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A couple of months ago before meeting a girlfriend for ramen at Momofuku, I made the trek uptown to the rarely visited (for me, at least) Upper East Side.  I had generously been invited to visit the beautiful office of Dr. Barney Kenet to preview his new skincare line now available online and at Hyatt hotels worldwide.

After a refreshing cocktail, some light bites, and meeting my role model, Lynn Jacobson, an interior designer who just happened to be dropping off some orchids to the office, Dr. Kenet walked me through his very simple, very focused, skincare line.  Packaged in a chic and travel friendly white zippered bag, the products are labeled with instructions as well as the days of the week in which they are to be used.  Talk about foolproof skincare.  I could have stayed all day (and nearly did) asking skincare questions.  Dr. Kenet, his wife, Patricia, and Stephanie (medical/surgical assistant) were wealths of knowledge, not to mention fun and engaging.  Not only did I walk out of the office chocked full of new dermatological knowledge, I was also gifted the entire line to try myself (which I have been using religiously since).  And as if that wasn’t kind enough Dr. Kenet has  given me his top skincare tips for summer to share with WhyDid readers, which are below:

Nothing, nothing beats staying out of the sun altogether. No amount of sunscreen will protect you like avoidance. (Compare this to sexual abstinence versus using a condom).  :}

Think about your friends and relatives who live in Florida, California and swear they wear sunscreen and stay out of the sun.  Their skin will usually look more aged than the northeasterners, New Englanders and Canadians, for example.

And, New Yorkers, on sunny days, just direct your feet to the shady side of the street.

If you go out into the sun be careful when using the following:

• Certain antibiotics- (Doxycycline, Tetracycline, Ciprofloxacin),  this can increase the risk of a sunburn.
• Bergamont perfume- (Shalimar, Gucci Gold, for example.)
• Birth control pills can cause brown coloration (called melasma), along the upper lip etc.

In April, the FDA changed the rules about sunscreen:

What the FDA Guidelines Mean:

• Products that pass a test to show they protect against both UVA and UVB rays will be labeled ‘broad spectrum’ followed by an SPF number TIP: Use only BROAD SPECTRUM
• Any product with an SPF of 14 or lower and products without broad spectrum status are required to carry a warning that reads, in part, ‘This product has been shown only to help prevent sunburn not skin cancer or early skin aging.’ TIP: USE 15 or higher SPF, 30SPF on children
• The terms ‘sun block,’ ‘water proof’ and ‘sweat proof’ can no longer be used. Products that pass an FDA test can be labeled ‘water resistant’ up to 40 or 80 minutes.
• A product can no longer claim to offer all-day protection. All sunscreens must warn users to reapply every two hours.

Number One Rule:  Wear Sunscreen, moisturize after the shower on damp skin, reduce the number of products you use.  Simplify your life, and your routines.

Worst mistake people make: Using too many products. And smoking.

After having spoken with Dr. Kenet, I became much more diligent in the daily application of SPF (something I should have already been doing as skin cancer runs in my family).  I run outside during the warmer months and hadn’t thought about the damage I was doing to my skin.  Don’t forget that a day at the beach isn’t the only time that warrants a heavy dosage of sunscreen and you can’t only rely on your foundation or BB cream.  Dr. Kenet’s En Garde Sunscreen feels great (non-greasy) and smells absolutely delicious, so I don’t mind applying it every day.

Dr. Kenet was not only kind enough to answer a few of my nineteen thousand questions, but he is graciously giving a lucky reader one of his skincare sets!  To enter, simply follow @KenetMDS and @WhyDid_Dotcom on Twitter and retweet this message.  Be sure and check out his Facebook page as well for skincare news and specials.  Good luck and don’t forget to guard your dermis daily.

xx,

WhyDid