Sun Protection After Cosmetic Surgery
After cosmetic surgery or laser skin resurfacing from board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Franklyn Elliott, there’s potential to take years of aging off of your face. However, to maintain your new, youthful look, adequate sun protection is essential. While sun protection is a key part of anti-aging regardless of any procedure, it’s especially important following your efforts with cosmetic treatment.
Dr. Elliott always endorses sunscreen with a broad-spectrum SPF to be worn year round in order to avoid sun damage that can cause skin to appear thick, wrinkled, and older than it is in actuality. He also recommends eluding harsh environmental factors and smoking, which can cease and break down collagen production to create premature wrinkles. Even if you practice a proper skincare routine, our skin cells divide more slowly as we age, causing the skin to thin and lose elasticity.
After a facelift or laser skin resurfacing procedure, not protecting your face from harmful UV rays can have unfortunate consequences. After surgery, any scarring can become sunburned easily, no matter the color of your skin. When this happens, you could be left with a darker scar. It’s best to practice prevention rather than scrambling to find a solution after the fact. In fact, all surgical scars need to be protected from sun exposure, as potential sun damage greatly increases the chances of a more noticeable scar in the future.
To completely protect your healing skin, try to keep incisions completely covered by light layers. It’s important to remember to still apply a broad-spectrum, minimum SPF 30 sunscreen under your clothing as it will not protect completely from damaging UV rays. Since it may not be possible to completely cover facial anti-aging procedures, make sure to apply your sunscreen before leaving home to avoid direct or prolonged sun exposure.
For more information about cosmetic surgery options for wrinkles and sagging skin and how to protect your skin, please call our office to set-up a facial consultation. Be sure to follow Dr. Elliott on Facebook, and Twitter, for the latest plastic surgery news and information.