How much sun is too much? By Susie Densley

Ahh, the warmth of the sun on a lazy summer day. Thinking about it makes me just want to close my eyes, and tilt my face up to embrace it. But with so much talk about sun damage these days, it makes me wonder just how bad can it be? Am I past help? Should I slather sunscreen on my children every day and stop them from playing outside? No, as it is true with most things.. sun is good in moderation. We can’t avoid it. We actually need it for some things, like vitamin D synthesis which boosts your immune system and keeps your muscles from wasting away. It helps the liver remove toxins from the body. It’s also been associated with mood enhancement, meaning there are less cases of depression in areas that get a lot of sun exposure. So, it’s not all bad.
On the other hand, the horror stories running rampant about sun damage come from over-exposure to the sun. The rays emitted from the sun are broad spectrum, ultraviolet rays. There are two in particular that we need to watch out for. UVA or the “aging” rays, and UVB or the “burning” rays. When you buy sunscreen, you want something that will help protect you from both. Depending on the amount of sun exposure you get during the day, it should have an SPF (sun protection factor) of at least 15, or higher if you plan to be in direct exposure. You need protection even if your skin is darker, because you may not burn on the surface, but the aging rays penetrate much deeper, and are the cause of wrinkles and premature aging.
Okay, so what happens with over exposure to the sun? If you are not properly protected, the connective tissue and collagen in your skin will break down. This will cause our bodies to heal more slowly, you will look older, due to loss of skin integrity, causing wrinkles and premature aging. You’ll notice hyper-pigmentation (aka sun spots or age spots), and your risk for skin cancer increases. When I was young, I remember my mom and sisters laying in the sun for hours every day. They’d slather on the baby oil, and even place tin foil around their chairs to make sure they got the sun’s reflection on the other side. Sometimes at the end of the day, they’d even have a few blisters on their chests because they got burned so badly. But boy, were they proud of their tanned, glowing skin!
People still like the look of tanned skin, but are more aware of the dangers now. You can, and still should, go out and enjoy it. You can never protect yourself 100%, and that is okay, because don’t forget there are benefits gained from sun exposure too. If you are one of those who spent a lot of time sun bathing in your youth, don’t fret. With technology today, we can help you reverse the results of sun damage on your skin! With treatments ranging from topical lightening serums, to chemical peels, and Intense Pulse Light (IPL) fotofacials we can work out a treatment plan to make you look as young as you feel. Sun damage does NOT! have to be permanent.

What is an IPL? By Susie Densley

Are skin imperfections giving away your age? … say goodbye to Rosacea (redness), broken capillaries, age spots, uneven skin tone, and sun damaged skin!
Until recently, the main, non-invasive treatment for facial rejuvenation and sun damage was the chemical peel. While effective at removing surface damage, you had to undergo deeper peels administered by doctors, and many times under general anesthesia, to treat pigmentation and texture issues that were more deeply involved. With the advancement of intense pulsed light (IPL) fotofacials, you can achieve total skin rejuvenation with minimal to no downtime.
At Escape Skin Care Center, we utilize Elos technology which is leading the way for the safest, most effective treatments that are highly targeted, and work without damaging the skin’s surface. Also known as photofacial, and photo rejuvenation, the IPL uses both intense pulsed light and radio frequency to target hyperpigmentation and broken capillaries.
A conductive gel is applied to your skin prior to the treatment tip, which is cooled. This keeps the top layer of your skin cool and somewhat anesthetized. Then, highly selective light energies are absorbed by the hemoglobin and pigmented lesions, while bi-polar radio frequency energies selectively heat blood vessels. This minimizes the effect on pigmented skin and enables us to safely and effectively treat your skin concerns. Because the energy is attracted toward the deeper, warmer layers caused by the light, the cooled surface of your skin remains undamaged.
We are able to safely improve superficial pigmented and vascular blemishes including hyperpigmentation caused by sun damage, hormones, acne scarring, or age; and redness caused by rosacea or broken capillaries. The IPL also stimulates collagen production to soften and smooth the appearance of fine line and wrinkles, pore size, and textural irregularities. Pigmented lesions are pulled toward the surface and eventually are absorbed or flake away.
Most of us have much more damage that is not visible on the surface. It is important to note that that damage will be pulled to the surface as well as anything we are targeting. Therefore, if it seems like you actually have more pigmentation issues after your treatment than you did when you started, you probably do. It’s not something the machine created, but actually helped to pull up from the deeper layers of your skin. With repeated treatments, done every 3 to 4 weeks, the pigmentation will continue to dissipate, and eventually will be removed.
During these treatments, it is imperative you use sun protection, avoid direct sun exposure, avoid tanning booths, and use the recommended skin care products at home. It is equally important that you commit to receiving your treatments on time, every 3 to 4 weeks, as cell turnover does affect how much of the pigmentation we can reach.
The IPL Fotofacial is an amazing advancement in technology, but not the complete answer. There are treatments to enhance it’s effect such as microdermabrasion, which will exfoliate the top surface layer and allow the light energies to travel even deeper into the skin. These along with reFirme skin tightening provide the ultimate in skin rejuvenation. Ask about our TRIO treatments today!