VeryWellHealth Asks Dr. Green
From body hair and deodorant to sunscreen and skin care products, VeryWellHealth comes to Dr. Green for expert advice. View a few of her featured mentions below:
Does Vitamin C Serum Enhances Sunscreen Protection? Interviewed in VeryWellHealth
This article at “We Asked a Dermatologist If Vitamin C Serum Enhances Sunscreen Protection” today features an interview with board-certified cosmetic dermatologist Michele Green about how vitamin C serum and sunscreen work together.
The key takeaways included how Vitamin C doesn’t increase sun sensitivity (“There is a misconception that topical vitamin C increases sun sensitivity”). Unlike retinoids, AHAs, and BHAs—which speed up cell turnover and thin the skin’s outer layer—vitamin C is an antioxidant with photoprotective properties that help neutralize UV-related oxidative damage while brightening skin. However, it works differently from sunscreen: vitamin C doesn’t block UV rays, so it’s meant to complement sunscreen, not replace it. Used together, they offer the best defense against UV-induced pigmentation, redness, and collagen breakdown.
Skipping sunscreen while using vitamin C isn’t directly harmful, but it leaves a serious protection gap, since your skin stays fully exposed to UVA/UVB rays that can cause DNA damage, photoaging, and increased skin cancer risk. The research supporting vitamin C’s benefits studies it alongside sunscreen, not as a substitute.
View the full interview featuring her at https://www.verywellhealth.com/vitamin-c-serum-extra-sun-protection-12024679
Summer Sun Hangovers
For Summer Sun Hangovers (no, not that kind) that involve sunburns, Dr. Michele Green, MD, a board-certified cosmetic dermatologist was featured in Very Well Health today. She explains how this involves symptoms like fatigue, dehydration, nausea, body aches, and dizziness — the body’s immune response to overheating and UV damage.
For treatment, she recommends rehydration, cooling down, and managing inflammation, while avoiding alcohol and further sun exposure. She also notes the viral Pepcid + Zyrtec combination can help by blocking histamine receptors, though sunscreen and skin protection remain essential during recovery.
On prevention, Dr. Green advises staying hydrated with water and electrolytes, applying SPF 30+ sunscreen before heading out and reapplying every 90 minutes, and pacing time in the sun rather than staying out continuously. She warns to watch for early warning signs and to cool down, rest, and hydrate after a long day out. And yes, avoid alcohol too.
Find out more at https://www.verywellhealth.com/sun-hangover-11989634
Can Hair Growth Supplements Increase Body Hair?
VeryWellHealth.com asks about the use of hair growth supplements and if they increase the amount of body hair. “Since [these] supplements are taken orally, the ingredients are absorbed throughout the entire body and act on all hair follicles,” Michele Green, MD, said in the article. And while oral supplements for hair growth won’t cause hair growth anywhere new, as Dr. Green explained. “Hair growth supplements do not contain hormones and will not encourage facial or body hair growth that is nonexistent,” they can however “…help promote hair growth, retention, and density by improving overall hair health.”
“Dermatologists often employ topical medications such as minoxidil to decrease hair follicle miniaturization and increase hair growth,” she notes elsewhere in the article and also talks to the writer about (PRP) Platelet Rich Plasma injections, which are injected into the scalp, can also help people looking for help with hair loss (such as in the image above). She mentions how this effective treatment works, such as how “PRP is drawn from the patient’s blood and contains proteins and growth factors that are necessary for promoting tissue regeneration and healing hair follicles.”
This and various options along with comments from Dr. Green can be seen at https://www.verywellhealth.com/do-hair-growth-supplements-increase-body-hair-8646419
How to Soothe a Bug Bite Without Scratching: Ask Dr. Green
The question many of us have asked before, How to Soothe a Bug Bite Without Scratching, was featured today in Very Well Health’s “We Asked a Dermatologist How to Soothe a Bug Bite Without Scratching” where they had dermatologist Michele Green explaining why bug bites itch and how to relieve them without scratching.
The itch comes from your immune system reacting to proteins in insect saliva, which triggers a histamine release that causes the swelling and redness of a bite. Scratching backfires because it prompts even more histamine and skin irritation, potentially breaking the skin and inviting infection. This self-reinforcing “itch-scratch cycle” makes you itchier and slows healing.
Instead of scratching, Green recommends a few approaches: apply a cold, damp cloth or ice pack to numb the itch and reduce swelling; take OTC antihistamines like Benadryl; use anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen for swelling; or apply calamine lotion or hydrocortisone cream.
Most bites clear up on their own, but she advises seeing a doctor for signs of infection—increasing redness, warmth or pain, pus, spreading red streaks, fever, or swollen glands. Swelling spreading well beyond the bite, a rash appearing elsewhere, or any trouble breathing or swallowing should be treated as an emergency.
Find out more at https://www.verywellhealth.com/how-to-soothe-a-bug-bite-without-scratching-12019845
Whole Body Deodorants and Advice from Dr. Green on Very Well Health
While they do not prevent sweat, whole-body deodorants are thought to be safe and, generally speaking, effective. That said, in today’s article (Whole-Body Deodorants: What Dermatologists Want You to Know Before Trying These Products) from Very Well Health. Dr. Green notes that one “should not use these products all over the body at the same time,” since “sweat is a normal body secretion used to cool the body when body temperature increases, and if sweat production is over-inhibited with deodorant usage, the body can potentially overheat.”
She also talks about what to look out for such as fragances and parabens which may trigger irritation and allergies, and instead make sure they include sodium bicarbonate, corn starch and certain oils which contain antibacterial properties to destroy surface bacteria and eliminate odors.
Find out more at https://www.verywellhealth.com/whole-body-deodorant-8419556
Very Well Health Asks Dr. Green about Supplements to Prevent Gray Hair
Grey hair becomes a more common question as we age, and in “Supplements to Prevent Gray Hair: Do They Really Work?” by Very Well Health, Dr. Green talks about how aging can activate chemical processes. For example “as hydrogen peroxide levels increase, melanin synthesis is inhibited, and pigmentation in the hair decreases,” Green said. This means that, as we age, the process that gives our hair its color (melanin synthesis) is disrupted, causing the hair to gray. In addition to that “genetics, skin type, stress, medical disorders, and diet are just some factors that play into how quickly a person grays,” Green said in the article.
Unfortunately there is no way to fully stop gray hair growth, but targeting underlying conditions that can cause gray hair growth—such as vitamin deficiencies may help some people experiencing premature graying, Green said also.
Find out more at https://www.verywellhealth.com/do-supplements-for-gray-hair-work-8415859
