The Four Secrets of Radiant Skin

Christina Bates -

Often women compliment dermatologist Karen Burke, MD, PhD, on her smooth, spotless, glowing skin-and assume that she's had "work done on her face. But that's not the case. "Instead of resorting to lasers, Botox or surgery, it's often possible to achieve wonderful results with just the following four products," said Dr. Burke.

  • Mild, moisturizing cleanser. The goal is to remove oil, dirt and bacteria—without leaving skin overly dry.

New technology: Dove Sensitive Skin Nourishing Body Wash with Nutrium Moisture contains a blend of soybean oil, fatty acids and glycerin to penetrate deep into skin. Use it all over.

To minimize facial sagging: Wash twice a day, gently moving fingertips back and forth across vertical lines by your mouth...and up and out over horizontal forehead, cheek and eye wrinkles.

  • Sunscreen. To guard against wrinkles, spots and skin cancer, use a sunscreen every day with an SPF of at least 30 (better yet, 40 or more) that protects against both UVA and UVB rays.

Transparent: Sunscreens with the new micronized zinc oxide provide excellent UVA/UVB protection with no telltale white film.

Long-lasting: Anthelios face and body sunscreens contain Mexoryl, which degrades much more slowly than other UVA filters do (www. Anthelios.com).

  • Antioxidant serum. This helps reverse sun damage by stimulating production of collagen (the protein that gives skin its structure) and neutralizing harmful free radicals.

Transforming: Apply six to eight drops of SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic to your face daily (www.SkinCeuticals.com).

  • Topical retinoic acid (tretinoin). Ask your dermatologist to prescribe this vitamin-A derivative to rejuvenate skin and help prevent skin cancer.

Thrifty: Generic tretinoin 0.01% gel costs less than brand-name (about $90 for 1.6 ounces, approximately a four-month supply). Apply at bedtime to the face and back of your hands. To minimize flaking, use it every other day to start, working up to daily use.

Note: Nonprescription products are far less effective because they break down quickly.