Today, we know the importance of avoiding sun exposure to halt premature aging, skin cancer, and other forms of skin damage. But still, many people receive too much sun exposure, whether because of lifestyle, the environment, or simply not knowing how to properly prevent dangerous and excessive sun exposure without the appropriate precautions. Even if your skin has been damaged by the sun, a board-certified dermatologist at OC Skin Institute can help you reduce and reverse the effects of overexposure.
There are a wide variety of choices in treating sun damaged skin. Your doctor will help you determine which will work best for you, based on your skin type and the nature of the damage. The methods and cosmetic procedures range from injectables to laser treatment.
Treating Sun Damage By Removing Skin Layers
Several types of cosmetic treatments for sun damaged skin work by removing the upper layers of the skin and allowing fresher, undamaged skin to grow from below. These include dermabrasion, in which the skin is removed mechanically; chemical peels which use chemicals to loosen and exfoliate the damaged skin; and laser resurfacing, which uses a laser to remove damaged skin and stimulate the regrowth of new skin. All of these, however, involve some level of injury to the skin and healing time afterward. Lasers are usually the least injuring because they can be used with greater precision than the other methods.
There are milder forms of the above treatments that do not involve as much healing, but they usually require several treatments to have full effect. These include microdermabrasion, light chemical peels, and fractional lasers, such as a fractional C02 laser.
Reducing the Appearance of Sun Damage
Another form of cosmetic treatments for sun damaged skin involves reducing the appearance of wrinkles caused by the sun.
Facial fillers reduce wrinkles by adding volume and hydration to the skin, tightening it and smoothing out wrinkles. Similarly, Botox is a widely used cosmetic method to reduce wrinkles by reducing the mobility of the skin and preventing deeper creases from forming. Specifically, botox is a toxin that paralyzes and relaxing the muscles that cause facial movement. Although these methods are less effective than removing the sun damaged skin itself, and require repeated applications to maintain benefits, they’re much easier and quicker to apply.
If your skin is showing signs of sun damage, talk to your board-certified dermatologist to develop a treatment plan. And of course, remember to protect your skin when you’re out in the sunlight!