Thu, February 25, 2010

Skin Health Testimonial

I grew up at a time when the hazards of sun exposure were not fully comprehended. Living in a beach town I did what everyone else did in the summertime, went to the beach and worshiped the sun! I would spend hours lying out in the sun, timing when I needed to flip so that my entire body received an even tan. But I didn't just tan, I burned on several occasions. I remember one time when my eyelids burned so badly that I couldn't keep my eyes open without my lids stinging. And then there were the blisters that I received on my chin after too much time in the sun without proper protection, which are considered 2nd degree burns. All to supposedly look 'healthier' because that's how people look when they have a tan, right?.

What we now know today, through research, is that every burn received growing up puts you one step closer to skin cancer. I finally woke up when I worked for a plastic surgeon, in California, and saw the number of patients coming in with skin cancer. There was one woman, in her 70s, who would come back every few months to have more basal cell carcinomas removed, on her face. If you think a tan makes you look healthier, then you might think again after seeing the skin on this patient's face. I have since watched a family friend die of melanoma, and another friend have an excision of a squamous cell carcinoma on her lip, leaving her with a noticeable scar.

The effects of sun exposure are not pretty, and the number of skin cancers diagnosed are on the rise. Yet, I still see patients come through the MedSpa who refuse to stop tanning. Whether on vacation, in the summer, or in tanning beds, they refuse to stop as if it's an addiction. I don't buy it that they do so to get a source of Vitamin D. My source of Vitamin D comes in the form of supplements, which is a much safer way to get the recommended daily dose.


We often have patients come in for advice on how to correct their wrinkled, pigmented, damaged skin, after years of overexposure to the sun. There are things that can be done to help correct sun damage, and I'm a perfect example. The first step is minimizing sun exposure. I always wear an SPF of at least 30 on my face, even in the winter time, and I never go outside the house in the summer without protecting the areas of my body that are exposed to the sun. Rays can be especially harmful in the winter time. People don't realize that they can get burned in the wintertime because it's too cold, but when it's sunny outside, the rays our powerful as they get reflected off of the snow.

If I am going to be outside for a prolonged period of time I wear a wide-brim hat, and reapply my sunscreen every couple of hours. This is another thing that people aren't fully aware of. Applying sunscreen in the morning, without reapplication, is not protecting your skin from sun damage. It needs to be reapplied every couple of hours, and one way that I've found to do this easily is by using SPF Minerals. These are powder minerals that I can brush on, with SPF 30, that can easily be reapplied throughout the day without the sticky mess of cream sunscreens.

I've also learned to take better care of my skin with the products that I use. One particular product is called SRS Cell Repair Therapy. this product actually goes down to the cellular level where it repairs the sun damaged DNA. I have seen proof of this with VISIA Digital Skin Analysis. The picture that was recently taken of me shows less UV damage than it did 4 years ago! I can actually see it in the picture which is amazing!

Other products and treatments can be used to correct and minimize the appearance of sun damage, such as microdermabrasion, ultrasonic facials, chemical peels, and Intense Pulsed Light photofacials and laser treatments. BOTOX and dermal fillers are also effective in correcting wrinkling from overexposure to the sun.

Do yourself a favor, now, and start taking better care of your skin. Drop the tanning beds and pick up a self tanning lotion. I can guarantee that you will age much more gracefully. You can come in for a FREE skin evaluation with one of our estheticians here at Indigo MedSpa, and they can put you on the right track. Call now before it's too late! It's definitely been worth it for me. I may be 41 years old, but I certainly don't look my age!

-Lynne

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