TODAY MORE THAN EVER, PEOPLE WORRY BOUT SKIN DAMAGE CAUSED BY SUN EXPOSURE.

Scientific evidence has proven that over exposure to sun causes premature skin aging. Even more alarming is the increasing amount of skin cancer cases. How can we protect ourselves from the sun? What causes sun burns and skin damage? UV rays are emitted by the sun and they travel to earth as waves. UV´s wavelengths are very small, but they contain a great amount of energy that penetrates human skin and changes the original structure of their cells. Some skin cells have the duty to produce a substance called melanine, that’s how the tanning process begins. Melanin gives certain degrees of natural protection. Dark skin people have more melanin in their skin, there for are much better protected than light skin people. Even though the worst damage takes place when skin is burnt, cell damage happens also during every day exposure but does not show as skin aging.

UV rays are classified in 3 regions, according to de frequency of their wavelengths: UVC, CVB and UVA. These waves are so small that are measured in nanometres (nano= a millionth part of a metre) Infrared (IR) radiation causes the warm feeling we get from the sun. Sun exposure can harm our skin because it produces a type of cancer called carcinoma as well as skin aging. How does sun screen work? Sun screens have products that either block and scatter or absorb UV rays. These products have been created to give different amounts of protection against the UVA and IR rays. A numeric system to measure the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) was established to measure the amount of protection the product may offer against sun burns caused by UVB rays.

How to choose the proper filter:

Your dermatologist is the perfect person to indicate the best sun screen taking into account the clinical and pathological aspects of your skin. Some time ago, it was believed then a 15SPF was enough protection against UV rays.

Concepts have change and it is desirable and recommended a 30 SPF or even higher for more protection. To protect your specific type of skin, a sun screen that blocks the proper amount of UV rays must be chosen: if skin is too light or too sensitive, or if there is a history of skin cancer in the family or if the patient is under going a treatment that requires photosensitive medication, or if skin will be exposed for long periods, then a higher SPF must be used. Products that contain PARSOL 1789, titanium dioxide or zinc dioxide, provide protection against the UVA I ray and advanced protection against UVA, that harm skin in a long term and are present all year. IR rays are invisible heat rays that harm skin as much as a hot lamp.

Prolonged sun exposure:

It is advised to prevent casual sun exposure. Every day use of sunscreen, prescribed by your dermatologist will reduce the effects caused by UV ray exposure and will also help prevent in the long run. SPF are also influenced by variables that depend on the person’s type of skin and how much time it will take to get a sun burn without protection.

Before sun exposure:

Avoid sun exposure during the most intense hours, between 10 am and 3 pm. Try to avoid long periods of sun exposure.

Sun rays are much more intense in tropical and subtropical areas; their intensity also increases in mountain areas, so a high SPF will be needed. In both cases, extra skin and eye protection will be needed.

Surfaces such as water, sand, snow and pavement reflex and intensify the exposure. Because of this reason, your skin will get burn even if you are wearing a hat or if you are in the shadow.

During cloudy days, it is also needed to wear sun screen. UV rays can penetrate this weather condition and cause skin burns.

A lot of medications cause a photo sensitive reaction when the person is exposed to the sun. You will need to get all the information about this from your physician.

15 minutes in a tanning bed, represent one day of sun exposure at the beach.
Avoid long exposures even when you are wearing sun screen, wear hats and cloth for protection when possible.

Sun protection is very important for adults and it is crucial for kids because sun damage accumulates. Teach your children the habit of sun protection as a part of their daily habits.
Apply sun screen in all the exposed skin.

Keep in mind that when drying with a towel after swimming sun screen will be removed, losing its effectiveness. Reapply after every swim.

Treating dermatologic patients is relate to the most visible part of a human been and its “psychological implications”.

Since the clock will never stop and keeps going on and on moving forward slowly and unstoppable. The permanent use of dermatological medication combined with different procedures in an alternating way, will keep the aesthetic results and skin heathy in a much more successful and durable way trying to keep time to slow down.

Cosmetic treatments have become some thing much more complex: “dermatologic scientific treatments” for skin and health. So they require constant studying and updating.

Beauty is a matter of intelligence when the physician has the knowledge to apply technology and dermatologic procedures mind/body for a better health and looks.

“Beauty is no longer a problem”, we must be young at age 50 and even after.

Skin aging process is the result of an addition of different factors. The fact that some factors are stronger than others is the reason why there are many different alterations that may or may not match the biological age of the patient. So we need to establish different therapeutic strategies according to the specific problem.

Non ablative technologies are playing a much more important role in the photo-aging aesthetic dermatology field.

What is photo diagnosis?

It is a picture that shows the possible aging process skin will undergo in the future, making it visible before it can even be noticed. It uses a sophisticated UV camera that shows the accumulated photo aging damage in the deepest skin layers. This is a real proof that sun exposure does harm skin.

How does the UV camera work?

The camera has a standard flash. The UV radiation emitted reflexes on the patient and returns to the lens. The filter in the lens only allows UV rays to pass by and eliminates all the green and blue light. If we analyze the light spectrum and we give a numerical value to each wavelength, green and blue light have a wavelength of 400 and 600 manometers. The UV spectrum is lower than 400. That is why UV light is not visible to human eye. Our camera has a filter with a 320-385 range. The resulting pictures are black and white because the RGB allows us to register in that wavelength. The IR spectrum is even lower than the UV spectrum.