Dermatologist Brisbane
Best Dermatologist Brisbane
What is a Brisbane Dermatologist?
You may have seen the term on cosmetic packaging, and it’s just as likely that you’ve seen it mentioned on websites too; but the word dermatologist can cause quite a bit of confusion amongst cosmetic product users. What exactly is a dermatologist, what do they do, and why are they such a crucial part of health and beauty products? Let’s get to know a little more about these unique medical experts now.
Understanding the Term
The term ‘ologist’ applies to a range of medical genres, from an ophthalmologist, all the way to the topic of this article; a dermatologist. The trick is to recognise the half-word that comes before ‘ologist’, and in this case, it’s ‘derma’. The word derma comes from the Latin word for skin, or layers of skin, and that’s exactly what a dermatologist specialises in.
In simple terms – a dermatologist is a skin specialist. They are experts in every aspect of skin, from cells and pores, all the way to hair follicles, rashes and reactions. When health and beauty products first started to hit the market (all the way back in the 1920’s), the title of skin specialist wasn’t even in existence.
People cared a lot more about wearing makeup and looking good, than they did about what they were putting on to their skin. In the 1980’s, a range of now-out-of-business brands launched a huge collection of cosmetic products, and as effective as they were, it was discovered shortly after that the chemicals used within could cause long term damage to skin.
As a result, the honest, responsible brands decided they’d need a stable way for people to identify their products as ‘user friendly’. That’s where dermatologists come in to the fray. As skin specialists, they have a firm understanding of the types of chemicals, ingredients and other elements that go in to cosmetic products.
What Dermatologists Do
As skin experts, dermatologists are charged with investigating the unique elements that go in to a cosmetic product. They’ll do this by gauging the reaction of the product when combined with specific chemicals, as well as seeing how the ingredients react with skin cells. A good product will therefore display ‘dermatologically tested’, if it has been investigated and approved by a skincare expert.
There are of course companies that prefer to avoid this new conformity, although they are becoming far less common within modern society. These companies will often use the cheapest, most readily available ingredients to ‘fill’ their products, and the risk is that these products may be unfit for human use.
Dermatologists do much more than check product ingredients however; as skin specialists, their main responsibility is to treat skin conditions. These conditions can be genetic, contagious and sometimes even result in life-threatening illnesses, but fortunately, reliable dermatologists are on hand to diagnose the skin condition, and treat it as necessary.