facial peel aliso viejo

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Protect Your Skin From Blue Light – Tips for Healthy Skin and Well-Being

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Protect Your Skin From Blue Light – Tips for Healthy Skin and Well-Being



How to Protect Your Skin from Blue Light

In today's modern world, we are constantly exposed to blue light from various electronic devices such as smartphones, laptops, and TVs. While blue light is a form of visible light that is beneficial for our overall well-being, it can also have negative effects on our skin. In this article, we will discuss the potential harm of blue light on our skin and provide some tips on how to protect it.

Understanding Blue Light

In this digital age, we are surrounded by electronic devices and screens that emit blue light. We spend a significant amount of time staring at our phone, computer, and television screens without realizing the potential damage that blue light can cause to our skin. Our skin is incredibly vulnerable to blue light, which can lead to premature aging and other skin concerns. In this blog post, we will explore the nature of blue light and its impact on our skin. We'll also discuss some practical tips to protect our skin from harm.

Blue light has a shorter wavelength and higher energy than other colors in the visible spectrum. Unfortunately, our screens and LED light bulbs emit a high amount of blue light, which can lead to cellular damage and oxidative stress. Studies have shown that excessive and prolonged exposure to blue light can decrease collagen production, leading to wrinkles, age spots, and hyperpigmentation. Furthermore, blue light can disrupt our circadian rhythm, which can impact our sleep quality, and hormonal balance.

So, what can we do to protect ourselves from blue light exposure? The first and foremost thing is to reduce our screen time and use filters on our devices that block blue light. The second is to invest in skincare products that contain antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, which neutralize free radicals and prevent oxidative stress. Sunscreen is also an essential component of any skincare routine to protect against harmful UV rays and blue light.

We can also incorporate certain lifestyle changes to limit blue light exposure. For example, we can switch off our screens and devices a few hours before bedtime to improve our sleep quality. We can also choose warm light bulbs instead of blue light bulbs and reduce the brightness of our screens to minimize exposure. Finally, we can wear blue light blocking glasses that filter out the harmful wavelengths.

It's important to note that blue light is not all bad. In fact, studies have shown that exposure to blue light during the day can help regulate our circadian rhythm and improve alertness. The problem arises when we are exposed to blue light for extended periods, especially at night, which can lead to inflammation and skin damage. Therefore, it's crucial to maintain a balance and limit our exposure to blue light while still enjoying its benefits.

In summary, blue light is a prevalent issue in today's world, and it can impact our skin's health and overall well-being. While we can't avoid blue light entirely, we can take measures to reduce our exposure and protect our skin. Incorporating lifestyle changes, using blue light blocking filters, and investing in skincare products that contain antioxidants are some practical ways to keep our skin healthy and glowing. With awareness and little effort, we can safeguard our skin from the harmful effects of blue light and enjoy the benefits it offers.

The Potential Harm of Blue Light on Our Skin

While blue light has many benefits for our overall health, studies have shown that excessive exposure to it can lead to various skin issues. Some potential harmful effects of blue light on our skin include:

Accelerated aging: Blue light can penetrate deep into our skin, damaging the collagen and elastin fibers that keep it firm and elastic. This can lead to premature aging, causing wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging skin. Studies have shown that blue light can damage the collagen and elastin fibers in our skin. These fibers are essential to maintaining firm, elastic skin, and overexposure to blue light can cause them to break down, leading to premature aging. This can result in fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin, which can be challenging to reverse without intervention. The process starts at the cellular level- it damages our DNA, making us more vulnerable to oxidative stress.

Hyperpigmentation: Exposure to blue light can trigger the production of melanin in our skin, leading to dark spots or hyperpigmentation. This is especially concerning for people with darker skin tones as they are more prone to hyperpigmentation. Excessive exposure to blue light can cause our skin to produce more melanin, which causes dark spots, uneven skin tone, and melasma. It’s recommended to use sunscreen and other skincare products that contain natural pigmentation inhibitors, such as licorice, mulberry, or chamomile when anticipating extended sun exposure.

Inflammation: Blue light can also cause inflammation in our skin, leading to redness, swelling, and irritation.

How to Protect Your Skin from Blue Light

Now that we know the potential harm of blue light on our skin, let's discuss some ways to protect it:

Limit screen time: We live in a digital age where we are constantly glued to our electronic devices. To reduce your exposure to blue light, try limiting your screen time and taking breaks every 20 minutes.

Use blue light filters: Many electronic devices now come with built-in blue light filters that can be turned on to reduce the amount of blue light emitted. You can also install blue light filter apps on your devices.

Wear sunscreen: Yes, you read that right. Sunscreen not only protects us from UV rays but also from blue light. Look for sunscreens with ingredients like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, known to provide protection against blue light.

Invest in blue-light blocking glasses: Blue-light blocking glasses are specially designed to block or filter out blue light from reaching our eyes. They can be worn while using electronic devices or even as regular glasses.

Use anti-blue light skincare products: There are now skincare products available that claim to protect our skin from the harmful effects of blue light. Look for ingredients like antioxidants and niacinamide, known to neutralize free radicals and repair skin damage.

Take breaks from screens: Give your eyes and skin a break by taking regular screen-free breaks throughout the day. This can help reduce eye strain and give your skin a chance to recover from blue light exposure.

By implementing these tips, we can protect our skin from the potential harm of blue light. Remember, prevention is always better than cure, so it's important to be proactive in taking care of our skin in this digital age. So next time you're scrolling through your phone or binge-watching your favorite show, remember to take some precautions to protect yourself from the damaging effects of blue light. Your skin will thank you! Keep in mind that while these tips can help reduce exposure and potential damage, blue light is still necessary for our overall health. So make sure to strike a balance and enjoy your screen time in moderation. Let's all work towards healthy and glowing skin, while staying connected to the digital world.

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TCA Peel or Jessner Peel - What's the difference?

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TCA Peel or Jessner Peel - What's the difference?

When it comes to chemical peels, two of the most popular options are Jessner Peel and TCA Peel. Both offer excellent results for improving skin tone and texture while reducing signs of aging, but they differ in their composition and downtime requirements.

The Jessner Peel is a combination of 14% lactic acid, 14% salicylic acid, and 14% resorcinol in an ethanol base. This peel penetrates deep into the epidermis to effectively remove dead skin cells while stimulating collagen production. It also helps reduce acne breakouts by unclogging pores and controlling excess oil production. The main downside is that it can cause discomfort during the application process due to its strong ingredients. Mild stinging will last 1-2 mins only upon application. A hand fan is provided for patient comfort.

On the other hand, the TCA Peel is a trichloroacetic acid solution that also penetrates deep into the epidermis. It helps reduce wrinkles, even out skin tone and texture, and improve pigmentation by removing dead skin cells and stimulating collagen production. However, it doesn’t have the same ability to unclog pores or control oil production like the Jessner Peel does.

In terms of downtime requirements, both peels have similar periods of recovery time with some redness and irritation lasting up to one week. After this period of initial healing has passed, you should be able to return to your regular activities. However, for optimal results, you may need multiple treatments spaced apart over several months with each treatment having it’s own recovery period.

The Jessner Peel is a combination of salicylic acid, lactic acid, and resorcinol. The solution removes the top layer of skin cells in order to unclog pores and reduce oil production while also exfoliating away dead skin cells and improving texture. The downtime for this peel usually consists of mild redness, irritation, flaking/peeling that lasts up to one week. Our TCA Peel is a milder treatment than the Jessner Peel which uses trichloroacetic acid (TCA) in concentrations ranging from 15-20%. It can be used to improve fine lines, wrinkles, sun damage, melasma, acne scars, and blemishes. It is often used to give skin a smoother, brighter appearance. The downtime for this peel consist of 2-3 days of redness and flaking of the skin. In some cases, swelling may also occur but usually only lasts 1-2 days. After the peeling process is complete, you should be able to return to your normal activities with minimal discomfort or disruption.

Both Jessner Peel and TCA Peel are effective in improving various skin conditions such as acne, hyperpigmentation, sun damage and wrinkles; however, it’s important to note that each treatment has its own set of benefits and drawbacks. Depending on your individual needs and desired result please schedule an appointment today to discuss which treatment is best for you!

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Dermatologists Swear by TCA Peels—Here's What You Need to Know

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Dermatologists Swear by TCA Peels—Here's What You Need to Know

The term “chemical peel” evokes various emotions and facial expressions from my patients. For some, the term brings back memories of glowing, freshly exfoliated, hydrated skin. For others, the term conjures a previous bad experience or dramatic images they’ve previously seen on the internet and the thought “not for me.” In this article, we’ll demystify TCA chemical peels. I’ll explain what they are, who they're best for, what it feels like to undergo one, and the potential benefits.

What Is a Chemical Peel?

A chemical peel is a procedure that chemically exfoliates the skin. Chemical peels range in depth from superficial, medium, and deep chemical peels. Superficial chemical peels exfoliate only the top layer of skin, while medium and deep chemical peels exfoliate into the upper and mid dermis, respectively.

Superficial chemical peels are effective for texture irregularity and evening of the skin tone, while medium to deep chemical peels are effective for skin tightening and diminishing fine lines and wrinkles.

In general, the time to heal and potentially adverse reactions increase with the depth of the chemical peel. For this reason, medium and deep chemical peels are typically avoided in darker skin tones, due to increased risk of scarring and hyperpigmentation.

What Is a TCA Chemical Peel?

TCA stands for trichloroacetic acid.

The term TCA chemical peel is somewhat vague because TCA peels can vary from very light to deep chemical peels, depending on the concentration of TCA and whether it is combined with another type of chemical peel. For reference, 10%–30% TCA provides a superficial peel, while 30%–40% TCA provides a medium-depth chemical peel, and 50% or above TCA provides a deep chemical peel.

Benefits of a TCA Chemical Peel

The benefits of the TCA peel will depend on the depth of the chemical peel. Superficial TCA chemical peels provide improvement in skin texture, a decreased number of whiteheads and blackheads, and evening of skin tone. Medium-depth TCA chemical peels provide improvement in fine lines and wrinkles.

TCA is not the best agent for deep chemical peels, as it can become somewhat unpredictable, but deep TCA peels would provide improvement in wrinkles and skin tightening.

How to Prepare for a TCA Chemical Peel

It is, of course, important to follow the specific directions given to you by the person who is to perform your chemical peel. I would caution against having medium-depth chemical peels performed outside a dermatologist office. Deep chemical peels should be performed only by a board-certified dermatologist or a plastic surgeon.

It is important to review your calendar before scheduling a chemical peel. Skin will typically peel for 4–10 days with a chemical peel. Check your calendar and make sure you don’t have any important events or dates within your peeling window. Although you can wear makeup during your recovery, peeling skin is sometimes difficult to hide.

It is also important to avoid sun exposure as the skin is healing. So don’t plan to get a peel right before vacation. It’s also advisable not to have a fresh tan on the day of your procedure.

Your aesthetician or physician will likely want you to hold your nightly retinol or retinoid a week before your treatment, but this should be confirmed. For superficial peels, it is sometimes useful to prime the skin with retinol or a retinoid before.

If you have a history of cold sores, your physician will prescribe you a prophylactic medication to minimize the changes of an outbreak for medium-depth chemical peels.

What to Expect During a TCA Chemical Peel

The actual treatment process is fairly quick. It’s best to show up to your appointment without makeup. If you are coming from work and tend to wear heavy makeup, it’s a good idea to bring your favorite effective makeup remover so that you can remove your makeup yourself.

As the first step, they will degrease your face with acetone, which smells a lot like nail polish remover. This feels a little cold and weird, but it’s an essential step, because it allows the peel solution to interface with your skin effectively.

In the next step, the actual peel will be applied to the face with either a cotton tip applicator or a gauze pad. This is usually accompanied by tingling and warmth in the treated areas. Often, one area may respond more vigorously than another. A fan is typically enough to mitigate discomfort in a superficial peel.

The number of layers applied will depend on the desired depth of the chemical peel and your skin’s reaction. The person applying your peel will watch carefully for the desired end point.

Once the desired end point is reached, usually within 3-5 minutes, the skin is cooled with cold water. A thin balm is applied to protect the skin, and the procedure is over.

Aftercare

Aftercare will be explained in detail after your procedure, but in general it’s important to keep it simple and gentle. You’ll cleanse your skin with a gentle cleanser, and moisturize with a bland ointment or moisturizer. It's important to also practice diligent sun protection.

Depending on the depth of the peel, the skin will likely peel between four to 10 days. It’s important not to attempt to speed up the peeling process by picking at the skin, as this can increase chances of infection, poor healing, and dark spots. Regular skincare can be resumed once the skin has been fully repaired from the chemical peel and feels back to normal (normal but better).

TCA Chemical Peels vs. Other Chemical Peels

TCA peels are the most versatile chemical peels of all chemical peels. From a professional standpoint, that makes it a great tool, because it can be used at various concentrations and application techniques to treat almost any condition. However, from a patient perspective, the only thing that matters is if it is the right procedure for you. In general, the most important step in selecting a chemical peel is choosing a provider who knows what they’re doing. My colleagues and I all have different go-tos for treatment of similar conditions.