What Can be done About Extensive Sun Damage to my Skin?

The first and most important thing you can is help prevent it from progressing by using a good sunblock as part of your skincare regimen.  

As part of treating the sun damage, there are a range of different treatments that you might consider, depending on the degree of damage and the amount of recovery time you can tolerate. This range extends from a more conservative approach with a series of chemical peels to improve fine lines and skin discoloration, to a more aggressive chemical peel for more extensive changes in skin pigment, texture and tone. For wrinkles associated with sun damage, chemical peels have only a minimal effect. 

A more aggressive treatment using laser or dermabrasion for resurfacing would be required in this case. A more gradual approach to resolving this kind of sun damage could involve a fractionated laser resurfacing such as the  Sciton ProFractional.  A more aggressive approach would be to use a resurfacing tool such as an Erbium YAG laser, such as the Sciton tunable laser or the CO2 laser for resurfacing of the damaged skin. Although there is  a more extensive recovery time for this more aggressive procedure, the results are dramatic in terms of the improvement in extensively sun damaged skin.

Besides prevention with sunscreen daily and moisturizers, Retin-A is helpful as are treatments with some of the more impressive lasers such as the Sciton BBL/SkinTyte and certain Fractionated lasers. As you age, skin cells lose their ability to make collagen and progressively die off rather than reproducing themselves (“DNA programmed cell death with age”).The Sciton Laser Platform allows multiple laser types and wavelengths to achieve both dramatic improvements of your skin but also maintaining its youthful appearance by reversing this process. See below for more information.

 There are SO many excellent treatments available to reverse the effects of sun damage. A lot depends upon your skin type, degree of sun damage, willingness to accept recovery time, and, your budget. The most important factor is to have your skin care regimen supervised by a qualified individual such as a facial plastic surgeon, dermatologist or aesthetician under direct physician supervision. That way, your progress can be monitored properly ensuring good results and minimizing the risk of problems.  In any case, the first key is a good sunblock -- one that you wear every day. In general, makeup that contains sunscreen is not adequate. You really should apply daily a separate sunblock wit SPF of 30. The next key is to ask your skin care professional can guide you through the array of non-surgical options such as glycolic acids, topical anitoxidants and vitamin C based products. Retin A tends to sensitize your skin to the sun and, over time, loses its effectiveness at improving lines and wrinkles.  Best of luck!  Dr. Clevens

The MicroLaserPeel or “weekend” skin peel addresses conditions associated with sun damage and aging. As compared with microdermabrasion or light chemical peels, a MicroLaserPeel is a deeper treatment that precisely removes the outermost layers of skin, and treats wrinkles, scars, acne scars, keratoses, and irregular pigmentation. The treatment uses topical anesthesia, and typically is repeated 2 to 4 times, spaced 6 to 8 weeks apart. Healing takes 3 to 4 days and resembles a sunburn with redness beginning to fade by the third day, and can be covered with makeup on the fourth day. Patients experience smoother, healthier, more vibrant skin, with a significant immediate change in skin texture and tightness. A MicroLaserPeel is the perfect step between microdermabrasion and more aggressive full laser resurfacing. However, it is important to consult with a dermatologist before undergoing any treatment. 

You should start off with a visit to a fully trained medical aesthetician. Preferably one who is employed by a plastic surgeon so the plastic surgeon can monitor your progress. Some things that may benefit you are chemical peels, dermaplaning, and prescritpion skin care such as Obagi or Skin Medica.

The term "extensive sun damage" is vague, so it is difficult to answer your question with precision.

Visit your board-certified dermatologist for an evaluation.  Treating sun damage is part of their bread and butter, and the medically-necessary part of their services is covered by health insurance.  Your dermatologist will be able to do the following:


Evaluate for skin cancer. 

Treat actinic keratoses (scaly spots that have a low, but real, potential to turn into skin cancer)  

Counsel you about treatment for brown spots, broken blood vessels, fine wrinkles, coarse wrinkles, volume loss

Counsel you about how you can preventive further sun damage and maintain your skin (ie sun protection and retinoids)


Good luck.

 

Reversal of sun damage will bring about less risk of skin cancer and rejuvenation on sun exposed areas. Besides strict daily sun protection, you should consider potent vitamin C serum in morning and prescription strength topical retinoid at night (or every other night). Work with your dermatologist to consider topical 5-FU cream or Zyclara (more gentle form of Aldara) for significantly sun exposed areas. TCA chemical peel or Fractional CO2 laser resurfacing will bring about faster gratification.

UVA and UVB light causes skin damage. The long term effects are twofold. The first prbblem is that the sun causes premature skin laxity, discoloration, and loss of elasticity; the second problem is that it can cause precancerous changes that may lead to melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma. The first step in reversing sun damage is to prevent any further solar damage by avoiding direct sunlight and using sunscreen regularly.

Today, there are several topical formulations by prescription that can reverse solar damage to the skin by correcting skin cell function at the cellular level. This includes a correction of the fibroblast and melanocyte function. Speak to a skin specialist in order to begin skin correction.

The appropriate treatment for sun damage depends on the degree of damage that's present. You mentioned yours is extensive which would best be treated with lasers. This does involve some down time as your skin heals, but beautiful skin is revealed underneath. It's important to establish a great skin care routine to protect from future damage. We recommend using medical grade skin care products like Transform MD and wearing sunscreen every day.

Sadly, those of us in our 50's and beyond frequently did not use sunscreen. We enjoyed a "healthy-looking" tan and even used tanning accelerators! If you compare the skin on your breasts to the skin on your chest, it's the same age skin but the exposed, tanned chest skin is crepy, thin and blotchy. It's prematurely aged. To get back to the real skin you should have for your age (as much as possible) there are several treatments to consider.
To improve thinning/crepey skin, energy-based skin remodeling modalities should be used. Those include sub-lative or fractionated laser treatments such as Lumenis' ResurFX and MiXto CO2 laser, Ultherapy ultrasound treatments and radiofrequecy tissue remodeling treatments such as Inmode's Morpheus8.
For brown and red blotchy discolorations, Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) and vascular laser treatments work well.