Good skin care a psychodermatologist away

Georgetown resident Cassie Hulen never really started having problems with her skin until she had her first child at 25. "I noticed when I first became pregnant my skin would have these periods where it would break out really badly, leaving scars on my face," she said. "After my first child was born, I had a myriad of dark scars on my face caused by acne."When she talked to her doctor about it, he said it was a mixture of hormones and the stress of having a baby. He prescribed some creams, but they only solved the problem temporarily. When she had her second child at 27, the acne spread to her arms, back and chest. That's when she could not stand it anymore. Her doctor recommended her to see a psychodermatologist. "I never knew there was such a thing," said Hulen.

Psychodermatology is therapy for the skin and consists of different methods. Psychotherapy is the most common treatment, but meditation, hypnosis, biofeedback, and an assortment of relaxation are also standard treatments.

Dr. Charles Cooper, a dermatologist at Kaiser Permanente, said human skin may have reactions such as acne, hives or psoriasis caused by stress, mood disorders and hormones.

"Many times when my patients come in, we will initially treat their skin problem but then try and see what is causing the skin to have a certain type of reaction," he said. "From there, I can diagnose if they can continue treatment with me or if they may need a psychodermotologist."

When medications are not enough to heal a skin problem patients may then be sent to specialists like Dr. William B. Lawson, professor and chairman of the psychiatry department at Howard University Hospital. Lawson, a psychodermatologist, said most of his patients have depression disorders.

Patients who use psychodermotolgy treatments see a 70 to 90 percent improvement in their overall appearance; 30 to 50 percent have complete remission, said Lawson. "When I find that depression is the reason for my patient having negative skin reactions, sometimes I give them hypnosis treatment, but usually I give them relaxation exercises like non-verbal meditation," he said.

He also recommends deep tissue massages to quickly alleviate stress. Some of Lawson's patients have high stress due to work, or dealing with household responsibilities.

"For my patients who cannot avoid high stress levels, I make sure they take time from their day to exercise, meditate, or take a short nap because all of these things release endorphins in the brain that help the body cope with stressors and depression," he said.

According to the American Family Physician Journal, about 60 percent of the time skin breaks out in any form, it is due to environmental problems. The other 40 percent is due to uncontrolled hormonal factors.

Although Dupont Circle resident Cynthia Peterson is convinced she was born with psoriasis, she believes it gets worst when she is at work because of the demand of customers at her hotel and restaurant job. "A friend recommended me to a psychdermotologist to help me with my skin problem," Peterson said.

Her psychodermotologist taught her meditation to help cope with stress, thus control her psoriasis. "I would definitely recommend someone with a skin problem to see a psycodermotologist," she said. "It helped me, and it can't hurt to try it."

For patients like Peterson, who have high stress jobs, Lawson also recommends muscle relaxation techniques, breathing exercises and quiet meditation to help de-stress.

Skin ailments can also be treated with facial treatments at spas like Modern Day Spa in Tyson's Corner, VA. No amount of make-up would mask Melissa Brown's acne, she said. Then she started going to beauty spas for deep pore cleansing. "I noticed a great change in my skin," she said.

Esthetician Wendy Bell said depending on the client's condition, there are various treatments that can be used. She said her acne-prone clients are treated with chemical peels; those with patchy skin receive microdermobration.

"Each type of facial is a form of exfoliate that extracts impurities from the pores. Once the facial treatments are done our clients notice their skin is a lot smoother because these treatments take off layers of dead skin, reveling healthier looking skin," Bell continued.

Brown was ecstatic about the results of her acne spa treatment. Her only concern was that it cost $95 for a deep cleansing facial. "It's very costly," she said. "If I did it in a series of six and came back every couple of weeks, it would cost $475 dollars.I worry that once I cannot afford any more treatments, my skin will relapse into what it was before.