Summer can be hard on skin, from sweat to sun to heavy products. And all of our hours outside can leave their mark long after the season’s passed. We all know that there are plenty of awesome makeup tricks to cover up damaged skin—but hey, nothing is better than treating the damage at the source. Here are my favorite approaches.
Thanks to Dr. Mark Jewell for sponsoring this conversation on damaged skin.
Tired, Dry Skin
You know when skin needs a boost. It may look dull or lack that “oomph” that healthy, hydrated skin has. In the busy summer months, we’re all a little pressed for time—even drinking enough water every day can be a challenge. Skin is the first place to show it.
I love HydraFacial®, which is a notch or two above the typical spa facial. HydraFacial isn’t just a technique; it’s a device. During treatment, the special handpiece cleanses, extracts, and exfoliates, getting deep into pores the way traditional facials can’t. Then, it infuses skin with powerful serums bursting with proven active ingredients. HydraFacial really does “wake up” your skin and leave you with a gorgeous glow for weeks. Rumor has it that it’s a favorite among celebrities to help them gear up for red carpet events.
Sagging, Wrinkled Skin
You’ve seen me cover JUVÉDERM® for lip injections, but it can do so much more than that. It comes in a variety of different formulations to improve different areas of the face, including those deep creases around the nose and mouth (those are called nasolabial folds). JUVÉDERM can also add volume to the cheeks, which is where a lot of people see sagging as they age. By replacing some of that lost volume, people who use JUVÉDERM can enjoy a little bit of added lift—without a single incision.
Rough, Sun-Damaged Skin
Not to be a Debbie Downer, but every sunburn you get throughout your life creates sun damage that adds up. Sun damage in our younger years is to blame for much of the roughness and texture issues that show up later in life.
There's no magic bullet for completely undoing sun damage, but a chemical peel (or series of peels) can improve skin on a far deeper level than at-home products. These products, administered in a doctor’s office or medical spa, use a combination of ingredients—usually alpha-hydroxy acids—to slough off the outermost layers of damaged skin and reveal the soft, healthy skin underneath.
A peel can be a great “transitional” treatment to let your skin break free of summer’s damage and enter fall looking gorgeous and smooth.
Loose, Deeply Damaged Skin
Cliché? Maybe, but it's true: Deep damage requires a deep solution. The most significant nonsurgical option for treating severe damage is laser resurfacing. Lasers are having a bit of a moment in aesthetic medicine, and as we learn more about what they’re capable of, it’s likely that we’ll see more and more targeted options for treating specific skin concerns.
The strongest lasers completely eliminate the outermost layers of skin and spur deep collagen development. While these procedures actually do require a bit of downtime, their results can be almost as impressive as a surgical “after” photo.
On the other hand, lighter, non-ablative (i.e., it doesn't remove the top layer of skin) or fractional laser treatments provide many similar benefits without requiring time away from work or other activities. Dr. Mark Jewell’s medical spa in nearby Eugene, Oregon, offers an incredible variety of laser options, making it the kind of versatile skincare destination that can offer any of the options I just talked about.
What are you doing to treat your skin as summer winds down?
Jana
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