Interview with Dr. Juan Sopena
A few months ago we had the pleasure of talking to Juan Sopena, one of the best positioned dermatologists in the field of surgical medicine. Sopena is a renowned member of the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venerology, and the current director of the Madrid Institute of Dermatology and Aesthetics.
At MASQMAI we have compiled the most acclaimed questions from our users.
What is the best beauty routine to eliminate acne?
"To eliminate acne, good facial hygiene is fundamental and this should be done twice a day, either with soap that has little detergent and makes little foam or with a cleansing milk and tonic. We should also use creams that have little fat content, that is to say, that are not very comedogenic and that generate few pimples and avoid large quantities of make-up that can favour the obstruction of the pore"
I often get a lot of black spots in the T-zone. What would you recommend to eliminate them?
"Blackheads are a blockage of the pore due to a build-up of fat and cell debris, so the most important thing is to do a good peel once or twice a week. As exfoliation sometimes irritates a little I'll give you a trick that is to make your own scrub that means adding a little brown sugar to a cream or oil that has components that reduce irritation and redness as may be the Natural Beauty Elixir Masqmai. Take some of the product, add the grains of brown sugar and perform a small massage on the T-zone to unblock the pores".
What is the best care for dry and very sensitive skin?
"Very dry and sensitive skin should be cared for at home in two steps:
In the mornings we will use creams that we call relipidizers or nutritive creams, which are those that have a high content of natural essential fatty acids, and which will give us a greater degree of hydration, provided that they include a minimum protection factor of 30 SPF, and at night we will use the type of cream that is more fluid, which penetrates the layers of the skin better, such as serums, and we dermatologists love the fact that they have hyaluronic acid as their main active principle".
How can I remove scars and blemishes caused by acne?
"For the treatment of acne marks it is essential to make a personalised diagnosis of each case, as there are multiple therapeutic options At home we can use depigmenting creams that have active ingredients that reduce the spots produced by these pimples and I would recommend that they have a high vitamin C content and we can also use substances that facilitate exfoliation and file down the surface of the skin, and therefore improve the scars as well as those with vitamin A and its derivatives".
My skin is dry and dull. How can I make it glow?
"For moisturizing dry skin and improving radiance, we have already seen the two-step protocol better before, but we are going to insist on how to improve that radiance, on that more radiant aspect of the skin, and for that I really like an ingredient that is argan oil. because it's a very complete ingredient: it's an antioxidant, it's moisturising, it helps regenerate the skin and at the same time it's an anti-ageing agent. And all this is because it's an omega-6 fatty acid with a high content of linoleic acid, which is a great precursor of vitamin C".
What is the best routine to follow for mature skin with wrinkles?
"The protocol for the care of mature skin should include two distinct phases. During the day we will focus on preventing aging by seeking good hydration and sun protection to avoid photo-aging. And at night we will do a treatment phase using products that allow us to mitigate the signs of aging such as fine wrinkles, lack of luminosity or loss of firmness and elasticity of the skin. For this I recommend creams containing natural essential oils as well as vitamin A and vitamin C derivatives".
What treatment or care do you recommend for skin with dermatitis?
"For skins with dermatitis, two types of action are fundamental: on the one hand, to protect us from damage, mainly from the sun, and therefore to use creams that have solar protection, and then to protect us also from external damage, such as pollution, with creams that are a little more oily, or combinations of oils, such as chia, avocado or argan, that make a small protective film of the skin, while at the same time moisturising us a lot. And when we have more intense irritations or dermatitis, we love products with Aloe Vera, which is a very natural anti-inflammatory and which, when mixed with olive oil, helps to protect our skin."
What treatment or care do you recommend for skin with dermatitis?
"For skins with dermatitis, two types of action are fundamental: on the one hand, to protect us from damage, mainly from the sun, and therefore to use creams that have solar protection, and then to protect us also from external damage, such as pollution, with creams that are a little more oily, or combinations of oils, such as chia, avocado or argan, that make a small protective film of the skin, while at the same time moisturising us a lot. And when we have more intense irritations or dermatitis, we love products with Aloe Vera, which is a very natural anti-inflammatory and which, when mixed with olive oil, helps to protect our skin."
What treatment or care do you recommend for skin with dermatitis?
"For skins with dermatitis, two types of action are fundamental: on the one hand, to protect us from damage, mainly from the sun, and therefore to use creams that have solar protection, and then to protect us also from external damage, such as pollution, with creams that are a little more oily, or combinations of oils, such as chia, avocado or argan, that make a small protective film of the skin, while at the same time moisturising us a lot. And when we have more intense irritations or dermatitis, we love products with Aloe Vera, which is a very natural anti-inflammatory and which, when mixed with olive oil, helps to protect our skin."
Do you recommend the use of oils for oily or acne-prone skin?
"Although traditionally oils have been considered unsuitable for the treatment of oily and acne-prone skin, today there are oils that can be beneficial in these cases and are mainly essential oils of plant origin. These include jojoba oil, tea tree oil and camomile or flaxseed oil, which are good for both their antiseptic and anti-bacterial properties as well as their anti-inflammatory properties. So it's not a question of whether they are oils or not, but what kind of oil you can use on oily or acne-prone skin."
Would you recommend Masqmai's products? Which one is your favourite?
"I would recommend and believe a lot in Masqmai's products for several reasons. The first is because they are all made with natural products and a wide range of essential fatty acids whose active ingredients have been proven to be effective for the fundamental needs of our skin. They have components that give us great hydration, other regenerating active ingredients, great antioxidant substances and with an anti-aging effect, not only for the face but also for the body. Which one did I like best? Well, perhaps because of my more sensitive skin type, which is easily irritated and thinner, despite being a man I loved the booster that combines olive oil with Aloe Vera. But I'm sure that you will find a cream in his line of products that will adapt to your needs."