Few things are as relaxing as spending time outdoors on a sunny Georgia day taking in a ball game, reading a book, or just getting lost in your imagination. Unfortunately, a lot of time outdoors can cause sun damage to your skin, even when you’re careful.
Common Skin Problems Caused by Excess Sun Exposure
Age spots (also known as sun spots, brown spots, and liver spots), gray or brown pigmentation changes on the skin, are one of the most common results of both sun exposure and aging. You will recognize them by their flat appearance and either an oval or circular shape. Age spots appear most often on the face, arms, hands, feet, shoulders, and back. They’re generally harmless, but can become numerous and unattractive.
Skin freckling is another common issue caused by sun exposure. When young children have freckles, it’s typically a genetic trait that fades over time. However, freckles in adults usually means that the melanocytes of the skin have overreacted in response to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Freckles appear on the epidermis of the skin, which is another name for its top layer.
Although most people develop wrinkles and crow’s feet as they get older, exposure to the sun can speed things up. Crow’s feet are lines around the eyes that deepen with age and prolonged sun exposure. Wrinkles gradually appear below the eyes, giving them a puffy appearance. It’s also typical to find them above the eyelids, making you appear tired even when you’re not. The sun’s rays make the skin on your face and near your eyes get thinner with repeated exposure. Thin facial skin eventually means wrinkles and crow’s feet.
Erase Sun Damage with Laser Therapy
You can’t always stop the sun from damaging your skin, even when you wear a hat, sunscreen, lightweight clothing, and sunglasses. Fortunately, you can fight back with laser treatments. At Dermatology Associates, we use the PicoSure® laser, the most advanced laser of its kind. The pulse released from PicoSure forms new collagen in your skin as well as improved elasticity. As a result, your skin appears plumper, fuller, and free of blemishes such as age spots and freckling. The added elasticity smooths out wrinkles near your eyes and other locations on your face.
You may not be able to stop the progression of time and avoid all sun damage, but you can minimize the effects of both with laser therapy.
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help erase the sun damage to your skin, click here to schedule a consultation with Dermatology Associates today.
Dermatology Associates offers a full spectrum of leading edge medical, surgical, and cosmetic dermatology services from offices in Savannah and Vidalia.
