Chafing 101: How to Prevent and Treat It, According to a Dermatologist What Actually Causes Chafing Chafing happens when skin repeatedly rubs against skin, fabric, or damp material, breaking down the outer skin barrier and leaving behind raw, stinging, and sometimes burning irritation. It shows up most often on the inner thighs, underarms, bra line, [...]
Peptides in Skincare: What the Data Says About 2026's Biggest Beauty Trend Peptides Have Officially Gone Mainstream If you've noticed peptides showing up everywhere lately, in your favorite serum, your TikTok feed, even your group chat, you're not imagining it. Peptide interest has grown over 240% year-over-year across Google, TikTok, and Instagram, putting it firmly [...]
Fear of Overfilling as a Market Force: How It’s Reshaping the Injectables Industry A Consumer Correction That Reshapes a Category The injectable aesthetics market is in the middle of a significant consumer-driven correction. The maximalist aesthetic that drove filler volume growth through the 2010s, including dramatic cheeks, oversized lips, and the smooth-everywhere look that became [...]
GLP-1 Drugs and the Aesthetics Market: What Brands and Investors Need to Know A Drug Class That Reshapes a Market The GLP-1 receptor agonist category, including semaglutide, tirzepatide, and the rapidly expanding pipeline of oral and injectable GLP-1 drugs, is one of the most significant external forces acting on the beauty and aesthetics market right [...]
Microbiome Skincare in 2026: What the Science Actually Supports From Trend to Science: The Microbiome Category Matures The skin microbiome has been a beauty industry buzzword for most of the last decade. Early-stage microbiome skincare products often made claims far ahead of the evidence. “Balancing your microbiome” is a phrase that appeared on product packaging [...]
The Regulatory Event That Changes U.S. Sunscreen Formulation On June 9, 2026, the FDA finalized approval of bemotrizinol, also known as BEMT or PARSOL Shield, as an active ingredient for over-the-counter sunscreens in the United States. This marks the first new UV filter approval in the U.S. market in over 25 years. For anyone working [...]
AI in Dermatology: What It Can, and Can’t, Do for Patients AI and Dermatology: Why I Am Both Enthusiastic and Careful I have been publishing research on artificial intelligence in dermatology for over a decade, earlier than most clinicians in this field and well before AI became a mainstream healthcare conversation. My background is unusual: [...]
Skin Cancer in Skin of Color: Why It Is Often Caught Late The Myth That Keeps Patients From Getting Checked There is a persistent and dangerous myth in American culture: that skin cancer is a “white people problem.” That melanin is protective enough. That patients with darker skin tones do not need to worry about [...]
What Mohs Surgery Is, and When You Actually Need It The Question I Get Asked Most Often After a skin cancer diagnosis, the most common question I hear is some version of: “My doctor said I need Mohs surgery. What is that exactly? And do I really need it?” These are the right questions to [...]
The Truth About Skin Barrier Repair: Ceramides, Slugging, and Prescription Options Why Your Skin Barrier Is the Most Important Thing You Are Probably Ignoring In dermatology, we sometimes talk about the skin barrier the way cardiologists talk about cardiovascular health. It is the foundational system that everything else depends on. When the barrier is intact, [...]
