On 06 Dec, 2025, Seniors Today hosted their weekly Health Live Webinar with a leading dermatologist, Dr Kalpana Sarangi who spoke on and answered questions on Skin Care in the Winter.
Dr Kalpana Sarangi is Consultant, Dermatology, Hair Transplant Clinic, Nanavati Max Super Speciality Hospital, Mumbai
Dr Kalpana Sarangi is a qualified M.D. in Skin. She started as a dermatologist and subsequently established herself as the Head of the Cosmetology Centre at Mumbai’s Nanavati Max Super Speciality Hospital. She has nearly three decades of experience. She is among the few qualified Skin Specialists in India to have established as a Cosmetic-Dermatologist.
She has to her credit more than 100 published articles in Indian and International Journals and also co-authored ‘Textbook and Atlas of Dermato-surgery and Cosmetology’, ‘Manual of Dermatology Surgery’, etc. She is a recipient of two gold medals at the national level to her credit.
Healthy skin is an essential part of health and natural beauty. People nowadays are more aware and want to take good care of their skin and hair. Including children and teenagers.
With the awareness growing due to social media and also because of people wanting to show themselves on social media, there is now a greater need for people to want good skin.
The health of the skin is affected by a lot of factors including:
- Environment around us
- Individual lifestyle
- Food you consume
- Exposure to the sun
During winters, there is less moisture in the air. The oil content in the skin decreases, making the skin dry, itchy and scratchy.
This can be treated by simply keeping your skin well hydrated and moisturised.
Failure to do so can lead to various skin conditions.
Skin wellness and its care:
- You need to know what your skin care needs are
- Be aware of your skin type
- Seek expert advice when choosing lotions, soaps and other cosmetics based on your skin type and needs
- Take adequate steps to prevent premature ageing
Common cosmetic problems include
A) Acne
Goals while treating acne are
- Preventing scarring
- Decreasing the number of painful lesions
- Minimising psychological stress and embarrassment to the individual
B) Hyperpigmentation
Hyperpigmentation can be preventive by taking the following measures:
- Avoiding UV rays, offending photosensitisers
- Using sunscreen and moisturising your skin daily
Therapeutic ways and methods of treating hyperpigmentation include:
- Camouflage/ masking agents
- Use of depigmenting agents such as MBEH, retinoids, kojolic acid, Vit C, glycolic acid, steroids, arbutin, etc.
- Bleaching agents such as peroxide and ammonia also help with hyperpigmentation
- Use of peeling agents such as salicylic acid, TCA, AHAS, etc
- There are also systemic agents apart from the above mentioned local/ topic agents that help in reducing hyperpigmentation, these include- systemic VitA, carotene, steroid and antioxidants
- Surgical intervention includes cryotherapy, electrolysis, dermablasion and laser therapy
- Chemical peels are also helpful in patients with hyperpigmentation. Chemical peels are a quick 10 minute procedure and the most affordable among all therapy options for skin correction and everyone can benefit from a chemical peel.
C) Scars
Scars are not just cosmetically unappealing, they also cause tremendous psychological trauma to the patient.
The objective for treatment of a patient with scars is to offer simple and effective techniques of effacing.
D) Skin ageing
Skin is a classical example of the fact that life is all about change.
Ageing of the skin is a natural part of the process of senility.
Many of the external causes of aging are determined by the health and lifestyle choices we make everyday.
Many of these choices, when unhealthy, can cause premature ageing of the skin.
Ageing is caused due to overproduction of free radicals in the skin.
Major causes for ageing include:
- Mental distress
- Environmental pollution
- Sunlight
- Chemotherapy and radiation therapy
- Nutritional habits
- Alcohol consumption and smoking
Signs of ageing are:
- Dryness of skin
- Dull and uneven skin tone
- Skin darkening
- Loss of firmness of skin
- Rough textured skin
- Visible sun spots
- Appearance of fine lines
- Visible wrinkles
Treatment of ageing of skin, is more preventive and includes:
- Sun protection
- Reversal of existing damage of skin due to medications or procedures
- Daily and proper skin care
An ideal sunscreen should have the following properties:
- The label should have a claim with four star rating.
- It should be broad spectrum (UVA+UVB)
- SPF should be more than 30
- It should be non-comedogenic
- Water resistant
- Fragrance free
- Non-oily
- Non toxic
Use of topical medications can be done in the form of using the following cosmetic products:
- Gentle cleansers
- Toners
- Moisturisers
- Anti Oxidants
- Skin friendly vitamins
- Exfoliants
- Demelanising agents
- Under Eye creams
- Anti ageing products
Skin rejuvenation procedures include:
- Chemical peels
- Botulinum toxin
- Derma fillers
- Most derma fillers are based on natural hyaluronic acid that helps in augmenting the beauty without affecting facial expression or movement
- Goal of Derma fillers:
- Smooth out wrinkles and folds
- Even out scars
- Volumise furrows and sunken valleys
- Contour unevenness
- Sculpt your skin
- Laser therapy
- It is used for most number of cosmetic needs such as:
- Treating acne and acne scars
- Resistant Melasma
- Wrinkles
- Facial rejuvenation
- Skin tightening
- Strech marks
- Unwanted hair removal
- Micro derma abrasion
- Dermalage
