Correcting Your Summer Sun Damage

Summer fun includes lots of sun, but sun damage can take a real toll on your skin. Sun damage can appear in many forms, including dry skin and sunburn. Too much sun exposure also accelerates the normal aging process, leading to fine lines and wrinkles. Ultraviolet light breaks down and damages the elastins in your skin, which causes your skin to lose its ability to go back into place after stretching – and it causes wrinkles, sagging skin, uneven skin texture, age spots, and more.

Skin damage caused by the sun is cumulative and occurs over the course of your lifetime. So just because you don’t see sunburn doesn’t mean that sun damage hasn’t occurred. The best way to avoid sun-damaged skin is to stay out of the sun. When outdoors, you should always wear broad spectrum sunscreen with an SPF (sun protection factor) of 30 or higher. Avoid the sun during the peak hours of 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This is when harmful UV rays are the strongest. Wearing protective clothing when you are outdoors can also help protect your skin. Look for long sleeves, pants, a wide-brimmed hat, and UV-filtering sunglasses. And above all, avoid tanning beds, which can severely raise your risk of skin cancer with only a single use.

With long-term sun exposure, the damage caused to the collagen in your skin cannot be reversed, but there are several options to help improve your skin’s appearance. Here are just a few available with Dr. Widenhouse at Port City Plastic Surgery.

Laser Skin Resurfacing

Sun damage can be especially noticeable on the face. Laser skin resurfacing restores the skin for a younger, healthier complexion. This cosmetic skin care treatment removes layers of damaged skin to revitalize the skin and diminish the visible signs of premature aging, sun damage, and other imperfections. The procedure is painless and very effective.

At Port City Plastic Surgery, we use Deka DOT laser therapy, which is the best technology for a non-invasive way to resurface the skin of the face and neck. The Deka DOT laser improves the volume and texture of the skin with minimal downtime – and you’ll heal more quickly than you would with traditional CO2 lasers.

The benefits of Deka DOT laser therapy include:

• Boosts collagen production
• More control and precision with the lasers
• Safer than traditional laser skin resurfacing
• Quick procedure
• Immediate results
• Little recovery or downtime
• Virtually no discomfort

Chemical Peels

A chemical peel will remove dead skin and other skin imperfections to reveal a healthier, smoother, and younger complexion. A chemical peel is a specially formulated chemical compound used on the face to remove the outer layers of skin and the skin cells that have been damaged by the sun, environmental influences, and aging, revealing beautiful, radiant skin underneath. The peel triggers the body’s natural healing process and boosts collagen production, which helps erase fine lines and wrinkles, uneven pigmentation, and other skin concerns.

Chemical peels are brushed over the targeted skin. Following the treatment, there is often some redness for a couple of days as the skin heals, followed by some peeling of the skin as the new skin fills in. Special moisturizers make the peeling much less noticeable. Chemical peels are one of the most effective and least invasive ways to improve facial skin. The benefits of chemical peels include:

• Takes less time than other treatments
• Evens out skin tone
• Diminishes acne scars
• Boosts collagen production to add volume to the skin
• Little downtime

Sun Damage Treatment in Charleston, SC

To find out what you can do to combat the effects of sun damage and the sun’s rays, contact us for more information or to schedule a consultation. Port City Plastic Surgery serves Charleston, Daniel Island, Mount Pleasant, and Summerville, South Carolina from two locations in Charleston and Daniel Island.