As you might imagine, great advances have been made in the 120 years since doctors first began to intervene in the appearance of skin—and, in particular, the face. The most recent advances have made life-changing differences in the treatment protocols of physicians. These new processes involve chemicals that are applied directly to the skin as well as new laser procedures that can treat the most delicate tissues with methods that were previously impossible. As the available treatments have expanded, doctors have also been empowered to perform new procedures with exciting, innovative techniques. The scientific understanding of the epidermis, along with the technical know-how to deal with formerly intractable issues, has advanced exponentially in the last two decades alone.
Lasers and the Skin
Surely the most innovative new methods of treating many skin conditions are performed with lasers. Low energy red light lasers interact with the mitochondria of the skin and bring about regeneration to damaged tissue. There are a great many benefits to using a laser rather than conventional treatment of skin problems. These include a lessened need for anesthetic, quicker recovery, better circulation and an increase in collagen in the affected area. As with any medical treatment, there are certain risks and side effects of using lasers, however, these are typically minimal, such as swelling and pain. Because of the advanced nature of these procedures, it is best to use an experienced, certified provider for laser treatment such as MBC Laser Center.
Lotions and the Skin
Given all the ads on television about this lotion or that lotion that is supposed to take away your wrinkles and roll back the years, you may have a healthy skepticism about whether or not there are actually creams and formulas that can reduce wrinkles and blemishes on your face and change your appearance significantly in any actual way. In reality, yes, there are those chemicals that can be beneficial to your appearance. This is particularly true if they contain certain compounds:
- Hydroxy acids are exfoliants that remove dead skin cells and promote the growth of new skin cells.
- Vitamin A compounds, commonly called retinoids, are good at repairing sun damage and removing wrinkles.
- Ascorbic acid, vitamin C, is good for fighting sun damage and should be used before going out of doors.
- Niacinamide, from vitamin B3, prevents water loss and helps to keep the skin flexible and elastic.
Significant Skin Modifications
When you think of treating your skin for appearance problems, chances are you think of some of the more common concerns such as wrinkles, weathered spots or other signs of aging. Remember that there are other, more significant skin issues that are frequently corrected by physicians. Indeed, many of these can be dealt with through laser surgery as well. Scars, tattoos, lesions and significant skin problems such as port-wine stains, hemangiomas and telangiectasias can be successfully treated with laser procedures. Because skin abnormalities sometimes affect our self-image as well as drawing unwanted attention from others, it is important for you to realize it is no longer necessary to live with any of these skin malformations. They can be successfully dealt with in such a way that it seems they never existed.
Sources of Skin Problems
If it seems to you that there are more problems with skin these days—more concern about appearance, more significant aging and more wrinkles than in the past—you are not mistaken. As you may know, there is more potential damage from the sun now because of climate change. And because so many have fair Nordic complexions, this is an even greater problem, indeed, a critical health concern. Of course, you warn young people not to get sunburned. This is good advice for everyone, but the reality is that sun damage is cumulative. The greatest percentage of sun damage occurs when we are young but the damage continues to accumulate as we age. It is worth noting that the sun is not the only culprit when it comes to aging our skin. There are also air pollution, smoke and many other toxins in the environment that are harmful to our skin.
Protecting Your Skin
While all the effects of aging cannot be totally eliminated, it is prudent to minimize the damage to your skin. There are several ways you can do this. First, concerning the environment apart from the sun, it’s good to wash your face several times a day, exfoliate and use an anti-oxidant skin barrier. When it comes to protecting yourself against the sun you have a number of options, including using vitamin C and E lotions and using a variety of different types of sunscreen depending upon what your exposure will be on a given day.
Human skin is the largest organ of the body. Though it is extremely versatile, it cannot speak. If it could, it would thank you for protecting it from the aging processes.
