Thank you for your question.
You submitted your question with a photo.
And you state in your question that you’re not yet 21 and that you have done a lot of
tanning using tanning beds for the last two summers.
And that you are now very concerned about the aging effects on the skin, the wrinkling
and the appearance.
And you’ve expressed a concern that perhaps your trajectory aging appearance will be considerably
worse by the time you are 30 even though you’ve already used topical creams and sunblock.
So of course, you want to know things you can do to help with this situation.
Well, certainly I can share with you how I advise a lot of my patients who have been
in similar situations.
And many have the same level of insight as you have had realizing that in two summers,
what kind of aging effects tanning beds have had.
We have patients who have been using tanning beds for much longer periods of time for a
variety of reasons so I can certainly share with you my perspective.
A little bit of background, I’m a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and Fellowship-trained oculofacial
plastic and reconstructive surgeon.
I have been in practice in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years.
Helping people with the aesthetics under the eyes has been the focus of my practice for
over 20 years.
And we live in a very good time.
We have a lot of technologies and particularly the emerging area of regenerative medicine
that I think is relevant for you.
So I think that it has been something that doctors have struggled with when it comes
to helping particularly fair skin people but I say all skin types are impacted by the realities
of already sun exposure thanks to a depleting ozone layer as well as the incidental sun
exposure for those who live in areas who have much more sun.
And on top of that, this acceleration of the skin aging process which is actually referred
to as photoaging that occurs with the ultraviolet light of tanning beds.
Essentially what happens is that the ultraviolet light breaks down the collagen that makes
up the skin and that accelerates the aging process.
Now that being said, there has always been an attraction to the use of different laser
devices to help people improve the appearance of photoaged skin.
And particularly, that does apply for a lot of patients.
We routinely, when we do under eye surgery, we will often combine taking care of the under
eye bags with fractional Erbium or fractional CO2 laser.
Certainly, for general aging and incidental sun exposure, it’s very good.
I am more cautious when I do treat people who are younger.
I feel that a lot of times, younger people who seek the help of doctors or non-physicians
who offer lasers tend to get overtreated.
What I mean is that when someone is younger and you’re dealing with skin that’s only
half a millimeter in thickness, it’s very thin, and you get aggressive laser treatment,
you may be contributing to the aging process by over thinning the skin.
And that’s something that I’ve made an observation with for many years.
I would say that a lot of times, I tell my younger patients, the human body has remarkable
capacity to repair especially when you are younger.
And when you have taken away the offending agent that is causing the aging, now this
can also be said for something like smoking.
Patients who are very bad smokers who have been smoking for a lot of time, once they
stop smoking, it’s remarkable how much better their skin looks.
So I tell my patients that a foundation of healthy lifestyle is very important.
Eating properly, sleeping enough, exercising, wearing moisturizers, using sunblock and maybe
something in the retinol family or something with some active cosmeceuticals, that can
help topically.
We can also consider using something like platelet-rich plasma (PRP).
Now platelet-rich plasma is derived from your own blood and it’s concentration of the
cells that are necessary for wound healing.
The point of doing that is that it has actually been shown literally in front of us in our
practice that the skin quality improves and the collagen, the blood supply, the quality
of the skin improves with some consistent treatment.
So I think it’s worth considering.
I think that you are taking the most important step which is to stop the tanning.
And I think proper skin care will in itself give you some restoration.
There are some certain laser technologies that could be beneficial in terms of stimulating
collagen remodeling but you have to choose that in the context of whether or not it’s
going to be worth it and whether it’s going to make enough of an impact for you that you
will be able to see.
A lot of times people are very impatient.
They want things to be erased.
And of course, lasers often are perceived as devices likened to science fiction to erase
wrinkles.
But they’re tools and there are very specific strategies in employing these remarkable tools.
So I think look into platelet-rich plasma (PRP), talk to a doctor who has experience
with patients in your age group and think about the risks, benefits and of course the
costs of doing these procedures and take it from there.
But again, I think you’ve already done a good thing by stopping the cause of the acceleration
of the aging process.,
So I hope that was helpful, I wish you the best of luck and thank you for your question.