Skin care after summer of fun in the sun!

Summer sun exposure can be very damaging to your skin. This is true from the medical and cosmetic health points of view.

There is no doubt that sun exposure is the cause of skin cancer, including malignant melanoma, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. These cancers can be serious if not found and treated early. Therefore, it’s very important to see your dermatologist once yearly for a skin check. If you’ve had a skin cancer or abnormal mole in the past, sometimes you have to get checked more than once per year. It’s important to tell your dermatologist about any new or changing moles or location of a sunburn you may have had.

From a cosmetic point of view, it’s important to treat all the signs of sun damage as early as possible. This includes hyperpigmentation, wrinkles and lines and unsightly growth that are benign. My favorite treatments for sun damage include fraxel, botox and fillers. All of these are accomplished with a non-invasive treatment that’s done in the office and can be made virtually painless.