Skin Republic

Dear Dr. Jen,

I have hair on my upper lip. Every time I shave or wax, it gets irritated. What can I do to remedy this?

Jay

Dear Jay,

Razor burn is a mild rash a few minutes after you shave.  If you want to prevent razor burns, it would be better if you used a lubricant before shaving like a gel or soap and a sharp blade.  Blunt blades can irritate your skin too.  Shaving in the direction of your hair growth will help avoid ingrown hairs too.

If it’s too late and you have the rash already, a cortisone cream will get rid of it right away.  If there are any ingrown hair or folliculitis going on (red bumps), an antibiotic ointment twice daily will work on that.

* * *

Dear Dr. Jen,

Is there a cream that can get rid of liver spots on the back of my hands?

Susan

Dear Susan,

Liver spots, age spots or sun spots are usually caused by cumulative sun exposure. You often get them as brown spots on the face, back of the hands and on the scalp of men. 

Bleaching creams can work on them sometimes but most of the time you’ll need to have them lasered off.

It would be good to have it checked by your PDS dermatologist to rule out if any of those lesions are pre-cancerous or not. Once you have it confirmed as sun spots then you can start treating them right away.