Are you tired of the damage the sun has had on your face and back regions?
Do you wish there was a way to change or reduce it? Read on to learn how to reverse sun damage on face and back areas.
Types of Sun Damage
A little bit of time in the sun can be a good thing. But as with every good thing, there can be too much.
If you are out in the sun for too long, the heat will dry out any unprotected skin of its natural oils. UV rays can also burn and cause long-term issues.
- Dry Skin: Skin loses oils and moisture causing dry, flaky, and wrinkled skin.
- Sunburn: Immediate injury after sun exposure. Mild cases result in red skin. More extreme cases can result in blisters.
- Actinic Keratosis: A tiny, scaly patch or bump. They usually have a pink, yellow, or brown tint and have to be removed by a doctor.
- Photoaging: Skin prematurely ages due to excess sun exposure
- Actinic Purpura: Blood vessels become fragile, rupture, and bleed.
Doctors can usually confirm sun damage by examining your skin. In the case any actinic keratosis has formed, they may take a biopsy to rule out skin cancer.
Is it Possible to Reverse Sun Damage on Your Face?
While it’s not possible to erase 100% of the damage, experts do have some tips to reverse some of the tolls it has taken on your skin. Treatment depends on the type of damage you have.
Dry Skin
When washing your face, use a gentle scrub or loofah to remove the dead skin cells from the top layer. Use a gentle, scent-free soap and mildly warm water. Using hot water will dry out your skin even more.
After washing your face, try using a moisturizer with glycerin, urea, or sorbitol. You can also use a moisturizer with pyroglutamic acid, lactic acid, or alpha-hydroxy acid unless your skin is also burned.
Throughout the day, don’t forget to drink plenty of water to rehydrate your skin.
Sunburn
Typically, once you know you have a sunburn, the damage is done. Always wear sunscreen, even after a burn is present. This will give your skin more time to repair itself.
For comfort, try a cool, wet cloth on the area. You can also take a nonprescription pain medication to ease the pain. If you have a sunburn with painful blisters, a doctor may prescribe anti-inflammatory medication.
Actinic Keratosis
The type of treatment that will work best is dependent on the size and location of the actinic keratosis.
- Topical Fluorouracil is an anticancer drug. Apply it directly to your skin.
- Topical Imiquimod is another topical treatment. It boosts your body’s defenses to react again the actinic keratosis.
- Topical Diclofenac Sodium Gel is an anti-inflammatory gel. Use it multiple times daily to treat the damaged area.
- Cryotherapy freezes the actinic keratosis with liquid nitrogen and removed.
- Chemical Peels can help remove the actinic keratosis if it is on the top layer of skin.
- Laser Resurfacing works similar to a chemical peel, using a laser beam instead.
- Shave Excision is when a doctor shaves away the abnormal skin.
- Photodynamic Treatment (PDT) destroys the actinic keratosis using a light-sensitizing solution.
Wrinkles
If you have sun damage over time, it will cause premature wrinkles in your skin. The sun’s UV rays break down natural proteins (collagen and elastin), leaving your skin dry and wrinkled.
Try eating fruits and vegetables with lots of beta-carotene in them. Carrots, spinach, and cantaloupe are three foods that can give you a good dose and fight off wrinkles.
Ask a dermatologist about retinoid creams. These creams help boost the amount of collagen in your skin.
You can schedule a chemical peel with your esthetician. Chemical peels have many benefits. A chemical peel removes damaged cells from the top layers of your skin.
An esthetician can also perform microdermabrasion. This is a process that removes the outer layer of skin with tiny grains. It also stimulates new collagen growth.
There are a few types of laser therapy that can help. They are CO2 and erbium laser resurfacing. In both types, concentrated light removes layers of skin to reveal the growing, new skin underneath.
If you’re looking for correction with less down time you can also have fibroblast skin tightening. This procedure is not as aggressive as CO2 or erbium and results are not as dramatic, but a great alternative to surgery.
Sun Spots
Too much sun can cause a lump of melatonin to form, creating sun, or liver spots.
- Creams that contain hydroquinone can lighten the spots.
- Retinoid supplements speed up the lifecycle of pigmented cells.
- Cryotherapy can freeze away these spots, too.
- Chemical peels, microdermabrasion, and laser therapy can all bring the new layers of skin to the surface.
- Melasma
- Treatment with Skin Classic to dehydrate and remove keratosis, brown spots and more
Melasma is similar to sun spots, but they appear as patchy brown or grey patches. Melasma is often related to hormonal fluctuations and much harder to treat, It is not recommended to use heat (lasers) to treat melasma, as they can exacerbate the problem.
So, try skin-lightening creams, chemical peels, microdermabrasion, and laser therapy.
The Very Best for Your Face
There is no complete way to reverse sun damage on face regions. However, if you find your skin damaged by the sun, there are ways to treat it so the effects aren’t as long-lasting.
If you have mild skin damage, try over the counter creams and treatments first. If your skin shows concerns of larger damage, consult your doctor or dermatologist.
A skincare professional will have a variety of options depending on what type of damage is on your skin.
A doctor may be able to help with prescription medication or by running a biopsy to rule out anything more serious.
Remember, the best protection of sun damage is prevention. Always wear sunscreen when going outside. Cover your skin with lightweight clothing in the heat. Stay in the shade where you can when out and contact us today for more information on our products and services.
