Did you know your skin is the largest organ in your body? It covers your entire body, weighing about 7.5 to 22 pounds. Your skin also serves as your first layer of protection against environmental pollution, toxins, and debris. In other words: your skin is important.
We’ve talked about our options for laser treatments at About Face Aesthetics, but now we think it’s time to focus on why your skin might need laser resurfacing in Philadelphia.
What Causes Skin Damage
There are several environmental issues and personal choices that can affect the quality and health of your skin.
UV Damage
UV radiation is the most common damage our team sees. While you can get UV radiation anywhere on your body, most of our clients receive laser skin resurfacing for the skin on their face. UV radiation breaks down the elastin fibers in your skin, causing wrinkles, liver spots, freckles, and, in worst-case scenarios, skin cancer.
Laser skin resurfacing uses laser light to remove the damaged cells caused by UV radiation, and then heats the deeper layers of the skin to stimulate collagen and elastin production. This repairs the cellular structure of your skin, reversing wrinkles and creating a smoother, more even complexion.
Pollution
According to a 2020 study conducted by the American Lung Association, Philadelphia ranked as the 12th most polluted city in the nation for its year-round average levels of fine particle pollution and the 23rd most polluted for days with high levels of ozone smog.
That pollution does not just affect your lungs—it also affects your skin. According to the National Library of Medicine, your skin is one of the main targets of pollutants, which are able to reach the deeper layers of your skin by transcutaneous and systemic routes.
These pollutants are known to cause skin aging, as they remove moisture and nutrients from your skin and consistently expose it to toxins. This also causes inflammation, and, when exposed to pollution in high quantities for extended periods of time, could lead to the development of chronic skin diseases.
You can reverse the environmental impact on your skin with laser resurfacing. Philadelphia’s high pollution may damage the health of your skin, but laser skin resurfacing repairs your skin on a cellular level, increasing collagen and elastin production to create healthier, smoother skin overall.
Lifestyle
The issue that many of our clients overlook is how their lifestyle impacts their skin. Diet, exercise, and habits like smoking and drinking can all have an effect.
Smoking depletes your skin of the oxygen it needs to produce healthy skin cells, and alcohol dehydrates your body, depriving your skin of the water it needs. Meanwhile, an unbalanced diet and little to no exercise deprive your skin of the nutrients it needs for cellular regeneration.
While we always encourage you to improve your lifestyle at About Face, we can complement your life changes with laser resurfacing in Philadelphia. This will give your skin a fresh, new start, replacing old cells with new ones that you can properly care for by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and using skincare!
It’s Time to Love Your Skin
Schedule a consultation with our team today to learn more about laser skin resurfacing, and begin your journey towards healthier, happier skin!