Shedding Light on the Reality of Sun Damage

As Floridians, we love the sunshine. After all, it’s what we’re known for. We love our beaches, our beautiful blue skies, and our morning-to-night outdoor lifestyles. However, from a dermatological perspective, the sun is not on our side.

Sun damage affects our skin in both medical and cosmetic ways. UV light irreversibly changes your skin cells’ DNA. It is this DNA damage that causes your risk of cancer to amplify, which is why annual skin checks are so vitally important for your health. Premature aging from the sun, specifically known as photoaging, occurs because UV light burns our skin and reduces its elasticity. This can cause those dreaded wrinkles to appear younger than when you may acquire them simply due to chronological aging.

Glow Even Brighter Than the Sun: Cosmetic Treatments

While sun damage itself cannot be reversed, certain cosmetic dermatological treatments can help minimize the appearance of photoaging. Chemical peels significantly improve the texture of your skin by removing damaged outer layers of skin, including photoaged skin, leading to filled-in fine lines and smaller pores. 

Our latest and greatest cosmetic treatment for sun damage, our new CO2 laser with CoolPeel® and Tetra Peel, is another option for renewing your youth. Our CO2 laser is the most advanced skin resurfacing technology on the market today. With minimal downtime, the CO2 laser with CoolPeel® addresses superficial resurfacing for photoaging and fine lines as well as improves pore size and skin texture. For more severe effects of photoaging like deeper wrinkles, the CO2 laser with Tetra Peel is an option. Following treatment, skin treated with Tetra Peel becomes softer, brighter, and more even. Overtime, deeper layers of skin heal and fill in with collagen for long-term results.

And lastly, although we don’t have time machines yet, treatments with the gentle and non-invasive Forever Young BBL™ can help you appear as if you’ve turned back the clock. Broadband light (BBL) can be customized to your needs and precisely treats fine wrinkles, sun spots, and much more. 

Photoaging can also be treated with products from our Paradise Dermatology skin care line, available for purchase in-office. Our glycolic facial lotion 10% includes glycolic acid, which minimizes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles as well as smooths skin tone and texture. For prematurely aging skin and uneven tone and texture, we recommend our C&E ferulic serum which includes vitamin C and a concentration of ferulic acid for antioxidant protection. If you’re looking to fully revamp your skin care regimen, consider our anti-aging kit which includes a gentle cleanser, a glycolic lotion, retinol, our C&E ferulic serum, and tinted sunscreen.

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Being Sun-Smart: Preventing Future Photoaging

Once your current sun damage is addressed cosmetically, you must establish habits to prevent future sun damage. Any trained dermatology provider would agree that “sunscreen” is one of the most repeated words in our vocabulary! Sunscreen is not just for the beach or the pool or the baseball game; it’s a necessity every day in all activities, especially in Florida.

With so many sunscreens on the market, it’s important to understand what you’re reading on the labels and how to select the sunscreen that’s right for you. One thing’s for sure: it’s important you choose a broad spectrum sunscreen, which protects you against both UVA and UVB rays. Both chemical and mineral sunscreens are effective, and any sunscreen is better than none at all. However, at Paradise Dermatology, we recommend mineral formulas over chemical ones. Chemical sunscreens allow UV radiation into the skin, where then its ingredients create a chemical reaction with the light and convert it to heat. Meanwhile, in mineral sunscreens, ingredients settle on the skin’s surface and physically prevent UV rays from penetrating the skin at all.

Prevent future photoaging with our powder mineral sunscreen SPF 30, available in-office! Great for all skin types, our formula is a 100% mineral sunscreen with only four organic ingredients: titanium dioxide and zinc oxides (natural sunscreens), mica for a radiant finish, and iron oxides for the tinted shade color. We also recommend the Alastin HydraTint Pro Mineral Sunscreen SPF 36, also available for purchase in-office. Named “Best Tinted Moisturizer 2021” by Shape, this sunscreen evens and brightens skin with powerful antioxidants and long-lasting hydration.

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Rejuvenate Your Look at Paradise Dermatology

To keep your chance of skin cancer as low as possible and maintain your skin’s health, avoid prolonged UV exposure and wear your sunscreen daily. Sun damage itself cannot be undone, but with the advanced cosmetic technologies at our practice and our high-quality skin care products available for purchase, the effects of sun damage on your skin can be minimized!

Book your consultation here!