Sun exposure on your skin can have benefits such as vitamin D production, which is critical
for your health and in particular your immune system.
Too much sun exposure can cause sunburn, premature skin aging, skin discolorations, as well as
skin cancer.
I’ll discuss how I help my patients who have cosmetic concerns related to sun damage.
I’m Dr Amiya Prasad.
I’m a Diplomate of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery and Fellowship-trained oculofacial
plastic and reconstructive surgeon.
I’ve been in practice in New York City and Long Island for over 25 years.
I perform a range of cosmetic surgeries every day in my practice, such as facelifts, advanced
eyelid surgery and facial implants.
I also perform a lot of non-surgical procedures including lasers, radiofrequency, PRP, PRF,
microneedling and injectables.
Let’s briefly review some basic terms related to sun exposure.
We’re all familiar with a suntan.
A suntan is the body’s response to increased exposure to ultraviolet or UV radiation from
the sun.
The skin increases production of the pigment melanin so it can absorb excess UV light.
A sunburn is the skin’s reaction to getting more UV radiation than it can repair.
For skin health, prevention is the key, with sunblock as well as sun protective clothing
to avoid excessive sun damage.
While the initial visible effects of sun tans, and sunburns are temporary, the cumulative
effects can be seen long-term in your skin.
Lines and wrinkles can develop prematurely in people who’ve had frequent and prolonged
sun exposure.
Studies in identical twins show significantly more aged skin, and wrinkles in the sibling
with more sun exposure.
Even long haul truck drivers show more wrinkles and sagging skin on the side of their face
and body that is closest to the window.
Sun exposure can accelerate collagen loss in the skin, leading to premature aging, which
is also called photoaging,
There are several different modalities to stimulate and increase collagen in the skin.
The body naturally synthesizes collagen from the nutrients we consume, and uses collagen
to heal and repair injuries such as burns, and wounds.
By creating controlled injuries, we can stimulate the body to generate collagen in specific
areas.
This controlled injury model is one of the principles behind treatments like lasers,
radiofrequency, and microneedling to improve skin texture, quality, and tone.
For example, laser skin toning with an Nd:YAG laser can be done to stimulate collagen, and
diminish the appearance of fine lines, and wrinkles, with minimal if any downtime.
Another example is a long pulse Erbium laser we use to rejuvenate sun damaged thin eyelid
skin safely which we call the Smooth Eye procedure.
A simple caveat to understand is that it’s not the device that determines results, or
leads to complications, but the judgment, skill, and experience of the doctor.
A device like a laser is tool that in the hands of an experienced practitioner can be
applied with safety and minimal risk.
There are also ways to induce collagen for sun damaged skin that doesn’t involve heating
devices.
For example, platelet-rich plasma, or PRP can also stimulate collagen in areas where
it’s placed.
PRP is derived from the patient’s own blood, and is a concentration of the wound healing
factors which stimulate new collagen production.
I often combine PRP treatments with laser or radiofrequency sessions to reduce the amount
of thermal exposure to the skin, while optimizing collagen production.
I sometimes combine PRP with microneedling, to help with additional collagen induction,
as well as to expedite healing from the microneedling procedure.
I use PRP with hyaluronic acid to improve skin quality affected by sun damage with a
no-downtime procedure called Skin Boosting A highly visible sign of sun damaged skin
is a condition called solar lentigos, also called solar dyschromias.
Solar lentigos can be treated in a similar way as laser tattoo removal, where pigment
is disrupted by a non-ablative laser like a Q-Switched laser.
The laser treatment breaks the pigment down into smaller particles, which can then be
metabolized by the body.
As we all know, when it comes to sun damage, the ideal treatment is prevention.
We have many tools to help people enhance their sun damaged skin.
There’s no shortage of hype in the aesthetic field, which has many people literally bouncing
from one device to another.
In my opinion, as in health and wellness, a proper evaluation and a customized strategy
can be the key to help you look your best.
I hope you found this information helpful...thank you for your question