Most of us begin our days with a flurry of activity before we make it to the office, to school, or whatever location is first on the daily agenda. Knowing how pressed for time we can be, I reasoned this was a great opportunity to remind you that great skin care shouldn’t be something that’s neglected, even when each minute counts. Believe it or not, if you have five minutes to devote to take basic care of your facial skin each morning, the rewards will soon be apparent. All it takes is a gentle, water-soluble cleanser, a toner, and, for dry areas (including around the eyes) a moisturizer. What about sun protection, you ask? Excellent question! Just because the clock is ticking doesn’t mean you can skip this essential step to keep skin healthy and protected. My recommendation for those pressed for time is to make sure your daytime moisturizer contains a sunscreen rated SPF 15 or greater or apply a foundation or tinted moisturizer with sunscreen. As long as it is rated SPF 15 or greater, contains one of the recommended UVA-protecting ingredients (those are titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, avobenzone, Mexoryl SX [ecamsule] or, outside the United States, Tinosorb), and you make sure to apply it liberally and evenly, you’ll be covered. If you wish to use the same moisturizer for day and nighttime application, you definitely need a foundation or tinted moisturizer with a broad-spectrum sunscreen.
            Here’s how this 5-minute routine breaks down:

• 1st minute: at your bathroom sink, splash face several times with lukewarm (never hot or cold) water. Dispense a quarter-size amount of cleanser into the palm of one hand. Spread the cleanser evenly over both hands, then apply to your face using short, circular motions. Massage cleanser around face and eyes for approximately 20-30 seconds, then rinse thoroughly. Pat skin dry with a clean towel.
• 2nd minute: soak a cotton ball or pad with toner and gently stroke it over face and neck, avoiding the skin around the eyes. Do not rinse; allow toner to absorb into skin.
• 3rd and 4th minutes: with skin still slightly damp from toner, apply moisturizer to dry areas, including around the eyes. Allow 1-2 minutes for moisturizer to absorb before proceeding to the next step. If your daytime moisturizer contains sunscreen, allow this to absorb for a minute or two, then proceed with your makeup application.
• 5th minute: After moisturizer has absorbed a bit, apply your foundation or tinted moisturizer with sunscreen. Those with normal to dry skin may want a tinted moisturizer for extra hydration. Those with normal to oily skin should consider a matte finish foundation with sunscreen.

That’s all there is to it, and you can repeat the same routine, minus the product with sunscreen, at night. This routine not only works great on rushed mornings, it’s also brilliant while traveling (and you have fewer products to pack). It is an excellent way to get in the habit of taking better care of your skin, with minimal hassle or interruption to your normal daily routines.
      In keeping with this theme of simplicity for those crunched for time or just looking to begin a basic skin-care routine, I have put together two routines encompassing the points discussed above. There are easy-to-follow 3-step routines for normal to dry skin as well as normal to oily skin. Both routines include cleanser, toner, and moisturizer. You will also see that both routines feature suggested enhancements so you can tailor them to meet your needs and preferences. This link http://www.cosmeticscop.com/skin-care-customize.aspx  will take you to my Customize Your Skin Care page. There you will see links to learn more about the 3-step systems for normal to dry and normal to oily skin. Whether you choose to build your routine around my products or those from another brand, the key is making sure the products are carefully formulated for effective results without irritation. If you’re a subscriber to my online database of product reviews at www.Beautypedia.com, you’ll have access to my top picks for cleansers, toners, and moisturizers: the cornerstone of any basic skin-care routine. Here’s to healthy, radiant skin in the New Year!

Cosmedicine Instant Wrinkle Write Off Line Filler ($25 for 0.04 ounce).
This is nothing more than a blend of thick-textured silicones and silicone polymers that work to temporarily fill in superficial lines. It can be used on deeper lines and expression lines, but the results aren’t going to make anyone think you’ve had a dermal filler or Botox injected. What’s refreshing about this product is that it is comparatively inexpensive and is also fragrance-free. It’s not an instant ticket to lineless skin, but “filler” products like this have their purpose for improving skin’s appearance. This would be considerably better if Cosmedicine had included some antioxidants.

Neutrogena Lift & Strengthen Intensive Facial Concentrate - Redefining Moisturizing Concentrate ($19.99 for 1.6 ounces).
Neutrogena is really taking a step backward with their Lift & Strengthen products. It has been a long time since I’ve seen them launch such unimpressive, nearly do-nothing products. This lightweight moisturizer for normal to oily skin has so little going for it, the price becomes ridiculous. Even the called-out “fortifying minerals” are nothing more than very standard cosmetic pigments. Any of the company’s Visibly Firm or Healthy Skin moisturizers are distinctly preferred to this.

Derma E Hyaluronic Acid Day Crème ($29.50 for 2 ounces)
This formula differs little from Derma E’s Hyaluronic & Pycnogenol Eye Creme, except this version omits the pycnogenol (an antioxidant derived from the bark of a specific species of pine tree). The amount of witch hazel extract, which is mostly alcohol, remains problematic; added to that is the negative effect of the jar packaging on the antioxidants; and to make matters worse, they include unidentified essential oils (read: fragrant irritating plant oils). Those things together make this a moisturizer to avoid. By the way, this does not contain pure hyaluronic acid; instead, Derma E includes the salt form, sodium hyaluronate. Although sodium hyaluronate is a worthwhile water-binding agent for skin, it is not the same as hyaluronic acid and it does not work in some miraculous fashion for skin; if it did, why doesn’t Derma E include it in all of their products?

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Dear Paula,

I have talked with two plastic surgeons about the pros and cons of the Obagi TCA Blue Peel vs. nonablative laser resurfacing. One surgeon does the TCA procedure himself and recommends more than one peel. He also recommends following up with the Obagi skin-care products. In his opinion, the nonablative laser resurfacing may not necessarily show enough improvement over the TCA peel to justify the higher cost of that procedure. The second surgeon has his aesthetician do one light TCA peel. The surgeon follows up with a laser resurfacing using the Cool-Touch laser. I've read with interest your thoughts on nonablative vs. ablative laser resurfacing, but I'm confused on the pros and cons of the TCA peel and ongoing use of Obagi skin-care products. What is your take on this?

Florence, via email


Dear Florence,

I’m not sure I can help you make the best decision because the truth is all the options you’ve been presented with are viable. A TCA peel is a type of chemical peel that uses trichloroacetic acid (as opposed to phenol, AHAs, or salicylic acid) to exfoliate layers of skin. TCA is available to all physicians for use in skin resurfacing. Obagi’s Blue (TCA) Peel is a type of TCA peel Dr. Zein E. Obagi developed and he keeps the exact ingredients secret, so there is no way to know exactly how his differs or if it is only a blue dye that makes it special (which is what many physicians suspect). Regardless, because Obagi’s Blue (TCA) Peel is only performed by those doctors who have spent a great deal of money taking Obagi's course to learn how to apply it, you can safely assume that those physicians would have a definite bias in recommending the Blue Peel over other procedures.

To answer your question, a TCA peel—light, medium, or deep—is not really comparable to nonablative resurfacing, but both are viable options for skin resurfacing or remodeling. The main issues you have to assess for yourself are downtime and risk. The light peel exfoliates the surface of skin with minimal scabbing, downtime, or risk of hyper- or hypopigmentation (unwanted, potentially long-term changes to skin color). In combination with the Cool Touch laser (for skin resurfacing and helping to stimulate collagen production, and which also has minimal risks or downtime associated with it), this can be a good option. A medium to deep TCA peel (Obagi’s or otherwise) has some risk of skin discoloration and scarring, and there is a period of healing that may last for several weeks. Yet a medium to deep peel can also be more effective for improving deeper or extensive wrinkling. Also, keep in mind that while the TCA peel is a one-time experience (or at least once every several years), the Cool Touch requires repeated treatments to gain maximum benefits. I would be wary of the surgeon who recommended two TCA peels unless the version he’s using is lower strength (in which case a series of treatments would produce incremental improvements with less downtime compared to a stronger peel administered once every few years).

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