6 Things You Can Do to Reverse Sun Damage

It’s fun to enjoy the outdoors under the sun, but you have to be extra careful. Do you know that sunlight is responsible for much of skin damage, with 80% of skin ageing attributed to ultraviolet rays?

There’s no reversing sun damage once the harm has been done, but while you cannot completely undo the effects of UV rays, you can at least take steps to reduce the appearance of sun damage using various sun spot removal and non-surgical wrinkle treatment.

How UV Rays Cause Sunspots (And Your Treatment Options)

To protect your skin against harmful UV rays, your skin makes melanin, which is what gives the skin its color. However, too much UV rays can cause melanin to clump up, which in turn shows up as areas of brown or black spots.

Sun exposure can also cause melanin production to go into overdrive, and many people get splotchy brown or grey patches called melasma. But with plenty of non-surgical pigmentation skin treatment, you don’t have to hide behind makeup to conceal these dark spots.

• Chemical peels – Chemical peels use a combination of naturally occurring acids or proprietary blended chemicals to remove the damaged cells from the upper layers of the skin. One example of a highly effective skin whitening peel treatment is the Cutis Crystal Peel. It’s a well-known chemical peel in Singapore that involves the application of glycolic and kojic acids, hydroquinone, Uva ursi (bear’s grape) and Vitamin C – ingredients that have well-documented and clinically proven skin lightening properties.

• Laser Pigmentation Treatment – Laser-like therapies such as IPL facial deliver pulses of light to the top layer of the skin to remove areas of unwanted pigmentation. Because IPL devices such as Limelight by Cutera have programmable wavelengths, they can be used to target a specific chromophore (color) in the skin (such as the color of sun spots) so the melanin in these spots is destroyed, flake off, and reveal new and brighter skin.

• Hydroquinone – Melasma is a deeper type of hyperpigmentation and therefore requires  a hyperpigmentation treatment that also works at that level. Hydroquinone, which is the active ingredient in Advanced Clear Skin Program by Dr. Sylvia Skin Care, prevents the accumulation of melanin at the surface layer of the skin by inhibiting the activity of tyrosinase, an enzyme needed to make melanin. Dr. Sylvia’s Advanced Clear Skin Program recommends using the Skin Lightener 3 (4% hydroquinone), Exfoliator Forte 4 (alpha-hydroxy acid buffered to 10%), and Balancer 5 (4% hydroquinone working in the deeper layer of the skin) to achieve best results. Dr. Sylvia Skin Care was developed by Dr. Sylvia Ramirez, a Harvard-trained skin care specialist who is also a highly trusted filler doctor in Orchard area, Singapore.

How UV Rays Cause Wrinkles (And What You Can Do About It)

Collagen and elastin are the two proteins responsible for keeping your skin firm and smooth. These two proteins undergo degradation as normal part of aging, but their breakdown can be hastened by frequent exposure to UV rays. If you were to compare your face, neck, and arms to other parts of your body that normally don’t get exposed, you are likely to find that hidden parts of your body remain smooth, firm and supple.

There are many ways to combat wrinkles non-surgically depending on their location, depth, severity, your financial constraints, and needs for social downtime. Some of the most effective yet safe no surgery wrinkle treatment are as follows:

• Laser therapy – Non-invasive medical-grade laser is used to gently heat the skin below the surface, which in turn stimulates the body’s own collagen-formation process. A laser handpiece is moved back and forth above your skin, and you will feel a gentle warming of your skin’s surface. A great example of this type of wrinkle treatment in Singapore is Laser Genesis by Cutera, which treats the second layer of the skin not only to soften lines and wrinkles but also to shrink pores and eliminate diffuse redness, all without downtime.

• Botulinum Toxin (or more commonly known as Botox) – Botox has plenty of medical uses, but cosmetically, it is FDA-approved to treat glabellar lines (vertical forehead lines between the eyebrows) and canthal lines (crow’s feet). It’s an ‘instant wrinkle corrector’ that takes about 10 minutes to administer, with the effect visible 14 days after the injection and results lasting between 3-6 months. Contrary to what many patients fear, Botox does not take away your normal facial expressions if the treatment is performed by a Botox specialist.

• Dermal Fillers – Botox only treats dynamic wrinkles or wrinkles that appear when you move your face. For static wrinkles that are evident even if your face is at rest, dermal fillers do a better job. Deep creases are often found running from the base of your nose down your mouth, and from the corners of your lips down your chin. Dermal fillers use FDA-approved biocompatible components such as hyaluronic acid, poly-L-lactic acid and calcium hydroxylapatite microspheres that not only plump the skin but also act as collagen treatment by stimulating the creation of new collagen so the results are often longer than that of Botox. Some dermal fillers last for a year, while others last for as long as two years.

Tags: Face, Pigmentation, non surgical wrinkle treatment, chemical peel in Singapore , IPL facial , skin care specialist, Botox specialist, dermal fillers