Good skin care under the sun
Treatment for sun damage begins with avoiding sunlight or at least minimizing exposure to it. Sunscreen can prevent sunburn, but it is important to remember that even the strongest sunscreen cannot prevent sun damage to the skin.
Vitamin A deficiency caused by the sun can be compensated with vitamin A creams.
Vitamin A acid rejuvenates the skin. The problem is that tretinoin irritates the skin, causing redness and itching. Retinyl palmitate is a vitamin A derivative that is less irritating to the skin and is converted into tretinoin in the skin, causing the same cellular changes as actual vitamin A acid.
Skin sensitivity to vitamin A follows a Gaussian curve, meaning that some people are very sensitive to vitamin A creams, while others can tolerate very strong creams, with most people having average sensitivity. Therefore, treatment is started with creams containing very mild vitamin A, and depending on the skin's response, stronger creams can be used in stages. Skin redness and mild irritation indicate that the maximum strength has been reached and it is time to move down a step. Generally, abundant sun exposure requires a slightly stronger cream.
As sun-damaged, thinned skin heals, the absorption of creams deteriorates, in which case various additional treatments can help.
Various types of needling devices are used to make tiny holes in the skin, through which absorption takes place. It is sufficient for the holes to penetrate the thin stratum corneum, meaning that very short and painless needles are sufficient. It is important that only tested products are applied to the skin – not just any old stuff whose effects are unclear or even harmful. The needled spots close within 24 hours and are so small that they do not leave any scars.
The help of a professional cosmetologist is needed when absorption needs to be improved using heat, iontophoresis, or ultrasound. Heat expands the pores of the skin and improves absorption, iontophoresis, or electric current, can be used to absorb electrically charged substances into the skin, and ultrasound uses cavitation to deliver creams into the skin.
Surgery cannot replace good skin care, but good skin care will preserve the results of surgery for as long as possible. We have been using Environ skin care products successfully for almost 20 years. And finally: the skin needs sufficient moisturizing creams to stay supple and healthy.
Asko Salmi
Specialist in Surgery and Plastic Surgery
