Fine Lines

4 ASCP Fine Lines A S K E S T Y E M I L Y by Emily Morgan Associated Skin Care Professionals emorgan@ascpskincare.com Recover & Refresh Too much sun? Your esthetician can help "I was bad about using sunscreen this summer. What professional treatments can help fix the damage?" A: Before we move forward—I'm sorry, but it must be said—It. Is. So. Important. To. Wear. Sunscreen. It protects you from the dangers of skin cancer, and it is the best way to prevent early signs of aging and skin damage. Now that that's out of the way, you're going to want to focus on two things: recovering and refreshing. First, recover. Treatments that are gentle, healing, and usually geared toward sensitive skin types will help your skin recover. Due to all the harsh sun exposure you've endured over the last few months, you will want to avoid chemical peels, microdermabrasion, and other exfoliating treatments for a while. These types of treatments will continue to strip your skin of its protective barrier (which is already in a delicate, compromised state) and you will be causing more harm than good. For now, treat your skin to cooling and calming treatments: gel cleansers, jelly masks, lavender toner, etc. Once your skin is looking and feeling more hydrated and healed, you can turn your attention toward refreshing your skin. Sun damage, as mentioned earlier, is the number- one cause of premature aging. Prevention— meaning sunscreen every single day—is much easier than repairing the damage. Once you have worked with your esthetician to heal the initial damage, you can focus on treating some of the other aftereffects of those beaming rays of sunshine: the dehydration, fine lines and wrinkles, and pigment discoloration. You will absolutely have to come up with a plan with your esthetician as to when it is appropriate to start implementing some of these antiaging treatments, but start by refreshing your skin, such as gentle exfoliating treatments to soften those signs of aging. Just remember, damage control is never a sprint, it's a marathon. You have all fall, winter, and spring to develop a skin care treatment plan, so take it slow and build your skin up to be able to handle more intensive treatments. ▪ Have a question for Esty Emily? Email her at estyemily@ascpskincare.com. Prevent sun damage before it starts: Image Skincare Prevention+ Daily Hydrating Moisturizer SPF 30, imageskincare.com; TIZO3 Facial Primer/Sunscreen, tizoskin.com; jane iredale Powder-Me SPF 30 Dry Sunscreen, janeiredale.com.

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