While sun damage doesn’t happen overnight, it can seem like it visibly affects the skin in a rather short period of time. The more the skin is exposed to the sun, the more the collagen and elastin in the deeper layers is broken down, giving less support to the underlying muscles and the skin’s surface. As a response mechanism, the skin tries to protect itself from the damage, in turn thickening as a means of regeneration.
Treat sun-damaged skin at home:
Peptides and vitamin A need to be used consistently to help strengthen the skin and improve its texture. Retinol is key since it sheds the top layer of skin and strengthens it from inside out. Use a Retinol regularly, because it keeps the skin in repair mode, creating new collagen and exfoliating the surface.
Free radical-fighting ingredients like green tea and vitamins C and E will help safeguard the skin from future damage.
Protection and maintenance are vital-once sun-damaged skin has been transformed, you don’t want it to regress. It is recommended to wear a sunscreen with ingredients that contain either physical or chemical blockers and broad-spectrum products, which provide protection from all UV rays. Also use antioxidants and a moisturizer.
Treat sun-damaged skin professionally:
Laser and light-based treatments, like Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) and both ablative and nonablative resurfacing procedures, work to reinstate the skin. IPL can help eliminate brown and red spots on the face and body. A downtime-free treatment, although several sessions are required, IPL helps to rejuvenate the skin so that it looks younger and fresher.
Treatments that tackle sun-damaged skin, including chemical peels, can improve the skin, too. But, if not done properly, they can cause more harm than good. Acid-based peels buffer the skin, making it more sensitive to the sun.
Fractional lasers, like Fraxel, get rid of discoloration while improving the skin’s texture. Instead of employing light, fractional resurfacing lasers create microscopic wounds in the skin-as the skin heals, the sun-damaged areas scab and flake off, and collagen is purportedly increased.
Interval treatments will be needed over time, because nothing lasts forever- not even the results of lasers. Re-treatments every now and then will help maintain the longevity of your results for healthier skin. Please call our office at (817) 473-2120 for more information and questions on laser treatments and skin care. You can also visit our website at www.MarkBisharaMD.com. Dr. Bishara and The Paragon Med Spa provide a wide range of cosmetic procedures to help patients look and feel their best.
Enhancing your appearance with skin rejuvenation and resurfacing
1.8 Billion was spent on skin rejuvenation procedures in 2012
If you want to improve the appearance of your skin, skin rejuvenation or resurfacing may be right for you.
Skin rejuvenation can be achieved in a number of ways, ranging from laser, light and other energy-based treatments to chemical peels and other non-ablative methods. The result is a smoother, clearer and more youthful appearance to your skin.
What can skin rejuvenation treat?
Skin rejuvenation is a treatment to resurface your skin, or to improve the texture, clarity and overall appearance of your skin.
Conditions that can be treated include:
- Static wrinkles: These wrinkles are visible at all times and do not change in appearance with facial movements.
- Dynamic wrinkles: These are expression lines that may appear as folds when the skin is not moving, and deepen with facial movements or expressions.
- Pigmentation: Freckles, sun spots, melasma, or other darkened patches of skin result mainly from sun exposure.
- Scars: As the result of acne or injury to the skin, scars may be rolling (a wavy appearance to the skin), pitted, discolored, or have raised borders.
- Vascular conditions: Blood vessels visible on the surface of the skin, vascular lesions that appear as tiny blood filled blisters or even a constant flush of facial redness.
- Loss of skin tone: Weakening of the supportive skin structure (collagen and elastin fibers) that results in a loss of skin firmness, or the development of cellulite.
Is it right for me?
While not as involved as surgical cosmetic procedures, skin rejuvenation is a medical procedure. You should do it for yourself, not to fulfill someone else’s desires or to try to fit any sort of ideal image.
Skin rejuvenation is an option for you if:
- You are physically healthy
- You don’t smoke
- You have a positive outlook and specific, but realistic goals in mind for the improvement of your appearance.
One of the most popular anti-aging procedures is skin resurfacing for many reasons. Please contact the office of Dr. Mark Bishara and The Paragon Plastic Surgery & Med Spa to see why. Visit us at www.MarkBisharaMD.com or call (817) 473-2120.
While some learn to love those tiny brown spots on the tip of the nose, cheeks and shoulders, others look for anything to fade freckled skin. Thankfully, you can lighten unwanted freckles and spots instead of just covering them up with makeup. And, obtaining brighter, smoother, spot-free skin may be easier than you think. At the office of Dr. Mark Bishara we want to educate our patients about proper skin care and help them improve the health and appearance of their skin.
Protect and Prevent
With a medical name like ephelides, it’s no surprise that freckles get a bad rap. While “simple freckles,” the tiny brown spots on your skin you have had since birth, are harmless, lentigines, or “sunburn freckles,” need to be taken more seriously. Usually larger in size, more red in color and with an irregular border, these spots are sure signs of sun damage. No matter how old you were when you first noticed your freckles, sun exposure can only make them darker and greater in number. The easiest way to prevent freckles from forming is by using sunscreen. “I recommend applying sunscreen with at least an SPF of 30,” says New York and Miami dermatologist Fredric S. Brandt, MD. “No product will effectively lighten skin without the use of sunscreen on a daily basis.”
On the Bright Side
Over-the-counter brighteners can help to even out freckles and spots for more evenly toned skin. The SkinCeuticals line of skin care products offers 3 different product categories to: Prevent, Protect and Correct. Many of their products help to reduce the appearance of spots, leaving the skin looking luminous and glowing. For more information on the SkinCeuticals products and to find out the right skin care regimen for your skin type and skin condition please visit their website at www.SkinCeuticals.com. Our office offers the SkinCeuticals skin care line and can also help you choose the right product for you.
Zap Away
For serious long-term freckle fading, laser resurfacing lightens and retexturizes. Unlike chemical peels and microdermabrasion, which just exfoliate, pigment-specific lasers, like the Alma laser systems, specifically destroy pigment in the epidermis and dermis to eliminate discoloration with minimal side effects. Fractional resurfacing lasers poke tiny holes into the skin to deliver a dose of controlled heat to the deeper layers, eliminating freckles from the inside out. Not a laser, but similar in terms of results, Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) uses broadband light to diminish freckles. Not all lasers are alike, so it’s important to diagnose your skin accurately prior to treatment.
Please visit our website at www.MarkBisharaMD.com or call us at (817) 473-2120 for more information.
We lose a teaspoon of collagen from our faces every year after age 30
There are only a few proven ways to significantly increase collagen in the face to tighten the skin. These methods include laser resurfacing of the face, use of a retinol cream, collagen injections, and hyaluronic acid injections (Juvederm).
Juvéderm® Ultra Plus XC
Juvederm is designed to replenish what natural aging takes away, for a fresher, rejuvenated look. Replenish what’s been lost over time: sun exposure, hormonal changes and aging can all have an impact on your skin’s appearance. Over time, your skin begins to lose hyaluronic acid and collagen, resulting in fine lines, wrinkles and a loss of fullness and elasticity. We can now reverse these signs of aging by correcting the wrinkles and folds and adding volume to sunken skin. Juvéderm is a soft, injectable gel filler that your doctor uses to help replenish and refresh your appearance. It uses hyaluronic acid (a naturally occurring sugar found in your body), which combines with the water in your skin to instantly restore lost volume and reduce lines and wrinkles. Hyaluronic injections have also been shown to stimulate collagen production. Not only that, Juvéderm works to enhance and define lips, cheeks and jaw line.
Juvéderm® Voluma™
JUVÉDERM VOLUMA, the newest facial filler available in the Juvederm family of hyaluronic acid fillers. The first of its kind, JUVÉDERM VOLUMA is a hyaluronic acid facial filler specifically made to restore age-related volume loss in the mid-face (the cheeks, cheekbones and around the chin). JUVÉDERM VOLUMA uses hyaluronic acid, a sugar that occurs naturally in your skin, to instantly restore lost facial volume in the cheeks and contour the chin. JUVÉDERM VOLUMA also combines with collagen and elastin to improve skin structure and elasticity, and create a smooth natural look. The results are instant, natural looking and can last up to 18 months.1 Plus there’s no downtime – most people resume normal activities immediately.
This information is brought to you courtesy of Dr. Mark Bishara and The Paragon Plastic Surgery & Med Spa in Mansfield and Southlake, TX
1. Retinoid creams
A host of over-the-counter products claim to help fight wrinkles. One option: topical retinoid (derived from vitamin A) creams; look for retinol in the ingredient list. The SkinCeuticals line has products with retinol in them to help fight existing wrinkles .
2. Over-the-counter peptide creams
Creams containing peptides—short snippets of linked amino acids—can be useful for reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, but they haven’t been shown to work as well as retinoids. As skin ages, it loses collagen and becomes wrinkled and thin; creams containing peptides are supposed to encourage the skin to make new collagen. Peptides are found in a variety of products, from the inexpensive to the very expensive. There are many SkinCeuticals product that can help.
3. Microdermabrasion
Microdermabrasion uses tiny, fine particles or a very hard diamond-tipped wand to slough off cells from the top layer of the skin and encourage new skin growth. The procedure is usually not painful, though it can be uncomfortable, and it doesn’t require an anesthetic or recovery period; skin heals quickly. But you may require multiple procedures spaced a few weeks apart.
4. Laser skin resurfacing
Laser resurfacing uses high-intensity light to zap and improve the look of wrinkles and scars by tightening loose skin. The effect of your treatment and recovery time vary. There are lasers that can be superficial or intermediate and deep. You may see redness from one day to two weeks, depending on how aggressive the treatment is.
5. Chemical peels
Used to address mild acne scars, age spots, dull skin texture, skin discoloration, or wrinkles around the eyes or mouth, chemical peels remove the outer layers of the skin and encourage the growth of new, smoother, more evenly colored skin. Depending on the peel’s intensity—which can range from superficial to medium to deep—it may cause reddening and peeling that can last up to several weeks.
6. Botox
Injections of Botox —which also contains botulism toxin and is approved by the FDA, can paralyze tiny facial muscles, smoothing out the appearance of lines or wrinkles. The cost of Botox will vary depending on location and doctor. The effects of injections may last three to six months, depending on whether you’re a repeat customer.
7. Filler injections
Injections of fillers containing hyaluronic acid can fill in lines and wrinkles and add volume to skin. Hyaluronic acid is a “naturally occurring sugar that gets lost when you age,” and injecting it into wrinkles effectively plumps them up. Juvederm Ultra Plus XC and Juvederm Voluma are the newest and best.
8. Cosmetic surgery
Lifting the skin on the face, neck, eyelids, and forehead can give a tighter appearance. What were once traditionally open procedures—with larger incisions—can now often be done endoscopically, with smaller incisions strategically placed in difficult-to-detect areas, such as under the hairline. The effects of cosmetic surgery are somewhat permanent.
9. Try prevention
If all this sounds extreme, remember that you can start immediately to prevent any further damage: Start wearing sunscreen every day. Lifetime exposure to the sun can wreak serious havoc. When people were younger…they didn’t think the sun caused any bad signs, but now they’re really feeling the effects of it 30 years later.
This information is brought to you courtesy of Dr. Mark Bishara and The Paragon Plastic Surgery & Med Spa in Mansfield and Southlake, TX
Cosmetic Surgeon Dr. Mark A. Bishara, M.D., serving Fort Worth, Arlington, and the surrounding area.
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