Sun Damage

Living in rainy Pacific Northwest deprives the body of the essential Vitamin D. Besides bone health Vitamin D also plays a major role in skin health as it contributes to cell metabolism and growth and lessens itching and flaky skin. While creams and supplements can fight Vitamin D shortages, they can also cause toxicity if the dosages are not monitored carefully while they can be ineffective if taken in moderate dosages. Since Vitamin D is best produced in the skin by exposure to the sun, many of us Seattleites try to compensate for the lack of sun exposure by going to tanning beds with UVA and UVB rays. We all know that excessive tanning can lead to skin damage or even skin cancer. How do we then, make up for the lack of Vitamin D that is essential to keeping our skin looking healthy without risking aging it? That is quite a quandary.

The outer most layer of the skin is called the epidermis. Vitamin D3 is produced in the deeper layers of the skin as a result of the pre-vitamin D3 ‘s exposure to the sun’s UVB rays. UVB rays do not penetrate the skin past the epidermis layer but UVA rays do. Since most sunscreens on the market protect only against UVB rays, it is essential to find ones that protect from UVA like sun blocks with zinc oxide. So if you expose yourself to the sun or in the case of us, Seattle folks, to the tanning beds WITH MODESTY while using the right sun block, then you should be able to compensate for the lack of Vitamin D without damaging your skin with wrinkles and spots. Again I emphasize “WITH MODESTY”.

Katy Issa

People living in the Pacific Northwest tend to forget that the summer sun can still have a damaging effect on the skin especially when during the rest of the year we live in an overcast rainy weather that causes our skin to be more photosensitive. The summer of 2009 we had here in Seattle was a prime example of an unforgiving hot summer. The face is a very important part of our everyday appearance and is the most exposed, so it is very important to keep it looking young and healthy. If we forget to wear adequate sun protection we will most likely end up with sun spots, wrinkles and lines or red complexion which will make the faces look older.

A new and effective skin treatment technique called IPL FotoFacial combines intense pulsed light (IPL) with bi-polar radio frequency to provide non-ablative treatment for any of the mentioned skin conditions above. Using IPL FotoFacial does not damage the surface of the skin, and uses high intensity pulses of broadband light different from the narrow band light of lasers. IPL FotoFacial does not damage the surface of the skin as it works on the deeper dermal layer. This means that there is no recovery time after undergoing this treatment that takes between 30-45 minutes on average. IPL FotoFacial treatments are progressive in nature and hence multiple sessions spread 3 to 4 weeks apart are recommended. The end result is radiant skin improved with tone and texture.

A common misconception about IPL FotoFacial treatments is the assumption that they fix scarring. For acne scarring and other deeper wrinkles lasers such as Erbium Yag and Diode can be used for skin resurfacing as well as skin tightening. The one thing to remember with IPL FotoFacial is that it is safest and works best with skin types 1 through 4. So IPL FotoFacial produces great results for Caucasian, Middle Eastern Olive, and Asian Skin. It is however inadvisable to use IPL FotoFacial on darker East Indian or African American skin due to the pigment in the skin and the risk of burning and scarring.

Katy Issa
Clinic Manager