It is a horrible fate that something that feels good and creates happiness, causes damage to our skin. Sun exposure increases cancer risk and leads to cosmetic defects such as sun spots. A sun tan can seem harmless, but sun exposure has many down sides. Sun damaged skin is responsible for a lack of self-confidence for many patients.
The term for premature aging from sun exposure is photoaging. At Wellspring Skincare, we have a variety of options for preventing and correcting photoaging. These options range from non-invasive to more aggressive treatments, with varying effects, costs, and downtime. While many people simply want to an easy way to fix sun spots, prevention is the best treatment for anti aging.
How does sun damage the skin?
The root cause that leads to the sun damaging skin starts with ultraviolet (UV) rays. These UV rays interact with the skin in such a way that leads to DNA damage within the skin. Damage to the cellular DNA within the skin reduces the skins ability to effectively heal. Further, damaged DNA results in abnormal skin cell production.
Often, this damage manifests as hyper-pigmentation (dark spots) like freckles, moles, and sun spots. Hyperpigmentation is usually not harmful. However, damaging the cell DNA can also lead to skin cancer and melanomas. These are more serious skin issues.
Sun exposure also decreases the skins production of collagen and elastin. You have likely seen skin that skin looks leathery. This is a result of so much sun exposure that the texture of the skin has changed. At this point, the damage is likely permanent.
Long before the skin texture changes, the damage will reduce your skin's ability to heal from repeated facial motion. This will lead to premature wrinkling. The combination of sun spots and wrinkles are the tell tale signs of excess sun exposure.
Why do we tan?
The skin responds to sun exposure by producing excess pigment. This pigment serves to protect the skin from further damage. The tan color acts to reflect more UV rays, decreasing further risks of damage.
What does sun damage look like?
Sun damage will look different for each individual based on a variety of factors. These factors including age, skin type, skin color, and genetics. Sun induced damage includes:
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Fine lines and wrinkles
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Visible redness and blood vessels
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Loss of elasticity
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Brown spots, age spots
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Uneven skin tone, spots on your skin
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Thin skin
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Leathery skin appearance
Why Treat Sun Damage?
Sun damage treatment is important for health and appearance reasons due to the risks of sun exposure. Sun damage can affect how people look and feel about themselves, even if it's not always harmful. Here are some reasons why someone might want to correct sun damage, even if it isn't dangerous:
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Improved Skin Appearance: Sun damage can cause skin problems like dark spots, wrinkles, redness, and uneven tone. Treating sun damage can help reduce these signs of aging and restore a more youthful and even complexion.
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Boosted Self-Confidence: Sun damage can cause individuals to feel self-conscious about their skin's appearance. By treating sun damage, individuals can regain their self-confidence and feel more comfortable in their own skin.
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Reversal of Damage: With the right treatment, it is possible to reverse some of the effects of sun damage. Chemical peels and laser treatments can enhance skin texture, minimize wrinkles, and diminish sun spots. These treatments can make you appear younger and rejuvenated.
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Prevention of Further Damage: Treating sun damage not only addresses existing issues but also helps prevent further damage. Sun protection measures, topical retinoids, and routine skincare can help slow down the signs of aging caused by sun exposure.
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Overall Skin Health: Sun damage can affect the skin's ability to heal and produce collagen and elastin, leading to thin and leathery skin. By treating sun damage, individuals can improve their skin's health and restore its natural functions.
Sun damage can raise the chance of skin cancer and melanomas, even though it may not always be harmful. Treating sun damage is important for both appearance and skin health, and it helps lower the chance of problems.
Treatment of Sun Damage:
You can get rid of sun damage in many ways. You can partially prevent photoaging through several actions including sun protection, topical cosmetics, prescription medications, and procedures. We recommended routine skin care for everyone who cares about the health of their skin. With the right treatment, you can even reverse sun damage.
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Sun protection helps prevent and slow down signs of aging.
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Topical retinoids are the gold standard for photoaging.
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Procedures including lasers and chemical peels are great options for patients.
Topical retinoids
Topical retinoids are first line for photoaging given their robust clinical research and results. Retinoids are a potent vitamin A that increase collagen production, induce epidermal hyperplasia and decrease production of discolored skin. Tretinoin in the most potent and best studied retinoid that comes in a variety of formulations and strengths. The main side effects are dryness, skin flaking, irritation and photosensitivity.
Chemical Peels
Chemical peels use mild to strong chemicals to tighten and even out the skin by affecting specific layers. Superficial and medium-depth peels may improve mild or moderate photoaging. We reserve deep peels for severe photo damage. Adverse effects include discoloration of skin, infection and scarring and are most common with deeper peels.
Sciton Laser System
Sciton is a state-of-the-art laser platform that includes a BBL laser which functions as an IPL. We also offer our HALO laser that works an ablative lase. Both are amazing treatments for photoaging depending on the level of correction needed.
Sciton BBL is a laser that can treat skin discoloration and redness caused by blood vessels and pigment. In addition to creating an even skin tone, IPL lasers induce collagen production that can improve fine lines and wrinkles. Some studies have shown that wrinkles can improve, but the results can vary because of different treatments. This is why choosing your laser technician is important and at Wellspring Skincare, we have the most experienced laser technicians around!
Sciton's Halo laser treatment rejuvenates skin and diminishes wrinkles using a state-of-the-art hybrid fractional laser platform. This innovative technology combines both ablative and non-ablative wavelengths, delivering the best of both worlds: impressive results with minimal downtime. The Halo laser targets the skin to make it look younger. It boosts collagen, improves texture, and reduces wrinkles, giving you a refreshed and youthful appearance.
Finally, regularly use broad spectrum sunscreen on your face and neck. It's our top recommendation.