Coming Clean -- Dermatologist's Book Scrubs Away Myths About Skin Care (Like Water And Chocolate)

Remember when you were a teenager and your mother told you not to eat chocolate or potato chips or you'd get pimples? Remember all those magazine articles that said drinking eight glasses of water a day would improve your skin? Remember the advice to use a strong soap followed by astringent or even rubbing alcohol to combat blemishes? Remember how perfect those models looked in issues of Seventeen, Cosmopolitan and Vogue?

Lies, all lies, according to Barney Kenet, M.D., a New York-based dermatologist who has penned an enlightening new book, "How to Wash Your Face" (Simon & Schuster, $24).

Actually, Kenet uses a nicer word than "lies." "They are myths," he says. While chocolate, chips and even pizza have long been suspected of exacerbating blemishes, Kenet says the only real culprits appear to be alcohol, spicy food and caffeine. They won't cause pimples, he said, but they may make existing ones appear redder.

The water myth? Kenet says appropriate fluid intake helps your body stay healthy, but drinking water will only tangentially affect how your skin looks - if you are healthy, your skin will look better. As for using strong soaps and astringents, they may actually make your skin oilier by causing a rebound effect - the more drying the products you use, the more oil your skin wants to produce.

There are plenty of other myths to debunk. All those topical products that promise to retard hair growth - often they come with waxes or depilatories - can't do what they say. The only things that will retard hair growth in any permanent way are electrolysis or the new laser treatments, particularly the Alexandrite laser, Kenet says.

You can permanently thin your eyebrows with regular plucking, but he says there's a danger in this. "I see a lot of older women, and as their hair naturally thins with age, they find themselves with little or no natural eyebrows." That explains all the older women whose brows are nothing but a pencil line above their eyes.

Kenet's book is full of legend-exploding factoids. And talking to him only reveals more. Ivory Soap touts itself as being 99.4 percent pure. Kenet says it's 99.4 percent bad for your skin. Most soaps that people use are much too harsh, and he says that Americans in general overwash. "Hot water and too much suds leads to dry skin that looks flaky and itchy," he explains. "People come to me when it gets cold, and we lower the humidity in our homes. They have itchy skin and wonder what disease they have caught."

In his book, Kenet tells of a woman who appeared in his practice with those symptoms but refused to believe it was simply a matter of overwashing. "It's cold in the morning, we turn on the hot water. We get out, we don't moisturize. We have rinsed all our oil down the drain and not replenished it," he says. "All the water from your shower is evaporated and dried off in an hour. Then you itch again, maybe to the point that you shower again at night. That lather-rinse-repeat mentality is a vicious cycle."

Kenet goes so far as to recommend that we take a weekly shower break, giving up our love of cleanliness for a day. Just washing your face, feet, groin and armpits is enough, he says. And when you do shower, there is rarely a reason to soap up your stomach, arms and legs.

Skin problems start early in this country, with the way we bathe our babies. He recommends using fragrance- and dye-free products that are pH- balanced. Cetaphil is one of his favorites, or Basis for Sensitive Skin. Using baby-scented sudsing products on a baby's sensitive skin is a mistake, Kenet says. And "there is a difference between fragrance-free and unscented. The latter just has fragrance-masking chemicals." Most babies, he adds, get plenty clean playing and splashing in a tub of plain water for 15 to 20 minutes.

And you should start your baby's day the way you should start your own: with sunscreen. "From six months up, use a broad-spectrum sun block that includes titanium dioxide," Kenet says. "Neutrogena Sensitive Skin SPF 17 is an example of this." Kenet, who has a toddler himself, knows how hard it is to get squirmy children to sit still for such treatments. He prefers the sunscreen sprays, chasing his daughter around in a kind of game to get the sun block on.

While Americans are becoming more savvy about the dangers of the sun, there is still a way to go. Kenet thinks that eventually we will get the sun sense they have in Australia, where the light-skinned descendants of immigrants face an epidemic of skin cancer. "The chic tan that is part of our culture for so many years is diminishing," Kenet says. "We are making inroads. People understand about melanoma, and that sun causes aging."

There are also many products now that can artificially, yet convincingly, give you that golden glow. "Those products are safe and better than they used to be," Kenet says. He suggests putting the products on after your shower. "Buff your skin with a nubby towel. Be efficient and apply it evenly. Go lightly over bony areas like your knees and elbows, and use an old towel to take off the excess. You might want to use plastic gloves so that you don't tan your palms or fingernails."

Kenet tries to practice what he preaches. He takes a weekly shower break, doesn't stand in the stream of water and avoids using soap on his body. "I recognize people are busy with a lot on their agenda. But if your skin is misbehaving, it's worth the effort to follow the suggestions."

And if you're worried about premature aging, remember that it's never too late - at any age - to take corrective measures. "Your body will repair some of the damage. A good sun block and alphahydroxy acids (AHAB) are a good place to start," says Kenet. "But the earlier you start, the better."

One more piece of advice: Quit smoking, says Kenet. A recent study shows that smokers who don't sunbathe show signs of aging in their skin more than nonsmokers who do.

Kenet has included lists of good and bad products in his book (see story ). He lists which soaps are best, and which ingredients in cosmetics and hygiene products you should avoid. But he doesn't have a vested interest in any of them. "You have to say the bad things to have credibility," Kenet says. "It is my personal opinion, but as a physician, I have some experience. I try to be unbiased. And if any of the companies have a problem with what I say, let them come at me."

About those models: Kenet is happy to report that not only are their photographs often retouched, the models themselves often have body makeup on, as well as face makeup. They rarely, if ever, look as good in person as they do in the magazines, and they have the same uneven skin tones, occasional pimples and razor burn that the rest of us get. -------------------------------

Here are recommendations for some of the best and worst soaps and lotions, according to New York dermatologist Dr. Barney Kenet in his skin-care book, "How to Wash Your Face."

Kenet is a dermatological surgeon at New York Hospital/Cornell University Medical Center and founder and president of the American Melanoma Foundation.

Some recommended body moisturizers

Nivea Skin Therapy, with vitamin E.

Aveeno Moisturizing Lotion (a thinner consistency that is perfect for acne-prone skin).

Eucerin Lotion (good for drier skin).

Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion (good for most skin types and especially good for people with eczema; perfect for the whole family).

Overrated and not recommended

Lubriderm

Keri Lotion

If your budget allows

Kiehl's Aloe Massage Cream (good for all-over body softening; especially soothing for pregnant women. Call 800-KIEHLS-1 or 2).

For cracked skin, try Aquaphor Ointment.

Low-budget alternatives

Olive oil and Crisco. They don't smell great, but also don't contain a lot of needless fragrance or additives. (Oils can be quite greasy, so you may wish to gently wipe off any excess with a soft towel before dressing.)

Mild soap-free cleaners

Dry skin: try Cetaphil Cleansing Lotion, Aveeno Cleansing Lotion or Moisturel Sensitive Skin Cleanser.

Oily skin: try Clinique Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser, Johnson's Clean and Clear Foaming Facial Cleanser or Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash.

Soaps

In a study rating the harshness of 18 brands of soap, the least irritating were Dove, AveenoBar and Purpose. (Zest, Camay and Lava were the harshest.)

Also recommended: Basis Sensitive Skin Bar Soap, Caress, Tone and Oilatum Moisturizing Bar. And if your skin is on the oily side or acne-prone, try Neutrogena Cleansing Bar Oily Skin Formula.