There’s no denying that the sun is enemy number one when it comes to your skin. It can dehydrate, wrinkle, discolor and cause your skin to look weathered. As a licensed esthetician myself, I have studied the skin in depth and know from experience that the sun is the major cause of everything in the skin we associate with aging. Of course, there are some other things that attribute to it but for the most part, people have no clue how much damage the sun is actually doing — especially when they are young and have no care in the world. Today I’m writing this post to shed some light on how to reverse signs of skin damage.
The sun is more damaging to your skin than you think. Just 11 minutes of sun exposure does more damage to your skin than your body can repair in one day. Sounds a bit scary, right? UV radiation creates free radicals in the skin, damaging and breaking down collagen and elastin which is the main thing you need to protect if you want to keep those signs of aging down to a minimum.
1 – ROUGH, SANDPAPER-LIKE SKIN: Deep within the skin lies collagen, which is responsible for a smooth cushiony plump look. When skin is exposed to the sun, the sun’s rays damage the collagen, causing your skin to become loose and have a marbled appearance to it. Solutions include fractional resurfacing as well as fillers which can help increase collagen synthesis and help reverse the aging process.
2 – LIGHT BROWN SPOTS ON YOUR CHEEKS AND FOREHEAD AND THE SIDES OF YOUR FACE: This has (sadly) actually happened to me many times. As a means of protecting itself from the sun, your skin produces melanin which leads to brown spots. Every skin tone has this same response to the sun but it really comes down to your skin color and how much pigment your skin naturally produces. People with more melanin tend to tan easily in response to sun while those without much melanin tend to burn. It’s repeated sun exposure that leaves us with permanent brown blotches. Things you can do are skin brighteners or some laser treatments but I would be careful and do your research on which laser treatments are best as I hear mixed reviews from some. I do however recommend doing Jessner Peels which are great for peeling the surface of the skin and lightening up some sun spots/scars.
3 – LOOSE SKIN: Just how the sun can cause your skin to become rough and leather-like, it can also cause it to lose its firmness and elasticity. The sun physically weakens and breaks down the elastin fibers in your skin. To help with this there is a tightening procedure called Ultherapy, however I am not sure on the effectiveness of this treatment. Supposedly it helps lift and tighten loose skin non surgically.
4 – RED BROKEN CAPILLARIES: The sun is more often than not the culprit behind broken capillaries and even red splotches. When blood vessels are damaged by the sun, they swell and become dilated created red blotchy spots and visible spider veins on the face. This is not to say that broken capillaries are always the cause of the sun but people sometimes don’t know that the sun can actually cause them. For treatments there are vascular lasers that can help treat broken capillaries although multiple treatments are required.
5 – LINES & WRINKLES: Lines and wrinkles that are caused by the sun tend to surface on the skin for one of two reasons or a combination of both — Increased free radicals and a loss of elasticity due to sun damage. For lines and wrinkles that are the result of constant movement, Botox or Disport is your best choice for treatment. For deeply etched lines and wrinkles, the use of fillers and lasers may be necessary which will help plump up the wrinkles while the lasers create smoother skin. There are also deep peels that can be uses as well if you are not a fan of going the Botox or laser route.
All the above products you can reach by clicking the “+” and you will be lead to the site to read more about them. The only one not able to do this with is the Glyco Mild 5%PM cream which is one we sell privately from our salon. This is a fantastic moisturizer that has 5%PM glycolic as well so it helps with sun spots, acne, fine lines and signs of aging. This is available here straight from my website.
Hope you enjoyed and as usual send me any questions via the comment section below or via Instagram!
Bash Harry says
Haha, my Asian aunts always tell me to take care of skin because it covers my whole face. Which I follow since I was so young! Thanks so much for the tips <3 <3
xx BASH | go say H E Y B A S H