10 Tips for Healthy Skin
Many of us enjoy a good sunbathing session, whether on holiday, sitting in the garden, or on the sun bed. Exposure to the sun may be great for vitamin D production, but it can play havoc with your skin.
Sun damage can affect your skin in many ways, from increased signs of ageing, to skin pigmentation (darkening of areas of the skin caused by sun exposure), such as melasma and freckles. If you suffer from skin pigmentation on your face or on any other part of your body, it can make you feel self-conscious about how you look, but there are things that can be done to significantly reduce its appearance.
What is skin pigmentation and what causes it?
There are a number of different skin pigmentation conditions you can experience as a result of sun exposure, hormonal changes in the body, or skin inflammation. All are harmless and all can be reduced, or even removed completely, using laser treatments:
Freckles – Freckles are like Marmite, some people love their freckles and some people hate them. They are often hereditary but their appearance can be trigged through exposure to the sun. Freckles can appear on most areas of the body, but they are most common on the areas that get the must sun exposure, for example the face, shoulders, arms, and legs.
Sun/Age Spots – These are often put down to old age, hence the name, but age spots represent a build-up of pigmentation after years of sun exposure. Sun spots can appear on any area of the body that has experienced frequent sun exposure, but they are most commonly found on the backs of the hands and the face.
Melasma/Cholasma – These conditions sound more serious than they are. They often have a similar appearance as age spots but cover a larger area. Unlike sun/age spots, melasma and cholasma are triggered by hormonal changes.
Post-inflammatory pigmentation – When the skin suffers from inflammation or irritation it produces melanin, the chemical responsible for the colour of your skin. When it overproduces melanin as part of the healing process this can lead to skin pigmentation.
How can I prevent or reduce the effects of sun damage?
Skin consultation - If you are worried about the condition of your skin from years of sunbathing and not wearing the correct sun cream, or maybe you got badly burned on a recent holiday, you should book an appointment for a skin consultation. This will identify the levels of sun damage, not just to the surface layers of skin, but deeper down, giving you a full picture of any damage that’s been done. You can then take active steps to improve the condition of your skin.
Avoid overexposure – Avoiding overexposure to the sun is the best measure for preventing any of the skin pigmentation conditions mentioned above. Make sure that you don’t avoid the sun completely though, a daily dose of vitamin D is good for you.
Wear suntan lotion – You should wear suntan lotion all year round, but particularly during the summer, or when visiting countries with hotter climates. UV Rays can even cause damage to the skin when you are in the water or it’s cloudy, so make sure that you are always protected, it’s for the good of your skin.
Sun damage reduction treatments – If you are suffering from areas of pigmentation on your face and other parts of your body, the appearance can be reduced using laser treatments. Picosure Laser Melasma Treatment and Pigmentation Reduction are laser treatments offered by ProSkin. Both use lasers on the problem areas of skin to gently and gradually reduce the appearance of skin pigmentation over an average of 1 – 3 treatments. There are no side effects and no recovery time is needed, all you experience are great results.
If you would like to book you free consultation with one of our laser specialists contact us today on 0203 763 7066.
Related posts
