dry, rough and dull skin is thing of past now as we bring you some of the best cooling face packs to freshen up your skin and beat the summer heat!

Mentioned under are hydrating face packs that will help replenishing the moisture of your skin to make it smooth, supple and refreshing.

Cooling Face Packs for Summers

Cucumber Face Pack

What do you need:
-A Chilled Cucumber

How to make it:
- Refrigerate a cucumber overnight in fridge for this face pack (it is important to use a chilled cucumber only). Take this chilled cucumber and chop it into small pieces.
-Next, make a paste of these pieces by grinding them nicely with a blender or in a mixer.
-Once you get a watery paste of the cucumber pieces, apply it on your face with gentle hand movements and leave it to dry for 20-25 minutes. During this period, the cucumber juice would help in hydrating your skin.
-Lastly, rinse it off with cold water and pat dry using a soft towel.

Yogurt Face Pack

What do you need:
-1 table spoon of natural yogurt
-1 tea spoon of honey
How to make it:
-Make a smooth mixture of one table spoon of yogurt and one table spoon of honey.
-Gently apply this concoction on your face and leave it for 15-20 minutes.
-Use lukewarm water to rinse it off and find a well hydrated, naturally glowing skin!
Note: It is advised to consume at least 2 bowls of yogurt a day in summers. It is a natural cooling agent that hydrates the body internally too.

Aloe Vera Face Pack

What do you need:
-3 table spoons of aloe vera gel
-3 table spoons of aloe vera juice
-2 slices of refrigerated cucumber
-2 drops of your favorite essential oil (rose, lavender or whichever you like)

How to make it:
-Mix aloe vera juice, aloe vera gel and essential oil together.
-Apply this concoction gently on you face and neck with the help of a cotton ball. Avoid under eye areas while applying this paste.
-Next, lie down and cover your eyes with chilled cucumber slices. Leave the face pack and cumuber slices as it is for 25-30 minutes. This would not only rejuvenate your skin but would also relax the eye muscles.
-Lastly remove the cucumber slices and wipe off the face pack using luke-warm water and a warm wet wash cloth. Once you have rinsed off the face pack thoroughly, splash generous amount of cold water on face for 2 minutes. Pat dry using a clean towel and voila! You are all set to flaunt your cool glowing skin!

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How to Avoid Skin Tanning

2012-04-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

How to Avoid Skin Tanning

As summers are now at its peak, how to avoid skin tanning is a major query that bothers most of us. Since sun cannot be avoided completely, we should still aim at dodging the sunlight as much as we can to avoid skin tanning. Mentioned here are few precautionary measures to avoid skin tanning, take a look:

Covering up the Sun Exposed Areas

Try covering up the sun exposed areas as much as you can. Use bandana or dupatta to cover up the face while cotton gloves can be used for covering hands. It is rather imperative for people who ride two wheelers like bikes, scooties, etc. to cover up their face, neck & hands as they are at the maximum risk of tanning.

Using Umbrellas & Hats as Sun Guards

Carry an umbrella with yourself during daytime. Though it is a bit cumbersome to tag along an umbrella everywhere with you but still, if you love your skin and want to protect it from damaging, this is the least that you can do. Look for some chic and hip umbrella pattern so that it acts as a fashion accessory for you! Hats too can be perfect sun protectors as well as can accessorize your look in a hot July afternoon.

Timing Matters

The best that you can do to prevent skin tanning is avoid going out between 10 am to 3 pm. This is a period during daytime when both kinds of UV rays - UVA & UVB hit the earth to their maximum power which actually leads to tanning the skin all the more powerfully. Thus, it is best to avoid this particular time frame as much as possible.

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Applying Sunscreen Lotions

Make it a habit to use sunscreen lotion of at least SPF-15 to avoid skin tanning. Tanning lotions can help a great deal in preventing sun tanning. It is advised to use sunscreens from reputed brands; a substandard quality can end up in irritation, etc.

Home Remedies for Skin Tanning

Unless you eat healthy and drink plenty of water, none of the above mentioned tips can actually help in getting rid of sun tanning. Hence, add it in your routine to drink at least 12-16 glasses of water a day. Also, develop a preference for cucumber and water melon juices as they are helpful in resisting sun tanning internally. Putting cucumber slices or soft cotton towel dipped in cold milk over your face can soothe the sunburns and render a supple & soft glowing skin. Aloevera gel is another natural remedy for soothing sunburns.

Cosmetic Surgery: An Insight

2012-04-18T10:17:00.001-07:00

Cosmetic Surgery Tips

Cosmetic surgery is quite prevalent these days. There are various surgeries available to fix or enhance the beauty of facial features. Lip reshaping, tummy tucks, eye surgery, face lifts, fair skin treatments etc. are few of the most common cosmetic surgeries. Interestingly, it’s not just the females who undergo such enhancement surgeries but men too are equally enthralled by the latest medical techniques of plastic surgery.

The Risks of Getting Cosmetic Surgery Done

No matter how lucrative the cosmetic surgeries seem, there is always a great amount of risk involved. After all, an imperfect natural body is much easier to carry than the hideous after-effects of a faulty surgery. Thus, make sure you don’t lure yourself into fast and cheap cosmetic surgeries or packages and end up in a skewed job done. A faulty surgery can not only lead to imperfect results but also to infections, blotches, etc.

Unfortunately when a plastic surgery goes wrong, the patient is suggested to undertake a more sophisticated surgery to get it undone. Which means a more expensive treatment by a more expensive surgeon. Cosmetic surgery costs are as it is very high, on that getting it done twice is indeed a major loss. Thus, its sensible to go for the best plastic surgeon in the very first place to avoid any physical, financial and mental hassles later

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Few Cosmetic Surgery Tips

-Thoroughly evaluate and research the credibility of the doctors, facilities, results of the surgeries done in past and other requisite medical help rendered by a given cosmetic surgery center or institute before getting the surgery done.

-Make sure you are updated with the entire procedure in detail beforehand. If the plastic surgeon or dermatology specialist himself appears skeptical about the process or its end results, it would be best to avoid that particular surgeon all together.

-Check for doctor’s certifications and requisite degrees which in all probability, should be displayed on the wall where everybody can see it.

Tips to Get Fair Skin Naturally

2012-04-15T08:48:00.001-07:00

How to get fair skin is a perpetual question that occurs to most of the females in Asia. Though skin whitening cannot be attained within a short span of time, a continuous healthy skin-care regime can surely help to a great extent.

Mentioned under are few tips that can help in getting a healthy fair skin.

Tips to Get Fair Skin Naturally

Tip 1:

Lemon is very helpful in reducing skin tanning. It is an excellent bleaching agent that can help in lightening the skin tone by few levels. All you need to do is scrub a half of lemon on your face daily for a blemish free skin.

Tip 2:

This one is tried and tested formula! Just take a raw potato and tomato and grate both of it in a bowl. Now squeeze the potato and tomato strands nicely to get their juice. Apply this watery solution onto your face and leave it for 15-20 minutes. Rinse it off afterwards. Repeating this procedure after every few days can gradually help in skin whitening because both – potato and tomato are natural bleaching agents.

Tip 3:

Mix lemon juice and honey in equal quantities in a bowl and apply this mixture on the skin. Rinse it after it dries, this trick will eventually result in a healthy fair skin.

Tip 4:

For oily skin, mix cucumber juice with lemon juice and apply it onto your face and wash it off after a good 15-20 minutes. This home remedy is fruitful in getting fair skin for people it oily skin.

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Tip 5:

Curd is an excellent source of zinc and lactic acid, thus, applying plain curd on face can not only help in skin whitening, but, can also result in a healthy, glowing skin!

Tip 6:

Drinking and applying coconut water on a daily basis can be useful in getting blemish free skin. If followed religiously, coconut water can do wonders in getting a healthy & fair glowing skin.

Tip 7:

Mix olive oil and almond oil with few strands of saffron and massage your skin with this mixture every night before sleeping. What you get in morning is a soft, supple and fairer skin! Make sure you have washed your face with a gentle face wash before massaging. This is an age old home remedy for getting fair skin. In fact, in many parts of India, small babies are massaged with this concoction as well.