South African's live in a climate where those few hours of daily exposure to the sun cause real noticeable skin problems that become more pronounced the longer we leave them.
'Photo-aging' is the word used to describe the cause of all those little skin tags and blemishes that plague us in our forties and fifties. Common problems like spider veins, age spots on the back of our hands, blotchiness, sun spots and those nasty looking wart like, rough patches on the chest and neck area are mostly sun damage but the good news is, they can be dealt with!
Tags
A skin tag is a benign piece of skin that hangs loosely by a small stalk. They are caused by friction, rubbing from creases or tight clothes. Almost everyone has them and they can increase during hormone changes like pregnancy and menopause. They are easily removed by a dermatologist with no side effects. Many are mistaken for moles.
Spider/Thread veins
Fine, red capillaries can be embarrassing on your cheeks or nose and they do become more pronounced during pregnancy and HRT treatments. To reduce the appearance stay off the alcohol and spicy food and try applying Horse Chestnut Cream which strengthens the tiny veins. A more dramatic effect can be achieved with a laser treatment like Photoderm or micro-sclerotherapy where the veins are injected with a chemical to make the walls stick together thereby reducing their appearance on the skin surface. Most of these treatments are readily available at your doctors or beauty therapist.
Sun Spots
The oddly shaped brown marks on cheeks, foreheads and chests are called chloasmathe. The contraceptive pill exaggerates this pigmentation but normally it's when the skin becomes overly sensitive to ultraviolet light from natural sunlight and sunlamps. Stop the pill for a while and cover the spots with total block out every morning. If this doesn't reduce the colour laser treatment can be very effective but is expensive.
Brown spots
Melasmas are similar but usually fade over time and generally appear during pregnancy and menopause. Make sure your sun block contains titanium dioxide or zinc oxide to ensure ultraviolet light is blocked out or try hydroquinone 3% solution in combination with topical tretinoin (Retinova) from the pharmacy or your doctor.
Age spots/Liver spots
Usually appear initially in your thirties and are commonly known as liver spots. They are caused by sun damage and usually accompanied by slack, tougher skin on the back of hands and décolleté.
Topical fade creams are available over the counter. They contain a bleaching agent and strong moisturisers, gradually lightening over a few months. Fade creams work best with a glycolic acid moisturiser available over-the-counter or from your beautician.
You can also use prescription strength vitamin A creams like Retin A or Retinova which stimulate new healthier cells to grow while working on fading the discolouration.
Redness
You may notice a reddish, chapped look around your nostrils or mouth in your forties and fifties which is caused by dryness. As we age our natural oils reduce and we need to replace them topically with oil based moisturisers. It also helps to drink a lot of water and stay away from alcohol and spicy foods.
Sun Damage is not a life sentence
Sun watching not worshipping is the catch phrase in your forties. Photo-aging occurs over a period of years and the real damage is done in our teens and twenties. Repeated exposure to the sun causes the skin to lose the ability to repair itself and over time the damage accumulates leaving us with blotchy, reddish tinged complexions and unsightly pigmentation and tags.
Tanning and sun exposure has been proven to break down collagen preventing the skin replenishing it's supply of new collagen and elastin. This, in turn causes the skin on our faces, hands and chest area to become more wrinkled and loose and in extreme cases, leathery.
Whilst laser and other treatments are recommended there are also alternatives in the ranges developed by cosmetic houses that specifically target these problems.
Our best advice?
Invest in a strong, oil based moisturiser with in built sun screens and use it right down to your nipples, keep block out in the car to smear on the back of your hands when driving and wear hats!
Jane van Velsen is an experienced article and features writer for women's interest (glossies), health and lifestyle, travel & tourism, finance, property and marketing both on and offline. Visit her blog on ja64.wordpress.com ja64.wordpress.com or website therightwriter.co.uk therightwriter.co.uk
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