Repair Your Skin - Reversing Sun Damage

News Reporter: You've likely spent a fair amount of time in the sun these past few months, even just a little sun exposure can damage your skin. There are several products and treatments that can help though. And here to show us is Dr. Sherry Ingraham with Advanced Dermatology. Good morning to you.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Good morning.

News Reporter: Thank you both for being here with us today. And you know what? Let's just talk about the sun. We all know and we get so sick of hearing make sure you put on the sunscreen, but when you don't what happens?

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: When you don't put on sunscreen your skin is getting assaulted essentially by the sun. Little breaks in the DNA are made because of ultraviolet light and over time they accumulate. Not only will you get brown spots, wrinkles and fine lines, but you get precancer and eventually skin cancer.

News Reporter: Okay, so what do we do once the damage is done?

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Once the damage is done, we want to do everything we can to prevent more. Use your sunscreen, but we also want to attempt to reverse it. And how do we do reverse it? Well, we want to use ingredients that are power packed. Retinols, vitamin A derivatives or retinols. We also want to use antioxidants. So antioxidants are like these healthy little vitamins that sop up the damage that we're getting, but also help to reverse some of the damage we've received. Help lighten brown spots, help with fine lines and wrinkles, and there's a lot of new exciting products on the market and new treatment options to reverse damage.

News Reporter: Okay, do they have to break the bank because I know people are really worried about their budget.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Not necessarily. So if you're looking for a powerhouse product, something that we carry in derm offices, I like MD Rejuvena. This is a new product that contains a copper chlorophyll and molecule, which is a really potent antioxidant as well as retinol.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: So you're getting kind of two for one and you want to put this on at night. If you're looking for something more budget conscious, something you can get at the drugstore. Look for retinol containing products, vitamin A, retinol products, Neutrogena and Roc make great products, as well as hyaluronic acid, which will plump the skin. And Neutrogena has some fabulous new hyaluronic acid containing products.

News Reporter: All right, and then there's also a device that you can use.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Now we have these new FDA approved home devices, and one of my favorite devices is this Treo and I'm going to have Jen show you how this Treo works. This is actually a diode laser. It's a home diode laser and what that laser does is it creates microthermal zones of injury in the skin, and then healthy new skin comes in, new collagen, new fibroblasts are stimulated and you can get some light tightening, firming and stimulation of collagen. But also what it allows is for your products to penetrate. So after a treatment what Jen would do is she would take a really potent antioxidant, something like this Skinceuticals product, and she would apply it over where she's treated with this home laser every day and that product is going to penetrate deeper into the skin because if we just apply products on our skin, a lot of times they sit on the skin.

News Reporter: Right. Now this seems so simple. You're just rubbing on your face. What does that feel like?

Jen: Smooth. Very nice.

News Reporter: Did it hurt when it was on there? Is it warm? What does it feel like?

Jen: A little tingle but you don't feel it.

News Reporter: I've covered a lot of stories about this and every laser I've ever seen you have to wear goggles. Is that something that you have to do if you do it home?

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: No. This Treo laser is designed to only fire when it's in specific areas. So if you keep it outside the orbital rim, which is what it's FDA approved for, it shouldn't be an issue.

News Reporter: -around the eye.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Right. Stay outside of this bony area here. That is what is designed for. You can actually also do it on your hands and arms as well if you have a lot of sun damage, but this is a great device for people who haven't gone in and don't want to spend the money or they're afraid to do a real in-office laser treatment.

News Reporter: And who is a perfect candidate? Is it just for fine wrinkles and not necessarily deep ones?

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: No, I think anyone is a candidate for this because you're going to stimulate new collagen. Now, it's not going to get rid of deep wrinkles, but it's going to help overall improve the texture of your skin, as well as help with any surface irregularities and pigmentation. And again, it's going to help your products penetrate deeper which is key.

News Reporter: And where do our viewers find something like that?

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: So something like this can actually be purchased in a dermatologist office. So some of these more, what I call elegant, kind of more, more potent products. You're going to get at a dermatologist's office, some of the other lighter retinols nonprescription, some of the lighter hyaluronic acid products you're going to get at a drugstore or at a grocery store.

News Reporter: Thanks for the information Dr. Ingraham. Thank you for being here. Jen, thanks for being such a good sport and showing us how it works.

Jen: My pleasure. Thank you.

News Reporter: Good to see you both.