HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR SKIN in IMAGE Magazine


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HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR SKIN?
UV Photography Sheds New Light
By James C. Marotta, M.D.

How healthy is your skin? How does it look to you? Do you have wrinkles? Age spots? Dark blotchy patches, acne, or uneven skin tone? As you may already know, many of the irregularities you see in your skin are varying forms of damage caused by sun exposure. However, what you probably don't know is that the complete picture of your skin's health is invisible to your naked eye.

There is a whole spectrum of conditions that could lie within the deeper layers of your skin that you don't even know exist because you can't see them. Even a person with seemingly flawless skin could have hidden conditions of concern. Fortunately, there is a useful tool that can help us see the true picture of a person's skin health - a UV Photography Skin Analyzer Machine (S.A.M.). By taking a picture of my patient's faces with a UV S.A.M., I am able to document and analyze their skin's health and then discuss with them the various options available to reduce, reverse, and in some cases even eliminate the damage.

Having your skin assessed by a UV S.A.M. is quick and easy. Like a mini photo booth, patients place their face into a draped opening, which is lit by UV lights. The special light rays emanated by the S.A.M. (black light) illuminate the patient's face and allow me to see different conditions under the top layers of the skin that are normally invisible. The conditions are represented by a spectrum of colors ranging from oranges to deep purples. The S.A.M has a mirror inside of it that allows the patient to see exactly what I am seeing and makes it easier for them to see their areas of concern and discuss possible treatment options with me. A digital camera attached to the S.A.M. also allows me to capture an image of the patient's skin, and pictures are taken before and after any treatment is rendered. These pictures not only help document a patient's skin health, but also demonstrate to the patient the improvements they've received from the treatments.

There are various treatment options for helping improve your skin's health. They range from non-invasive, mild treatments to more extensive, deeper procedures. Obviously, the more extensive the treatment, the greater the results. Here are some of the treatment options I recommend to my patients to reverse sun damage and promote healthy skin

1. Medical-Grade Microdermabrasion and Facials: These treatments remove dead skin cells and promote new growth They exfoliate dry skin, clean clogged pores, and give the skin a healthy glow. Both treatments are mild, non-invasive procedures that patients find pleasurable. They take approximately half an hour and have no downtime - you can go right back to your normal routine when they are done. I recommend these treatments to patients with oily or dry patches seen in the photo S.A.M. For optimal results, a series of treatments is recommended.

2. IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) Photofacials: IPL is a great way to treat some of the visible signs of sun damage like sunspots and spider veins. Much gentler than laser, IPL selectively targets sun damage, leaving the non-damaged skin alone. IPL can be done in the office, is relatively painless (feels like the snap of a rubber band), has little to no downtime, and makeup can be worn right after. Within days, brown spots gently flake off the skin and blood vessels disappear. When used on the face the treatment is called a "photofacial," but IPL can be used to target sun damage anywhere (e.g. the hands, chest, or back).

3. Chemical Peels: Chemical peels are acids applied topically to remove damaged layers of skin, thus reducing sun damage in the process. They can range from superficial to deep. Superficial peels remove only the outermost layers of skin. Like microdermabrasion, a superficial peel can accomplish exfoliation with no downtime. In my practice, we use the PCA brand of chemical peels. Our superficial peels are performed by licensed aestheticians. Moderate depth to deep chemical peels are performed only by me because they are more aggressive treatments. As a result, they penetrate more deeply into the skin to destroy deeper sun damage, stimulate collagen and reduce wrinkles. Unlike superficial peels, moderate to deep chemical peels have some recovery time.

4. Laser Treatments: In my practice, I offer the Total FX Fractional CO2 laser, which uses light energy to vaporize skin containing sun damage and other imperfections to form new, younger skin in the process. This is a powerful tool in that it can actually reverse and eliminate sun damage. The Total FX laser can be used to treat anything from sun spots and pre-cancerous lesions to acne/surgical scars and wrinkles. As most patients have a mixture of skin conditions, I often recommend the Total FX since the settings can be modified to treat all of the patient's issues in just one session. This laser treatment is ablative (destroys layers of skin) and is consequently more effective than non-ablative lasers, but it does have some downtime. However, because the Total FX is a fractional laser, recovery is faster than treatments with older CO2 lasers on the market.

Although there are methods to reduce and reverse sun damage once it's occurred, I can't stress enough the importance of sun safety and maintaining good skin health to prevent the damage in the first place. Try to observe the following recommendations: Wear sun screen with an SPF of 30 or higher on a daily basis; minimize tanning; and avoid sun burns by applying and reapplying sunscreen frequently when in the sun. (Remember, you can get sunburn from as little as 15 minutes of unprotected sun exposure). Parents - consider this: "Kids who bake even once in a tanning booth could up their risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, by as much as 75%," says Joni A. Mayer, PhD Professor at the Graduate School of Public Health at San Diego State University.1 This is not something to take lightly given that skin cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in the U.S. today.2

Since I do a lot of skin cancer reconstruction (Post-MOHS) surgery, I see first-hand the damage the sun can do to people of all ages. I, therefore, encourage you to make it a habit to have your entire body regularly looked at by a dermatologist to check for skin cancer. As for the damage not visible to your naked eye, you should consider scheduling a UV digital scan. For more information about the S.A.M., visit www.marottamd.com.

1 Ladies Home Journal, VOL. CXXVII No. 2, March 2010, p. 130, "Stop Teen Tanning"
2 A Cancer Journal for Clinicians 2002, 52:23-47
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