Many cosmetic treatments leave your skin much more vulnerable to the sun’s rays, so it’s critical to protect yourself. For as long as six months following some procedures, you may need to take extra precautions.
The level of precaution you need to take depends in large part on what sort of procedure you’ve had done. For example, it’s more critical to protect your skin following a deep chemical peel or dermabrasion than after nonablative laser resurfacing or a mild chemical peel.
There are three different degrees of chemical peel: mild, medium, and deep. All of them damage your skin to some degree, causing the top layer to peel away and leave new, younger-looking skin exposed. The deeper the peel, the more important it is to protect your skin afterward.
One of the reasons you may be considering a peel is dark spots, which may be the result of sun damage. So if you go to the effort of having a procedure done to reduce the appearance of that damage, it’s a good idea to protect your skin afterward.
At Balcones Dermatology and Aesthetics, we offer a few different types of laser treatments, including Laser Genesis® by Cutera and Cutera Excel V™. Laser technology can successfully treat several different skin issues.
Laser procedures are noninvasive but still leave your skin vulnerable. Of course, you receive individualized, specific instructions for caring for your skin after your treatment, but you should be prepared to protect your skin from the sun immediately.
When you have microneedling, your skin is punctured hundreds of times by tiny needles. It is as your skin heals from these microscopic puncture wounds that collagen production increases and your skin begins to look younger and healthier.
Immediately following your procedure, your skin is particularly vulnerable to the sun. It’s more sensitive and more prone to sun damage. Wearing a hat, scarf, or other protective clothing is essential.
Whatever procedure you’ve had, you want to protect your skin; after all, you don’t want to inflict more of the damage you’ve just tried to repair.
Wearing sunscreen is a must, and you should buy a product that has a high sun protection factor (SPF), as well as one that offers broad-spectrum protection. There are two types of sunlight you should protect your skin from ultraviolet A rays (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays.
Both UVA and UVB rays contribute to skin cancer, and both can cause permanent damage. UVB rays are generally responsible for sunburn and UVA rays for many of the outward signs of aging. Using a broad spectrum sunscreen gives you the most thorough protection available.
You should also wear protective clothing such as a hat and sunglasses, and stay in the shade as much as possible when you must be outdoors. Depending on the procedure you’ve had, you may even want to use an umbrella as a shade when you have to be outside.
Your own vulnerability and risk of sun damage following a cosmetic procedure depend on a multitude of factors. But with some planning and preparation, you shouldn’t have any problem adequately protecting your freshly treated, younger-looking skin.
Book an appointment online or by phone at Balcones Dermatology and Aesthetics and begin exploring the cosmetic options available to address your skin concerns.
