Skincare Solutions to Transition to Fall

There are many medical-grade treatments to help repair sun damage

Around this time of the year, we begin a seasonal habit of preparing for the colder weather. As we find ourselves rejigging our schedules, making plans well into the new year, packing away our summer clothes, and cozying our nests for the fall and winter months, one aspect of our lives that rarely gets this attention is our skin.

Sun damage happens to everyone—even to those of us who apply sunscreen daily, wear protective clothing or proactively stand in the shade. We can help reduce the harmful effects from the sun by giving our skin the tools it needs to repair and heal, like drinking plenty of water, eating well and using effective skincare products; however, the longer term effects of sun damage are tougher to repair. The good news? Sun damage can be treated effectively with certain medical-grade treatments.

 

1. Halo™ Hybrid Fractional Laser

Halo™ is the first fractionated hybrid laser that combines both ablative and non-ablative technology in unison. What does this mean for your skin? This technology can deliver substantial improvements to the skin, targeting texture, wrinkles, and pigmentation.

One common concern with many ablative laser treatments is the healing process. Certain techniques require longer downtime and can cause discomfort, but the results speak for themselves. Ablative laser technology delivers dramatic improvements to our skin with reduction of fine lines, pore size, wrinkles and sun spots.

The Halo™ laser on the other hand, combines both ablative and non-ablative technologies in one device to provide noticeable improvements in as little as one treatment with minimal downtime. This treatment is also customizable to the patient and can treat common concerns like reduction in fine lines and wrinkles, pigmentation, tone and texture, skin clarity and pore reduction. Halo™ lasers are fully customizable and can be programmed to target the exact concerns one has regarding the condition of their skin.

 

2. Broad Band Light Laser Treatment

There’s a lot more we can be doing for our skin beyond cleansing and moisturizing. While we can bump up our skincare regime with a good exfoliant and repairing serum, there is a limit to what those products can offer to help heal sun damaged skin. By using intense pulsed light, Broad Band Light (BBL) Photo Facial gently heats the upper layers of your epidermis, while the targeted areas absorb the heat. This absorption of heat stimulates the skin cells to regenerate new collagen, restoring your skin to a more youthful glow.

The process targets “reds and browns” in the skin to remove the skin’s imperfections, including fine vessels causing redness and hyper-pigmentation (aka brown spots from the sun). This also results in smoother skin texture, clearer skin tone, and more vibrant looking skin.

Why is this great for fall? BBL requires that your skin has been sun-exposure free for at least six weeks, which makes it a perfect fall or winter treatment.

 

3. Nano Laser Peel

As we age, everything about our skin gets thinner aside from the stratum corneum—the very outside layer of the skin. In that process, our skin stops reflecting light the way it did before, and our skin looks dull and aged. The outside layers accumulate imperfections such as fine lines and wrinkles and other signs of sun damage such as brown spots.

While microdermabrasion and chemical peels each have their place in skin resurfacing, laser skin resurfacing treatments have revolutionized the way we think about skin. The Nano Laser Peel offers a faster, more comfortable alternative to microdermabrasion and light chemical peels. This treatment uses laser energy to resurface the top layers of the skin. The depth of the peel is customized to each patient and we can control how many days of downtime you will have. From no downtime to 3 or 4 days of redness and peeling, it is up to you.

In addition to precisely removing the outside layers of the skin, the NanoLaserPeel also accelerates the skin’s own renewal process by activating special messenger proteins. Other treatments often don’t go deep enough, or in the case of other lasers, leave a layer of heat damaged cells. These damaged cells make it hard for the messenger cells to communicate with deep layers of skin. The precision of this laser allows it to work at just the right depth, helping to improve the clarity, tone and texture of the skin while returning that glow.

 

Flexibility is key

It’s important that when researching these kinds of medical-grade treatments to always look for reputable practitioners with experience. At 8 West Clinic, we are skin experts. We work together closely with our clients to identify the areas they want to improve, and from there, create the right treatment plan to get the results that will help to make them feel more confident and move into the next season with healthy, beautiful skin.

Dr. Thomas Buonassisi is a facial plastic surgeon and founder of 8 West Cosmetic Surgery and Laser Clinic