The sun and aging process affect your skin in multiple ways.

Let’s talk about the changes due to age first. The main change is atrophy, which is thinning of all layers of the skin. The effects of the sun are due to ultraviolet (UV) light. Too much exposure to UVB rays causes sunburn and superficial damage to the skin, whereas UVA rays travel deeper and make long term changes to the skin by upsetting the delicate processes that affect the skin’s grown and appearance. The main change is due loss of elasticity. The skin can become thickened a leathery, which we see often here in the Valley of the Sun. Other patients experience skin that is wrinkled or thinned like tissue paper. The main negative effect of excessive sun exposure is the development of skin cancer.

What can be done? The most important action that we can take is the avoid sun exposure. That is much easier to say than do here in the Valley. Developing the habit of using SPF 50 or higher sunscreen when you’re outside is an excellent substitute. There are multiple modalities that we offer to help improve the appearance of your skin. These modalities that involve: lasers, pulse light, chemical peels, and injectables allow us to customize therapy depending on the damage that has been done by UV rays. Having the ability to tailor a specific course of therapy for each individual patient is very important in getting the results that you want.