Repairing Sun Damage

It's Not Too Late!

You're a pro when it comes to protecting against sun damage. You've got sunscreen on your keychain, in your lip balm, and all over your skin. But you could still have plenty of sun damage left over from your youth. (Remember squirming away from your mom as she tried to coat you with sunblock?) Unfortunately, sun damage isn't only skin-deep. UV radiation alters the actual DNA of your skin cells, causing lines, wrinkles, discoloration, and even cancer. "There's a meter in your skin. Every minute you're out in the sun, your body registers it," says Neal Schultz, M.D., a cosmetic dermatologist based in New York City and creator of DermTV.com. But here's a ray of (UV-free) light: You can reverse the damage. "Whenever you start protecting yourself from the sun, you will stop the process of additional damage and start to reverse, to some extent, what you've already accumulated," Schultz says. Throw in this four-step treatment, and you are well on your way to some serious skin recovery. You want to smooth your skin to create brightness and luster, and chemical exfoliation is the best way to do just that, Schultz says. Chemical exfoliation dissolves dead skin cells instead of scrubbing them off (usually unevenly) the way buffers and granule cleansers do. When choosing a chemical exfoliant, opt for a product with a 5 percent to 8 percent concentration of glycolic acid. The active ingredient is vital in removing the extra layers of dead cells that are holding all of the brown pigment that has clumped and accumulated over the years. And whichever exfoliant you choose, follow the directions!

Skin Fitness carries Glycolic Cleanser to help you get chemical exfoliation for sun damage as well as a natural Retinol and Vitamin C to rebuild the collagen and skin health lost from sun damage.