By Mary Mireles, L.E
One of the most common skin conditions we see in office is pigmentation damage. Often times, these despised, dark spots are a result of enjoying a l
ittle too much of the sun. For years, laying out in the sun has been a common practice to achieve the desired tan look. Consequently, sun damage can be a result of sun exposure from last summer, or sun exposure from many years ago. Although the naked eye can all see surface pigmentation, we actually have a VISIA machine that will take pictures of your skin and can view pigmentation that is deep in the skin.
In the 1940’s the tan was so desirable that women used to change the colors of their stockings using tea bags to achieve a deeper color. By 1950 the “foil blanket” was introduced which reflected the rays of the sun back onto the skin giving you maximum exposure to the rays. The 1960’s brought new developments in the tanning world with the invention of sunless tanning lotion. Thankfully, we are now in a place where we are aware of the damaging effects of the sun ra
ys, as well as new formulas of tanning solutions that do not turn you orange. Most of the time that is……
Now that we have covered the basics of sun tans, and know that baking in the sun with no protection is not a good plan, let’s move on to ways we can help previous damage. As mentioned before, there is surface pigmentation as well as deeper pigmentation beneath the surface. To start off, I recommend coming in to consult with one of our estheticians. They will be able to do an analysis on the pigmentation and customize a treatment plan specifically for you. IPL and BBL treatments are wonderful for breaking up pigmentation, however you will want to do proper preparation for the maximum results. A popular combination of SkinBetter’s Even Tone correcting serum and AlphaRet is perfect to get on a couple of months before getting your first treatment. This combination is going to break down a lot of that surface pigmentation which will allow the IPL/BBL light to penetrate to the deeper pigment and address more of the issue.
In addition to spots, laying in the sun can also break down collagen and elastin in the skin which are essential for tight and lifted skin. Products like the SkinMedica TNS line will do wonders for reducing the appearance of lines in the skin. Microneedling with radiofrequency, and plasma treatments such as the Neogen, are some of our office favorites and have provided our clients with incredible results. Once again, the combination of proper skin care products as well as these procedures always provide the best results for reversing the sun’s damage.
Lastly, what would a post about sun damage be like without giving a shout out to SkinMedica’s Total Defense and Repair?! If you leave this post with one point, please think sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen! I hope you have the best summer yet, and we look forward to seeing you in office soon to address ,the not so fun, effects of summer fun.