"But can't I just keep using the cream I have at home?" I get this question all of the time. Suprisingly, from the patients with the worst skin. A patient will come to me covered with severe acne, scars, and discoloration. I will take my time to formulate a treatment plan that encompasses cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen. Inevitably, as we are about to part, the last question is- "but do I have to stop using what I already have at home?" As Einstein once said, "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
I never understood why a patient would be so loyal to a cream that clearly is not working. A recent NY Times article sheds light on this. In fact, the less effective a beauty product or treatment, the more likely women are to keep using it! Researchers recently surveyed 300 women and found they were more loyal to products and treatments when they didn’t work rather than when they did.
The NY Times article theorized that when people don’t feel good about themselves, fear is a more powerful motivator than success. Fears about looking older spur women to keep using the same production -- even when they don’t work. Once they have success however, such as younger-looking skin, their anxiety dissipates, and they stop worrying about it.
Ultimately, we are all creatures of habit. While I may not be able to convince people to stop buying and using ineffective creams, I can hope that using the correct regimens in combination with their ineffective creams will give them the improvements and satisfaction that brought them to see me in the first place.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/wrinkle-cream-not-working-give-me-two-more-jars/#more-157
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