We’re often chasing that sun-kissed look of summer even when the sun starts setting earlier and earlier. The sun makes it easy to tan. You can catch rays while enjoying drinks on your patio, while walking around a park, or at the lake, but you need to protect your skin.
Short-term sunburns are painful. Long-term exposure without protection causes lasting damage. If you want to avoid damage or repair skin that’s already been affected by sun damage, it’s not over. At Evolve Medical Aesthetics + Wellness we offer a laser treatment for sun damage in Vienna.
Before we explain how laser technology works for sun-damaged skin, let’s first talk about the sun and how it affects our skin.
Shining a Light on Sun Damage
The sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays are powerful. While you see its effects on the surface of your skin after prolonged exposure as a tan or sunburn, you don’t see the damage that’s occurring underneath.
- Epidermis – Top layer
- Dermis – Middle layer
- Hypodermis – Bottom layer
The sun’s rays affect both the epidermis and the dermis, weakening vital proteins like collagen and elastin that are stored there.
Collagen not only keeps your skin cells strong and resilient, but it also replaces dead skin cells with new, healthy ones (a process known as cellular regeneration). Elastin gives your skin flexibility, so it can stretch and “snap back” and retain its shape.
Let’s take it step-by-step, so you understand the potential risks of too much sun.
Sun Spots
Starting at the surface, one of the most common concerns among patients requesting a laser for sun damage in Vienna is the appearance of sun spots. You may also know them as:
- Age spots
- Liver spots
- Solar lentigines
These small, flat patches of darkened skin are a form of hyperpigmentation. Hyperpigmentation pops up on skin that has been overexposed to sunlight, the face being the most common part of the body to have these dark patches.
When UV rays hit your skin, they accelerate the production of melanin (your skin’s pigment). When you tan, this process reveals itself in a nice, even glow. However, over time, melanin can gather and clump together, resulting in sun spots and uneven patches.
Broken Capillaries
Broken capillaries, also known as spider veins or telangiectasia, usually appear around your nose, cheeks, and neck. These tiny blood vessels display as threadlike lines or patterns (often resembling the appearance of a web).
UV rays can harm these superficial blood vessels, causing them to break and become more visible through the weakened skin.
Fine Lines, Wrinkles, and Skin Laxity
We all develop fine lines, wrinkles, and skin laxity as we get older. The loss of collagen and elastin in our skin makes us more susceptible to aging skin. To slow the process or treat what’s already begun, our skin tightening and facial contouring services can target your skin concerns and soften their appearance.
If you’re noticing fine lines and wrinkles at a young age, it may be a sign that the sun’s rays have caused your collagen and elastin fibers to break down. Without your skin’s ability to go back into place after stretching, it’s harder to maintain a youthful, plump profile.
Your Solution? A Laser for Sun Damage.
In Vienna, we offer a laser skin resurfacing treatment to target sun damage and restore your skin to its natural, youthful appearance. Unlike UV rays which damage skin and reduce collagen and elastin production, laser light boosts healing.
Lasers use a precise beam of light to create controlled damage on your skin and stimulate your body’s natural healing process, which boosts collagen and elastin production. So, rather than the light weakening these vital proteins, this treatment stimulates them and improves your skin over time.
At Evolve, we use ClearLift by Alma Lasers. This device uses a fractional Quality-Switch Laser (Q-switch laser) for sun damage. In Vienna, our laser treats the dermis while leaving the epidermis unharmed.
Here’s how this gentle and effective laser improves different types of sun damage:
Age Spots
ClearLift targets areas of excess melanin and pigment. Once your skin’s pigment absorbs the thermal heat emitted from the light, it breaks up the hyperpigmentation, giving you a clearer and a more even skin tone.
Broken Capillaries
Your skin weakens and thins when overexposure to UV rays slows its collagen and elastin production. When we stimulate the production of these proteins, the skin strengthens, reducing the appearance of spider veins.
Fine Lines, Wrinkles, and Skin Laxity
When your body produces more collagen and elastin, it tightens your skin and gives it the structure and support it needs. The use of ClearLift allows for a visible reduction of fine lines and wrinkles, creating a more youthful appearance that radiates health.
We offer the ClearLift laser for sun damage in Vienna, for the following reasons:
#1 Safe for All Skin Types
Despite popular belief, everyone is at risk for sun damage, even people with darker skin tones. With that in mind, you deserve a safe and effective sun damage removal treatment. The ClearLift laser treats all skin types on the Fitzpatrick scale, making it accessible to anyone concerned with fine lines, age spots, or wrinkles.
#2 Quick and Efficient
The Q-Switched Laser emits fast-paced bursts of light, making the treatment time only 30 to 45 minutes long. With our ClearLift laser, you can be in and out of the door in under an hour.
#3 No Downtime
Because this laser bypasses the top layer of skin, you don’t have to worry about clearing your social calendar. This quick and effective treatment requires no downtime, meaning you can return to your normal activities after you leave our office.
The ClearLift laser is our go-to treatment for sun damage, but it’s not our only option. With advancements in technology, there are more ways to harness the power of light for the health of your skin.
Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) Therapy for Sun Damage
While our IPL therapy is not a laser, it’s a light-based treatment for sun damage. At Evolve Medical Aesthetics + Wellness, we use the Harmony Pro XL, also by Alma Lasers, which triggers your body’s healing processes.
IPL therapy differs from lasers because, instead of using a single beam of light, it uses broad-spectrum light, emitting multiple wavelengths of light to penetrate and deliver a brighter, clearer complexion. Once your skin absorbs the light, it stimulates collagen and elastin production, boosting healing.
IPL only works on Fitzpatrick skin types I-III, making it a treatment option for patients with lighter skin tones.
Lighting the Way to Healthier Skin: The Process at Evolve
Achieving clear, radiant skin is easy when you trust our team. It all starts with a consultation to determine the best laser for sun damage in Vienna.
Consultation
During the consultation, we listen to your aesthetic concerns and assess your skin to determine the severity of sun damage. We discuss your options for reducing fine lines, hyperpigmentation, and broken capillaries, and may suggest additional treatments like chemical peels, microneedling, or Botox.
Once we’ve customized a treatment plan for you, we set up your appointments and give you personalized pre-care instructions.
Treatment
Whether we decide that your treatment should include IPL therapy or a laser for sun damage, in Vienna, the pre-care and treatments are fairly similar.
We ask that you arrive with clean, makeup-free skin. We will provide you with protective eyewear.
Once they are in place, you can lay back and relax. Your provider will gently pass the laser or light therapy along the treatment area, causing minimal-to-no pain.
For best results, we recommend 3 to 6 ClearLift sessions and 4 to 6 for IPL therapy.
Results
Your results will appear gradually as you continue your treatment sessions. Within a few days of either IPL or laser resurfacing, you may notice initial improvements in the texture and tone of your skin. Results are cumulative, so they build on each other as your body continues to produce more collagen and elastin and replace damaged skin cells with healthy ones.
Sun-Kissed and Sun-Safe: Skincare Tips for Sun Protection
There are so many outdoor activities calling your name: hiking, biking, and swimming, to name a few. It’s hard to stay out of the sun when all you want to do is bask in the warmth. Protecting your skin doesn’t mean avoiding sun exposure entirely; it just means soaking up the sun safely.
Here are some tips to protect your skin from UV rays:
Your Best Friend: Sunscreen
You should wear sunscreen year-round, not only in the warm summer months.
Think about it; the sun still shines even during the cold, snowy winter months. Sunscreen acts as a barrier against the harmful UV rays that hit your skin, protecting you from premature skin aging and skin cancer.
We offer medical-grade skincare products at Evolve, including:
- Sunbetter TONE SMART SPF 75 Sunscreen Lotion
- Sunbetter SHEER SPF 56 Mineral Sunscreen Stick
- iS CLINICAL EXTREME PROTECT SPF 40
Hello, Sunshine! Reapply Your Sunscreen
We can’t emphasize this enough: It’s not enough to just wear sunscreen. You must reapply it. Sunscreen can wear off throughout the day, especially if you’re sweating or swimming. Reapplication is generally advised every 2 hours, but that varies depending on the activity you’re engaged in and the products that you use.
What’s In Right Now? Wearing Protective Clothing
Wide-rimmed hats and sunglasses are not just timeless fashion trends; they are also protection from the sun. All types of apparel can shield your skin from the sun, and some brands even provide ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) labels that show how much UV radiation the fabric allows to reach your skin.
Harness the Power of Light for Healthy Skin
The sun’s light can damage your skin, but fortunately our laser light can repair it, giving you a clear, radiant complexion. For effective treatments and tailored solutions, visit our team at Evolve Medical Aesthetics + Wellness.
To streamline the treatment process for your laser for sun damage in Vienna, you can try our online treatment planning tool.
