We are not paragons of virtue and we all ‘slip off the wagon’ at some point. Summer holidays are for living life to the full, and who doesn’t love a bit of sun, sea and Sangria? Anyone who saw my Twitter feeds from my trip to the Dominican Republic this summer will see that I love a trip to a sunny destination as much as the next person.
After the summer excesses however I see a flock of patients at the clinics who want to undo and repair some of the summer holiday damage; from sunburn, parched and dehydrated skin - and I also see the long term effects of excessive sun exposure - to brown spots on the face and hands, as well as wrinkled, prematurely aged faces.
I am not here to preach, but there are ways to protect yourself before you travel - even to UK destinations - and ways we can repair the damage.
Prevention rather than cure
Skin is a barometer and reflects what you eat, what you drink and how you treat it. You may get away with it in your 20’s but it is likely to catch up with you and surface in your 30s-40’s.
It’s not too late to start the fight against premature ageing brought about by excessive exposure to wind, sea and sun as ultimately it is an accumulative process.
Prevent and protect
- Wear a sun hat and a long sleeve shirt or a rash vest, because two weeks in the sun can lead to a lifetime of tell-tale signs and prevention is always better than cure (much as I would welcome the visits to my clinics to put them right!).
- You should also avoid UV exposure and protect with SPF. This is not just holiday advice. I strongly advise patients to wear SPF products daily under make up. A minimum of SPF30-50 should be worn. UV has the ability to penetrate the skin even on the cloudiest of days and begin to degrade your support structures. Look out for SPF’s that also contain Vitamin C and E for enhanced photo protection. Heliocare gel cream light/ brown SPF50 is a must.
- Fight the damaging effects of sun exposure and summer holiday excesses - including smoking - can have on your skin. Use products containing antioxidants in particular vitamin A which help to neutralise damaging free radicals leading to fine lines, dehydration and aging. Vitamin A is also a power house in treating prematurely aged skin. At Dr Leah’s Skin Clinic we recommend Dermaquest’s Peptide Vitality Range to strengthen plump and smooth the skin.
SPF moisturisers - in pictures
Cure
- Parched and dry skin needs to be moisturised but choosing the right moisturiser is key. If you have oilier skin then go for an oil-free light weight formula, for drier skin types a richer emollient formula works best. Regardless of your skin type moisturisers will help to both nourish and protect your skin from external elements while making it soft, smooth and pliable. Dr Leah patients tend love Obagi hydrate luxe. As the name suggests, this luxuriously rich face cream is extra-moisturising and contains ingredients to keep your skin looking and feeling supple and firm.
- Skin peels are a fantastic way to remove the top layer of peeling and dead cells to expose fresh, new skin beneath. This brings about renewed luminosity and evens out any uneven skin tone. A Lactic Acid peel is good to tackle sun damaged skin.
- Treat yourself to a facial which will not only repair the outer layers of your skin, but will also help to regenerate the deep layers where the UV has managed to penetrate and potentially accelerate the ageing process. Our most frequently requested facial is Dr Leah’s Bespoke treatment which combines radio frequency to stimulate your skin’s own collagen and tackle ageing, microdermabrasion to smooth, brighten and deep cleanse, LED light therapy to hydrate and quench parched skin and mesotherapy to infuse important ingredients into the skin to restore your natural glow.
- AFT, an FDA approved Laser treatment is a fantastic way of banishing dark spots or pigmentation caused by the sun. By exposing them to short pulses of visible light, the highly concentrated area of pigment know as melanin can shatter. The pigment is then absorbed by the body, making the dark patches less visible or completely destroying them leaving you with a clear complexion.
- Anti-wrinkle Injections are an effective way off smoothing out those fine lines crow’s feet immediately for those of you who forgot your sunglasses and scrunched up your eyes. At Dr Leah’s Clinic we always ensure safe and effective practice when it comes to the administration of Anti-Wrinkle Injections. Results take effect between 7-14 days and will last 3-4 months.
SPF foundations - in pictures
As a final cure for the summer holiday blues, the Dr Leah clinic in Loughton is offering 15% off a number of skin treatments (with the exception of Botox, dermal fillers, Silhouette Soft treatment, HIFU and skin products).
You can read more about this on drleah.co.uk/blog
A healthy attitude towards caring for your skin - at home or away - is paramount for everyone regardless of your age, so if you are unsure on how to achieve this please contact me for some expert advice.
For more information please visit www.drleah.co.uk
