How much do you know about your skin, hair, and nails? Test your dermatology knowledge with these questions!
- What causes most of the visible skin changes in the average person? If you answered ?the sun? you got this one right. The Skin Cancer Foundation says that about 90% of changes we can see are caused by the sun! This includes the fine lines that appear around your mouth as you start to age, which is from the breakdown of elements of the skin due to the UV rays of the sun. You can prevent some of these by being careful to use sunscreen. People who daily use a sunscreen of SPF15 or more show about 24% less skin aging than those who don?t. This is especially true if you have fair skin.
- What causes the deep lines in the face? This dermatology question should be pretty easy for you. The fine lines and crows feet are often caused by ultraviolet light, but deeper furrows like frown lines come from muscle contractions in your face. All those times you squinted, furrowed your brow, frowned or even smiled are recorded in your face over the years. Sun exposure and skin type can make it worse for some people than for others, but dermatology can often help minimize these deeper furrows.
- Who is affected by acne? If you answered ?teenagers,? then you failed this dermatology question. About 85% of people will have acne, and it can affect people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and even 50s. It does afflict a lot of people particularly during puberty, and by the time we hit our mid-teens 40% of us have scars that are worth treating with some cosmetic procedures. In 2004, just for a baseline, Americans spent $2.2 billion on acne treatments.
- Is hair removal done primarily on legs and torso? Actually, there are a lot off people showing up at the local dermatology office looking for hair removal options for the face, as well. In face, laser hair removal is actually the most popular aesthetic procedure for women under 35, and second most popular for those over 35. About a million treatments for hair removal were done in America last year alone, and most people will have permanent hair loss after about three to eight session.
- How many skin cells does a person shed in the course of a lifetime? This is a crazy dermatology question to try and get your head around, but we?re shedding about 600,000 particles an hour, or 1.5 pounds a year. By the age of 70, most of us will have shed about 105 pounds worth. We shed and regrow nearly all our skin cells every 27 days!
There are a lot of other cool dermatology facts out there, but the real question is what you?re doing to take care of your skin. At a minimum, you should be protecting it from sun damage by staying in the shade, using sunscreen, and wearing the kind of clothing that will keep your skin healthy. And if you?re not pleased with your look, there are a lot of options out there for chronic skin conditions and anti aging treatments. See what?s available near you, and you might find a new look and a new you that you?ll love.
