Melanoma is a deadly form of skin cancer. Catching it early is critical. The best way to find melanoma is to check your moles using the ABCDs. However, nodular melanomas can be trickier to find. A recent study from the Archives of Dermatology suggest that we might be missing these nodular melanomas which might be the reason why the death rate for melanoma has not improved in 20 years. How can we find nodular melanomas? Add “E” to your ABCDs.

• Is the mole Asymmetric?
• Does it have irregular Borders?
• Does it have more than one Color?
• Is the Diameter larger than 6 mm?
• Is it Evolving (changing) or Elevated?

In this video I’ll explain how examining your moles for the ABCDEs is the best way to catch melanomas as early as possible and to minimize the chances that it has spread.

Related posts:

1. Melanoma Skin Cancer Website Here is an excellent melanoma skin cancer website for patients...
2. Test Your Skin Cancer Knowlege 1 million 108,230 6th 2nd Every hour 10,850 99% Number...
3. Testing for Melanoma with Tape “I hate needles.” Patients say this to me everyday. When...
4. Too Small to Be a Melanoma? Think Again. A common screening measure for determining if a mole is...
5. Does The Sun Cause Melanoma? Yes. Isn’t the answer obvious? Doesn’t everyone know that the...
6. Does Sun Exposure Cause Melanoma? Sun causes melanoma skin cancer. Sun protects you against melanoma...
7. Farther Distances Lead to Thicker Melanomas How far away is your dermatologist? A recent study from...

I’ve has a sudden deluge of e-mail asking me how to grow a mustache like Wes Welker from the New England Patriots. Well, just as you might not be able to put up yards-after-carry like Wes does, you might not be able to grow a mustache like he does. It takes time and testosterone. My advice? Get started soon. In this video I’ll tell you how fast (er, slowly) a mustache grows for most men.

Related posts:

1. How to Grow a Beard OK boys. Face it, women sometimes like a manly beard....
2. A New Drug, Latisse, Makes Eyelashes Grow Longer, Thicker It is a medical breakthrough. No, not a cure for...
3. Skin Care Myths: Plucking Hairs Makes Them Grow Back Thicker Before Plucking After Plucking You can’t catch a cold from...
4. Can an Eyelash Mascara Make Your Lashes Grow? Women will go to great lengths to have luscious, long...

Are you using an antiperspirant or a deodorant? Do you even know? We have two types of sweat glands and two types of deodorant. In this video I’ll explain the difference and how to choose the product best for you. Please note that I’m a lifelong fan of Dove products and that I’m a consultant to Unilever, the company that makes Dove Men +Care.

Related posts:

1. What You and Matthew McConaughey Should Not Have in Common: Body Odor Hollywood’s golden boy, Matthew McConaughey, likes going au naturel. Yup....

How many blades do we need to shave?

I am a man. I use a two-blade razor.

This might surprise you. I have means, so why don’t I use the latest five-blade-vibrating-titanium tool? Any razor good enough for Tiger Woods Derek Jeeter should be good enough for me, right?

Advanced technology doesn’t always make a product better. Think of your universal remote control; it has half a dozen buttons you’ve probably never pushed and, if it’s like mine, changing the channel is a complicated affair.

Last week a patient of mine, who looks a lot like Javier Bardem, came to my office, frustrated. He had been using the latest-blade razor and had red razor bumps on his neck and cheeks. Why?

Because there is such a thing as a shave that is too close. If your beard is cut at or below the level of the skin, then the hair can become trapped when it regrows. The coiled hair continues to grow downward causing a painful, red razor bump. For some men, the closer the shave, the more likely they’ll have this problem.

For a close, comfortable shave, you don’t need a new gadget; you need good technique:

• Warm your face with water. Massage shaving cream and let set for 1-2 minutes before you start.
• Shave it the first time – one stroke. Rinse your blade between every swipe.
• Sharp blades cut without pulling hairs; change your blade often.
• Pull the skin taut for a closer shave, let it relax for a more comfortable shave.
• Always shave with the grain of the hair.

I might not be manly enough for a straight razor, but I’m sticking to my classic two-blade shaver, even if it is circa 1970′s technology. Like moving the ball half the distance to the goal when your already at the goal line, shaving twice a close when you’re already close doesn’t matter much. Sometimes close is close enough.

What is your favorite razor?

Is your shave better now than it was 5 years ago?

Photo: Guarana

Related posts:

1. A Proper Shave, The Old Fashioned Way Brett McKay might single handedly bring back the safety razor...
2. How to Avoid Razor Bumps (for Men and Women) In the world of shaving, it would seem that bigger...
3. A Proper Shave It is a truth universally acknowledged that women are in...
4. How to Stop a Shaving Nick from Bleeding It happens to the best of us: You’re in a...

I’ve been seeing a lot of jocks lately. The anatomical area, not the athletes. Summertime means heat and humidity, sports, and itchy groins. Jock itch is a general term for an itchy rash in the area. Heat, sweat, and skin rubbing on skin can leave the area looking like you slid into second base, groin first.

There are three main causes of an itchy groin. Classic jock itch is caused by a fungus, the same fungus that causes athlete’s foot. This fungus often causes a red scaly rash on the inner thighs. It tends to be dry and can have bumps or pimples. The fungus is often spread from your feet or from contaminated sports equipment, towels, etc. It can be treated with topical terbinafine cream 1% twice a day for 2-4 weeks. Severe cases can require oral anti-fungal medications, especially if the fungus has spread to other areas on your body.

The second cause of an itchy groin is a yeast infection (yes, the same yeast that can cause a vaginal yeast infection in women). The yeast grows well in warm, moist areas and causes a bright pink, moist, irritated rash. Unlike the fungus, yeast can spread onto the scrotum. It can be treated with topical clotrimazole cream 1% twice a day for 2-4 weeks.

The third common cause of a jock itch is a bacterial infection. Certain bacteria take advantage of the irritated skin and warm environment causing a rash called erythrasma. This can be treated with miconazole 2% cream twice a day for 2 weeks.

For all causes of jock itch it is important to keep the area clean and dry. Sometimes washing your groin with anti-dandruff shampoo such as zinc or selenium sulfide shampoos can help clear unwanted organisms. Hydrocortisone 1% cream can be added to any of the above treatments to reduce the redness and itching while the infection is being treated. Use it once to twice daily.

Remember, it is important to keep the area dry. The standard way is to use powders (some of which are medicated for an added bonus, such as Gold Bond). Once the active infection is resolved, treating your groin with your underarm antiperspirant can help keep this area dry, thereby making it less inviting for fungus and other organisms to return.

However, I don’t recommend spraying antiperspirant on your groin if you’re in the midst of a raging jock itch — you’ll spend the entire day scratching an area that shouldn’t be scratched in public.

Photo: jkstrapme (flickr)

Related posts:

1. Why Do Sunburns Itch? Have you ever had a sunburn? First it hurts. Then...
2. An Unwanted Yoga Partner: Fungus Yoga is good for your mind and body, including your...
3. Extract from White Birch Tree Relieves Itch The forest is full of things that make you itchy:...
4. 6 Ways to Keep Your Feet Fungus Free Foot fungus kills beautiful feet. Athlete’s foot or foot fungus...

Having pores that are too big on the nose and forehead is a common complaint from men in clinic. Men have a higher density of sebaceous glands than women and sometimes have excessively oily skin with wide, deep pores. Excess oiliness and big pores can be difficult to treat. Surgical treatments such as lasers, microdermabrasion, and chemical peels can be used to improve the appearance, but results are often not satisfactory. Topical retinoids such as Retin-A® and Tazorac® can also effective in some people, but require applying the medication daily.

A cosmetic physican in Chicago has published a study using Botox to treat oily skin complexion and large pores. He found that 17 of 20 patients who received Botox in the skin reported a reduction in the oiliness and the pore size in the treated areas.

Botox works by blocking the release of a neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. Acetylcholine controls sweating, which is why Botox works so well to treat excess perspiration (hyperhidrosis), and can effect production of sebum. Botox injected into the skin then can block excess sebum production leading to less oily skin and to smaller pores.

The study did not compare Botox to other treatments and did not have scientific measures of pore size or of oiliness, but it did find that the majority of patients who were treated with the Botox specifically for oil problems felt that the treatment worked.

Women are more frequent users of Botox than men, but studies like this might give men another reason to try Botox to improve their appearance.

If nothing else, it can make you seem cool and collected as you watch your stocks plummet in the market.

Post written by Jeffrey Benabio, MD. All rights reserved, The Derm Blog 2008.

Photo: riNux, Flickr.com

Related posts:

1. The Dangers (or not) of Botox A recent post from The Daily Green has the folks...
2. Behold, The Holy Grail of Wrinkle Creams: A Topical Botox You think Apple’s new 4G iPhone is hot? I was...
3. The Dangers (or not) of Botox Part II I posted earlier this week on the recent Botox® flap...
4. Depressed? Maybe Your Psychiatrist Will Prescribe Botox. Botox makes you happy. So does a new Lexus, but...
5. A Real Botox Risk We are remarkably adept at reading facial expressions; they add...
6. Your Brain on Botox Botox can get into your head. Literally. Researchers from Pisa,...
7. Eating Sunscreen, Dirty Makeup, Bad Botox and Bedbugs Summer is over. What should you do with all that...

Foot blisters can be a minor inconvenience or can keep you from walking, hiking, running, and otherwise enjoying your summer vacation. If you are in a remote area camping or if you have a medial condition like diabetes, they can be quite serious. So what can you do to avoid them?

• Wear socks that minimize friction and moisture. Blisters form when moisture builds up and your feet slide, causing friction. A study done by biological engineering students at the University of Missouri-Columbia tested ten popular brands of socks and found that the material they are made from is a major determinant of whether feet will develop blisters. They found that cotton socks held moisture and were the worst for blisters while nylon socks wicked moisture away and were the best. Higher priced socks did not test any better than the inexpensive brands.
• Wear quality, well fitted sandals or flip-flops. Poorly made or ill-fitting sandals or flip-flops allow your foot to roll inward, causing the strap to cut across your foot and creating a blister on the arch behind the bunion bone.
• Use moleskin, a soft, felt material, that can be stuck on the inside of shoes or a strap, to protect your skin. Petroleum jelly (Vaseline®) or Aquaphor® can also serve as lubricants beneath hard leather straps.

If you do develop a blister, resist the (powerful) urge to pop it. The dead skin and fluid provide a sterile dressing for the underlying wound. If the blister does break, then do not remove the layer of skin covering the blister. This can lead to more pain and possibly infection, which will certainly ruin your vacation. Just keep it clean, cover it with a Band-Aid®, and leave it alone.

And if you go to Sea World® with your niece, wear sneakers.

Post written by Jeffrey Benabio, MD. You might also like:

6 Ways to Keep Your Feet Fungus Free

Insect Repellent Clothes!

5 Tips to Grow Beautiful Hair

How to Treat a Sunburn

Like this blog? Grab The Derm Feed

Photo credit: Laura Hamilton

Related posts:

1. 6 Ways to Keep Your Feet Fungus Free Foot fungus kills beautiful feet. Athlete’s foot or foot fungus...
2. Seven Steps to Stop Sweaty Feet Are you gellin? Is it because you have great insoles...
3. 10 Ways to Prevent and Treat Crow’s Feet Crow’s feet are the wrinkles that form on your temple...
4. Fish Pedicures and The PedEgg For Scaly Feet Put your foot into a tub of water and let...
5. 5 Ways to Prevent An Infection From Your Pet Sharing with your dog is wonderful. Unless you’re sharing bacteria....
6. 3 Ways To Prevent Moles on Your Kids Do you ever wish you didn’t have so many moles?...
7. Flip-flops Linked to Skin Cancer Seems like everything is linked to cancer these days. Well...

Athlete’s foot or foot fungus and toenail fungus affects people of all ages. It is itchy and ugly and can destroy your toenails. Here are six tips to keep your feet fungus-free and beautiful.

1. Foot fungus can be hard to treat — the best strategy is to keep your feet from getting fungus in the first place. Always wear flip-flops in places like public showers, locker rooms, and pools (walking on your tip-toes across the locker room floor won’t protect you). Don’t share towels, shower sponges, shoes, or socks. Wash your socks in hot water every time you wear them.
2. Keep your feet dry. You should wash your feet everyday, including between the toes (you know you don’t). Then dry your feet completely, including between the toes (you know you don’t); you can even use a hair dryer before putting on your socks. If you have sweaty feet, consider using a foot antiperspirant to minimize wetness. Wear loose fitting, synthetic socks that allow your feet to breathe and wick moisture away.
3. Apply an antifungal foot cream to your feet and toes everyday. Any over the counter antifungal cream will work; I recommend generic clotrimazole cream because its effective and a lot less expensive than other antifungals. If you don’t like applying cream, then try antifungal foot sprays such as Tinactin® (tolnaftate) or antifungal foot powders such as Desenex® (miconaozle). Spray antifungal spray powder like Oder Eaters® (tolnaftate) directly in your sneakers or sandals to block the growth of fungus.
4. The best treatment for nail fungus is oral antifungal pills. However, pills, such as Lamisil® (terbenifine) or Nizoral® (ketoconazole), can have serious side effects and require blood tests to monitor for complications. Combining oral antifugals with a topical antifungal cream everyday gives you the best chance of a cure. If you want to treat toenail fungus at home, then consider applying Vicks VapoRub® to your nails everyday. You can also try soaking your feet in a solution of one part Listerine with one part white vinegar. The alcohols in the Vicks VapoRub® and in the Listerine® might help eliminate the fungus. A third option is to try applying tea tree oil to your nails everyday. None of these home remedies are likely to cure toenail fungus, but they can help improve the appearance of your nails and are relatively harmless. Unfortunately, if your toenails are completely infected with fungus, there is less than 50% chance you will have a complete, long-lasting cure. Even with the strongest antifungal treatments available, only 50-70% of people clear their toenails; and those who are cured become reinfected 50% of the time!
5. Keep your toenails clean and trimmed short. You can scrape the crumbly material from under your nails, but do it gently. Vigorous scraping won’t clean out nail fungus and will cause your nail to lift off your toe or to fall off all together. Remember to wash your hands after every time you touch your feet or nails and to clean your toenail clipper and nail files with alcohol before using them again.
6. If you have successfully eliminated your foot fungus or toenail fungus, remember that you still are at risk of getting the fungus again. Consider getting new sneakers, sandals and socks, and apply an antifungal foot cream or powder to your feet everyday to prevent a regrowth of fungus on your now fungus-free feet.

Post written by Jeffrey Benabio, MD. You might also like:

How to Treat Sweaty Feet

5 Ways to Grow Beautiful Hair

Insect Repellent Clothes!

How to Treat a Sunburn

10 Things You Should Know About Laser Hair Removal

Like this blog? Grab The Derm Feed

Photo credit: Randen Pederson

Related posts:

1. Seven Steps to Stop Sweaty Feet Are you gellin? Is it because you have great insoles...
2. An Unwanted Yoga Partner: Fungus Yoga is good for your mind and body, including your...
3. 3 Ways to Prevent Foot Blisters I recently wore a new pair of flip-flops to Sea...
4. 10 Ways to Prevent and Treat Crow’s Feet Crow’s feet are the wrinkles that form on your temple...
5. Fish Pedicures and The PedEgg For Scaly Feet Put your foot into a tub of water and let...
6. Get Rid of Your Jock Itch Once and For All I’ve been seeing a lot of jocks lately. The anatomical...
7. Garlic Treaments for Skin Problems Garlic is a member of the onion family and has...

There are few conditions that evoke anxiety in my patients (men and women) more than hair loss. Hair is an important part of our appearance. We are biologically programmed to view it as a marker for a person’s suitability as a mate; this is probably because it’s an obvious indicator of a person’s youth and health.

Good hair suggests you are well nourished and healthy. As we age hair thins naturally, so a full head of hair also indicates the owner is young (and likely fertile).

It is no wonder that billions of dollars are spent every year to darken it, lighten it, grow more of it, and style it.

Like other physical characteristics such as body shape and skin complexion, the hair you have is the hair you are genetically programmed to grow. For some it is dense and thick. For others it is thin and sparse.

Patients often ask me what they can do to grow thick, luxurious hair. Here are five tips to have hair that says: “Yes, I’m dreamy.”

1. Eat well. Your hair reflects your overall health. If you eat healthfully, your hair will be healthy. Consume a diet based on whole foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, nuts, and low-fat dairy.
2. Take your biotin. There are countless vitamins touted to make your hair grow faster, stronger, and longer, including prenatal vitamins. Don’t believe it. If you eat a good diet (as above), then you don’t need vitamins. The only one I recommend supplementing is biotin at 1,500 mcg each day. Otherwise, leave the prenatal vitamins for pregnant women.
3. Moisturize. Shampoos are often potent soaps and can strip your hair’s natural oils, leaving it dry, dull, and brittle. Use the shampoo at the scalp only, not at the ends which can be months to years old and have endured countless washes. Use a conditioner everyday (or at least 3-4 times a week if your hairstyle can’t tolerate daily conditioning) to help lock in moisture. This will help your hair be thicker, shinier, and healthier.
4. Try carnitine. A recent study showed that at least in the laboratory, L-carnitine (found in red meat) stimulated hair growth. Maybe that’s where the expression, “Eat this. It’ll put hair on your chest” comes from….
5. Cut it. Because your hair can be years old, it reflects all your body has been through in that time. For instance, if you were sick a few months ago, then the hair that grew during that period can be thin and brittle and will remain that way until it is sheared. If your hair is damaged or frayed, then there is little you can do to repair it. Sometimes the best thing to do is to cut off all the damaged areas and focus on taking better care of the hair that is still healthy.

Post written by Jeffrey Benabio, MD. You might also like:

How to Avoid Razor Bumps

How to Grow a Beard

How to Treat a Sunburn

10 Things You Should Know About Laser Hair Removal

Like this blog? Grab The Derm Feed

Related posts:

1. Healthy Cuticles Lead to Healthy Nails Patients come to me every day with nail diseases; sometimes...
2. Flat Irons Damage Hair When Straightening Ceramic hair straighteners are everywhere, including my bathroom. It’s not...
3. What Makes a Face Beautiful? Is she beautiful? Many of you will disagree on the...
4. Hair Loss 101: Traction Alopecia I saw several women last week for hair loss (alopecia)....
5. Does Stress Really Make Hair Turn Gray? Mr. Obama has handled many difficult issues with aplomb, but...
6. What Causes Fly-away Hair and How Do You Stop It?   What makes a hair day a really bad hair...
7. Losing Your Hair? Nix the Cigs this Year Well, we have come to the end of another year....

Genital or venereal warts appear as skin colored or brown bumps in the genital area of men and women. They can be small or large and can look bumpy or cauliflower-like.

They are easily spread from person to person by contact with the wart. Some people fight off the virus quickly and the warts go away. However, most people have the virus for months or years and sometimes never clear the virus. Once genital warts have taken hold, they can be difficult to treat.

Most wart treatments rely on destroying the skin where the virus is living. The fastest way to treat them is to freeze them with liquid nitrogen. Freezing the wart destroys the skin and incites your immune system to finish off the job. Other treatments like electrocautery, surgery, tricloracetic acid, and using podophylin all destroy the skin in a controlled manner to eliminate the wart. Usually multiple treatments are needed.

An interesting study published in Obstetrics and Gynecology has added green tea extract to the list of treatments. We know that green tea is a wonderful antioxidant; this current research shows us that it has potent antiviral activity as well.

Researchers from Argentina found that sinecatechins, extracts from green tea, were an effective and well tolerated treatment for external genital and anal warts.

• They randomly assigned 502 adults with genial warts to either a green tea sinecatechins ointment or to an inactive, placebo ointment for up to 16 weeks or until the warts cleared.
• In the sinecatechins groups, warts cleared completely in about 60% of patients compared to about 35% of subjects in the control group. (The 35% cleared the warts because the warts do sometimes go away on their own).

Sinecatechins ointment, sold as Veregen, is approved for the topical treatment of genital warts in adults.

Unfortunately, this research does not mean that either drinking green tea or applying green tea bags to your warts will treat them. It will not. Nor will onion extract, vinegar, vitamin E or any other do-it-yourself therapy.

Because genital warts are common and are embarrassing, there are countless home remedies and internet sites touting cures. Buyer beware. These treatments are unproven; they usually fail to treat the wart, and in some instances can be harmful, causing burns to your skin and scarring.

Not properly treating the wart can also be dangerous. Certain strains of genital warts can develop into penile cancer in men and cervical cancer in women. If you have warts, then it is important that you see a physician for evaluation and for treatment.

Women should also consider getting the genital wart vaccine, Gardasil. This might not completely prevent you from getting genital warts, but it can protect you against the strains of the HPV virus that are known to cause cervical cancer in women.

Post written by Jeffrey Benabio, MD. You might also like:

How to Avoid Razor Bumps

Everything You Need to Know About Cold Sores

How to Grow a Beard

What Causes Body Odor?

Like this blog? Grab The Derm Feed

Photo credit: Kanko

Related posts:

1. Skin Cancer Where The Sun Don’t Shine Not all skin cancers are from sun exposure. Viruses such...
2. Is Genital Herpes Contagious? The answer might seem obvious, but I get this question...
3. Liposuction Goes Green: Fat for Fuel Liposuction has gone green (er, yellow actually). Apparently a Beverly...
4. Over the Counter Wart Treatment Not as Cold as Mine OK. There’s cold. Then there’s really cold. Growing up in...
5. Extract from White Birch Tree Relieves Itch The forest is full of things that make you itchy:...