How to Improve & Protect Your Skin Health & Appearance | Dr. Teo Soleymani

Acute stress causes vasoconstriction and pallor; chronic stress via cortisol breaks down collagen and elastin and thins vessel walls, accelerating visible aging and hair loss. People literally look worse in periods of high stress, and often markedly better after vacations or stress reduction. Practical implication: treat stress management (sleep, psychological tools, time outdoors, exercise) as a primary skincare intervention, not an afterthought.

Excellent options like unscented Dove bar, Cetaphil, and CeraVe are cheap, effective, and preferred by dermatologists. Over-washing—especially with harsh, antibacterial, or alcohol-based products—strips sebum and eradicates beneficial skin microbes, opening niches for pathogens and irritation. Many people can cleanse less than daily, especially older or dry-skin individuals; shower frequency should be driven by sweat, oiliness, and breakouts, not habit or marketing.

Ointments (e.g., petrolatum/Aquaphor) are best for very dry/eczema-prone skin but can worsen acne; creams are intermediate; lotions are lightest. Look for “non-comedogenic,” “fragrance-free,” and fewer preservatives. For dry or flaky scalp, address seborrheic dermatitis or psoriasis with zinc or ketoconazole shampoos and anti-inflammatory topicals—these do not damage hair shafts, which are dead structures. Expensive skincare almost never outperforms simple, well-formulated drugstore products.

Soleymani believes some sun is beneficial for mood, circadian health, and vitamin D (often 15–20 minutes on forearms is enough), and that total sun avoidance is not healthy. Physical barriers (clothing, hats, shade) and mineral sunscreens (zinc/titanium dioxide, SPF ≥30, broad-spectrum) are safest and often more effective than creams alone. Chemical sunscreens (oxybenzone, octocrylene, octinoxate, etc.) are systemically absorbed at levels far above FDA thresholds and show endocrine and neuroactivity in preclinical data, leading him to avoid them, especially in children.

Topical prescription retinoids (tretinoin, adapalene, tazarotene) accelerate turnover from ~28 days to 7–9, increase dermal collagen/elastin, reduce actinic damage, and lower non-melanoma skin cancer risk. Over-the-counter “retinol” is usually underdosed, unstable, and largely ineffective. Fractional non-ablative lasers (e.g., Fraxel) and ablative resurfacing can remove or remodel sun-damaged tissue, improve texture, and in studies cut non-melanoma skin cancer risk by ~20%, with gene-expression patterns reverting toward youthful profiles.