Two Sunscreen Tips and the Best Treatment to Eliminate Age Spots

Welcome to Issue #1 of Unfiltered, where I share the latest aesthetics tips, trends, and treatments to help you look your very best.

With summer in full swing, there’s nothing better than spending time outside with our friends and family. Who doesn’t love fun in the sun and time in nature? We all do! Unfortunately, direct and indirect sun exposure contribute to collagen loss, fine lines and wrinkles, and age spots.

But there is good news for Floridians. We have a few pro tips for patients to help prevent the damage before it occurs, as well as treatment modalities that can improve the appearance of age spots, fine lines, and wrinkles and help reveal a luminous, healthy glow.

When it comes to sunscreen, I’m sure you know the basics: apply 30 minutes before you go into the sun and reapply often if you’ve been swimming or sweating.

But what you may not know is that most sunscreens only prevent sunburns from happening. In order to prevent red or brown spots from forming over time, make sure you’re using sunscreen with zinc oxide and/or titanium oxide. These “physical” sunscreens are required to prevent UVA and UVB rays from penetrating into the dermis of the skin and causing hyperpigmentation, aka brown spots/age spots.

And be mindful of your overall sun exposure. If you’re going to be in the sun for a long time, be sure to wear a hat with a large visor to protect your face, ears, and neck as well, especially between the hours of 10 am and 2 pm.

If you’re looking to clear up any skin spots that you may already have acquired from sun damage or age, then one of my favorite treatments is Lumecca intense pulse light (IPL).

IPL specifically improves the appearance of aging skin by targeting red and brown spots, and the treatment takes less than 30 minutes and is non-invasive. It involves a series of 4 treatments one month apart. Lumecca IPL is one of the best of its kind. It concentrates the intense pulsed light through a small crystal on the handpiece and allows the light energy to target scars and red and brown spots on the skin. The procedure itself is manageable, and most patients report it feels like a brief rubber band snap on the skin.

We recommend that you stay out of the sun for two weeks before and two weeks after the treatment, as your skin will be sensitive to sunlight, and some people peel after it. For best results, our treatments are recommended one month apart. Maintenance treatments are recommended once or twice a year for upkeep.

In addition, I have my patients use a medical-grade skincare line called Alastin A-Luminate, which is a brightening cream that can be worn daily to combat red and brown spots over time.

To recap, be sure that you’re using the right sunscreen (with zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide) as a first line of defense against unwanted aging spots on your skin. And as a more formidable treatment, set up a time to talk with me about the wonderful benefits of IPL.

Thank you for reading Unfiltered. You can request a free consultation with me at any time.

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Thanks!