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Skin Facts - Test Your Skin IQ

By Monica Gomez
From the Team Beachbody Club - Join Today and Workout to Win!

Your skin is the largest organ in your body and your first line of defense, so it is good to know the facts about your skin. Here are some skin facts that you might not know.

  1. ToothpasteFalse: Toothpaste effectively treats acne. Toothpastes contain sodium monofluorophosphateor, plainly put, some chemical form of fluoride. While fluoride helps protect your teeth against tooth decay and works with saliva to protect tooth enamel from plaque and sugar, it can be slightly less helpful to your skin. Fluoride can actually irritate or burn the skin as well as provoke skin allergies. It's true that other ingredients in toothpaste, like hydrated silica, sorbitol, alumina, and glycerin, may have the potential to combat acne. In fact, silica and types of aluminum are used to treat acne via dermabrasive products. However, in toothpaste, these ingredients are too minimal to make an effective impact or to profoundly exfoliate the skin. Yes, the placebo effect may be hard to argue with, but keep in mind that toothpaste is designed to protect your teeth, not your skin.

  2. CucumberTrue: Cucumbers do not contain inherent properties that combat under-eye puffiness. Freshly cut, cool cucumber slices are commonly used to reduce under-eye puffiness. Although it is believed that cucumber flesh can reduce swelling and revitalize skin, or that some inherent property in the cucumber is responsible for this, cucumber is over 90 percent water and the remainder is mostly inert fiber that provides no benefits for your skin. So what it is about cucumbers that make them effective for treating the tired-eye look? The reason behind that is their cool temperature. You store cucumbers in your refrigeratorhence their cool temperature. The cold temperature is what is responsible for reducing the swelling under your eyes (by constricting blood vessels and reducing the inflow of fluid into soft tissues). The same results can be obtained with a washcloth dipped in cold water.

  3. SunscreenFalse: SPF 30 sunscreen is 20 percent more effective than SPF 15 sunscreen. Actually, SPF 30 sunscreen is only 2 percent more effective than SPF 15 sunscreen. The stronger "dosage" or SPF doesn't necessarily afford you more time in the sun. SPF 15-rated products block approximately 94 percent of UV rays while SPF-30 rated products block about 96 percent of UV rays (SPF 40-rated products block around 97 percent). The difference is minimal. What is important is that you use products that are at least an SPF-15 and are "broad-spectrum," which means that they'll protect your skin against UVB and UVA rays (for more on the effects of these rays, read Steve's article above). Look for the ingredient Parsol 1789 (avobenzone) for solid coverage. It is recommended that you apply sunscreen 15 to 30 minutes before exposure and that you reapply every 2 hoursregardless of whether or not you've gotten wet.

  4. CelluliteFalse: Cellulite only affects overweight women and men. Cellulite can affect any woman, regardless of weight, and it is also a problem that a fewer number of men experience. Cellulite is a form of fat malformed, trapped fat located in the first subcutaneous layer of the skin. Unfortunately, it is highly resistant to exercise and dieting. This resistant nature is due to how cellulite fat is trapped (it's trapped in a mesh of fibrous connective tissue). Also, it's not just limited to the thighs and buttocks; cellulite can occur in the upper arms, the back of the neck, and the stomach. While there is no known "cure" for cellulite, methods to combat this stubborn condition range from expensive creams to deep mechanical massages.

  5. SunTrue: Twenty minutes of exposure to a tanning bed is equivalent to spending 4 hours in the sun. Tanning beds may increase your risk of skin cancer. That's because they give out UVA rays, "which penetrate deeper into the skin [than UVB rays], accelerating aging and causing skin cancer" (refer to Steve's article for more on this). UVA rays are also know to weaken the immune system. It is a misconception that a tan is healthy and that it protects you from sunburn. A tan on a light-complected person acts only as an SPF 4 sunscreen, approximately. A tan is actually the result of the body defending itself against further damage from UV radiation. And sunburns will increase the risk of skin cancer, wrinkles, freckles, and leathery skin later in life.
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