Remember the good old days? Driving to the beach on those hot summer days…no seat-belts, the back of your thighs sticking to the back-seat vinyl of your parents Kingswood. Spending the whole day in the sun playing cricket and building sand castles. No hat, no sunblock, just golden brown bodies running around all day without a care in the world. Such great times…
Obviously, I was a child of the 70’s, because now, we only take our kids to the beach for an hour and before the sun gets too hot. There would be no chance of thighs sticking to leather seats, because we slather our kids with so much sunscreen they could slip right off! Yep, kids of today certainly won’t have the sun damage we have… (but they won’t experience the pure joy of peeling off a sheet of blistered skin the size of a biscuit either!!)
I may have beautiful memories of summertime as a child, but with those memories came a whole lot of sun damage. It wasn’t until I started working in the skin care industry that I realised how bad it really was. The pigment, uneven skin tone, premature wrinkles and hardened, dull skin should have given it away, but I put it all down to ageing. Once I was educated in sun damage, I could see that some sunscreen and a hat would have been helpful all those years ago! So if you were part of one of those sun-loving families like I was, don’t despair. I have managed to restore my skin, and you can too!
How does the sun actually harm our skin?
UVA changes and destroys our skin cells, including collagen, elastin and other structures in the dermis. Therefore, it causes ageing and possible melanoma formation. The UVB causes our skin to turn red and become sunburnt. It creates free radicals and possible skin cancers.
Here are just a few side effects of sun damaged skin:
- Pre-cancerous and cancerous skin lesions – due to decreases in the skin’s immune function
- Wrinkles – A sign of our time in the sun. Exposure to sunlight, even a long time ago, damages the fibres that prop up your skin, speeding up the wrinkling process, giving us lines and droopiness beyond our years
- Freckles
- Discoloured areas of the skin (pigmentation)
- Dry, thickened, dull appearance
But can we turn back the clock? Repairing Sun Damage?
If we are lucky enough to escape too unscathed, with the right skin care and a healthy diet, we can treat signs of sun damage. It certainly worked on my pigmented, uneven, wrinkly skin! Now my skin looks and feels great, and this is what I used and what we recommend others to use:
Cleanser: Osmosis MD Purify or Aspect Cleansing Micellar Water
- Micellar water is an excellent cleanser to use after sun exposure. It is super gentle, but still able to remove make-up and the days grime.
Vitamin A: Aspect Retinol Brulee or Osmosis MD Calm
- Increases the rate of wound healing such as scarring
- Exfoliates – making skin smooth and even-toned
- Repairs the cellular structure of the epidermis – optimising your UV protection
- Decreases clustering of melanin granules – so reducing brown spots or pigmentation
- Promotes a healthy cellular membrane – improving hydration
- Helps in the eradication of pre-cancerous skin lesions
- Improves hydration both in and around the cell which decreases wrinkles
Vitamin C: Aspect Dr Active C Vitamin C is a super important part of our skin care regime, especially for Repairing Sun Damage. Here’s why:
- Repairs the redness from exposure to the sun
- Slows sun-burn cell formation whilst in the sun
- Slows the formation of pigment (brown spots) by inhibiting the enzyme tyrosinase
- Stimulates collagen and elastin production – slowing wrinkle formation
- Fights free radicals – damaged cells and is, therefore, anti-ageing
- Gives a brightening effect to the skin
- Decreases cellular inflammation – helps fight photo-ageing (sun damage)
Complete Repair Serum: Osmosis MD Rescue and Catalyst AC11
- Calms inflammation
- Activates epidermal wound repair
- Provides the skin with the tools needed to permanently treat enlarged pores, age spots, and skin texture changes.
- Used in conjunction with Catalyst AC11 changes to pigmentation should be quite dramatic
Hyaluronic Serum: To restore moisture! Aspect Dr Hyaluronic Serum will replenish your skins moisture.
Moisturiser: A moisturiser that feels amazing, smells good and hydrates our skin is a must have for our morning and nightly routine. Particularly when Repairing Sun Damage. We have a wide range that you can check out here.
Sunblock: Of course you need a sunblock, and like most things, sunblock is very much personal choice. While some people prefer it thicker, some like it more like a daily moisturiser. Luckily, we have many to choose from, including make-up containing SPF, and you can check them all out here. And if your skin is dry, sunblock on top of your moisturiser and under your foundation gives you a lovely dewy look!!
So now that we are sun aware and working towards repairing that sun damage, how do we get that summer ‘glow’ without the negative side effects??
Easy! Fake the bake!! There are many self-tanning options available to us today. Spray tans, mousses, creams – and they all give the promise of that golden glow. One thing to be aware of though, is the list of nasty ingredients on the labels that can cause all sorts of irritations. That is why when deciding which one to stock in our clinic, we did a lot of research. We wanted one that was gentle on the skin, contained no nasty chemicals, was easy to apply and gave a deep, natural colour. Three Warriors is all that! I absolutely love the Gradual Tan because it doesn’t dry my skin out like a lot of self-tanners, and the colour is amazing. Check them out!
But remember….prevention is always better than cure!
There is no point trying to repair damage if we aren’t going to prevent it from occurring again. So with another 70’s flashback for you, SLIP, SLOP, SLAP!! Slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen and of course, slap on a hat and get out there and enjoy the gorgeous summer days!
Still not sure?
If you need more help or would like personalised advice on what skincare products are best for you, book now for your consultation with a skin care advisor:
Book Your In-Clinic Consultation.
Or fill in the Online Skin Consultation and Gaye, our registered nurse, will happily help you to choose the right treatments and products for your skin type or concern.
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