It's hard to resist the allure of the sun. It feels wonderful to lie there soaking up rays, relaxing our bodies and letting our minds drift happily to thoughts of light and warmth.

But we pay the consequences:

• Brown age spots
• Blotchiness
• Broken blood vessels
• Freckles
• Wrinkles
• Dryness

Sunblock Is No Guarantee
Consequences like this happen even if you apply sunblock. As we mentioned in our last e-newsletter, most people apply too little sunblock, and don't apply it often enough. Plus, the more you go in and out of the water, the likelier it is you'll spend stretches of unprotected time in the sun.

Medical Science Can Help
While we can't undo your pleasurable moments in the sun, we can undo some of the damage the sun inflicts. This generation is lucky. Medical science has devised ways to restore fresh, smooth, youthful complexions to one and all.

Let us count the ways we can help:

1. Intense Pulse Light (IPL) treatments
Known under the brand name Fotofacial, this treatment works on many levels to reverse sun damage. It lightens brown spots, capillaries, and diffused redness in the skin, as well as the textural changes that result from too many solar rays. On a deeper level, it sends light and radiofrequency energy to the layers where collagen is produced, stimulating new cell growth. The benefits are immediate, and continue for months after the treatments (3 or 4 for optimum damage control).

2. Botox
Botox can minimize and even prevent the appearance of frown and forehead lines. Because Botox relaxes muscles, frowning won't cause a crease between the eyebrows to develop. Even if someone already has frown lines, Botox can smooth them out, sometimes completely. While Botox lasts for about three months, with regular injections clients find treatments can be spaced up to six months apart.

3. Fillers
Injected fillers add volume and "plump up" the skin. Restylane and newer fillers like Juvederm can last for up to six months and require no allergy testing.

4. Exfoliation
Exfoliation removes the dead skin cells that hide our natural radiance. At the same time, the process sends signals to cells in the lower layers, telling them to increase their rate of replication and boost your skin's fresh appearance. A microdermabrasion treatment with a light chemical peel will do wonders to restore your complexion.

5. Peels
People in the 30 - 60 age range can win the battle against sun-induced dark areas, lines and wrinkles with chemical peels. Active ingredients like glycolic acid or beta-hydroxy acids can serve as a mild peeling agent to clarify the skin.

6. Home Maintenance
A good home skincare regimen has been proven to prevent, slow and even reverse sun damage. A key component: retinol-based products that help complexions look brighter, smoother, and more even. Vitamin C creams also help. Skin Medica has developed some lotions our patients are raving about.

Different skin types respond to different products, so let us advise you on this.

As summer winds down, please continue to protect your skin as we've instructed. However, since nobody's perfect, and since summer fun has a way of bringing out our most carefree moods, you may discover areas of sun damage as September looms.

If so, have no fear. We can help.

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