We all love the sun and the sunkissed glow it gives our skin after a day outdoors. However, the sun’s impact lasts much longer than your seasonal suntan.
“The ‘sunkissed’ look is beautiful, but sun damage isn’t,” says Emily Greb, Nurse Practitioner, Medical Director and Owner of Face First Medical Aesthetics and Wellness.
While each individual has their own levels of melanin, affecting how quickly we experience sunburns, no one is immune to the sun’s impact on our skin.
Too much sun can lead to uneven pigmentation in the skin, the breakdown of collagen and elastin in the skin causing deep wrinkles and sagging skin and increasing the risk of skin cancer.
As a nurse practitioner, Emily can identify worrisome lesions that could be pre-cancerous or potentially cancerous and refer patients to a dermatologist for further investigation and treatment.
While skin damage is often referred to as sun damage, Emily says “photodamage” is a more accurate term, because this damage is not exclusively related to time in the sun. “Blue light from electronic devices and fluorescent lights can also damage our skin while indoors,” Emily says.
While photodamage is extremely common, Emily says its effects can be mitigated through Intense Pulsed Light (IPL), fractional laser treatments (like pixel lasers) and medical-grade skincare.
“At Face First, we offer IPL and pixel laser treatments to target discolouration and wrinkles caused by photodamage, giving skin a more youthful, even tone,” says Emily. “Neuromodulators, such as Botox, are great for the lines around the eyes and between the eyebrows that are caused by squinting from the sun.”
Face First offers a range of medical aesthetic services, including laser treatments, body contouring, micro-needling, injectable neuromodulators and dermal fillers, and medical-grade facials, each of which are administered by highly skilled experts.
“We have four nurse injectors on staff, allowing us to increase access to our clients, even on evenings and weekends, while still maintaining our attention to quality and care,” says Emily.
While these services can help restore your skin’s youthfulness, it’s important to invest in products that will protect your skin from further damage.
Medical grade sunscreen has antioxidants and broad-spectrum UV A and B protection, and some products can protect against blue light and infrared A rays, which you get from sitting in front of the computer screen. It has proven efficacy and won’t cause breakouts, so you can wear it all day, every day as part of your skincare routine.
“At Face First, we want you to look and feel your best while protecting your largest, most visible organ,” says Emily.
TEXT SHELANNE AUGUSTINE | PHOTOS ANDREW FEARMAN