by Mary Ann Aanested, R.N.

Are you spending more time on the court for practice, tournaments, and private lessons?  This is the time of year many of us spend more time outside.  Lack of humidity, and cooler weather makes play time much more enjoyable.  But because the sun does not feel as warm, we sometimes get complacent with sunscreen, and can accrue more damage to our skin than those long, hot days of summer!  Dry flaky skin, fine lines, and brown spots are a direct result from overexposure to the sun.  There are corrective solutions available but for now, let’s look at prevention.

As the largest organ in the body, skin is the first defense against disease and infection, so it is imperative to keep it healthy.  November is National Healthy Skin Month and it is a good time to remember that people must protect their skin daily and year- round.  The best way to do this is to use a sunscreen with high UVA and UVB protection.  Skin Cancer, including deadly melanoma is on the rise in younger and younger patients.  It is currently the most prevalent of all types of cancers.  More than 1 million new cases will be diagnosed in the United States this year alone, and more than 80% of these new cases could be prevented by protection from the sun’s rays

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Another component of prevention is topical antioxidants.  When used on the surface of the skin, antioxidants aid in prevention of brown spots, wrinkles and changes to the cell, which can result in cancers.  Anti oxidants terminate the oxidation chain reaction before cells are badly damaged.  There are many touted as the best but the most important are topical vitamins A and C.

Vitamin A- known as retinoids, promotes normal proliferation of cells.  The sun depletes the skin of vitamin A, and this is one of the reasons those who expose their skin often to the sun age faster.  Vitamin A is the single most important ingredient to prevent, restore, normalize and help repair damaged skin.  Familiar forms are retinyl palmitate, retinol and prescription form retinoic acid (Retin-A).

Vitamin C-protects the lipid structure of cells, reactivates Vitamin E (which protects collagen from destruction) and prevents hyper pigmentation.

Why not follow the lead of tennis champs Lindsay Davenport and Tracy Austin?  They have teamed up on a national skin health awareness initiative and are speaking at leading tennis tournaments across the country to share their winning strategies for tennis as well as looking and feeling their best.  They have both admitted to using Juviderm for filling wrinkles and Retinol for home use.  Spend time correcting your form but don’t forget your skin!

Still Waters Medical Spa offers free skin care consultations, and we can direct you to the treatment or product that suits your skin and lifestyle.  We offer facials, microdermabrasion, peels, Intense Pulsed Light, Botox, and injectable fillers. We also offer several lines of intensive products including Obagi, Cosmedix, and our private brand.  Call 432-6772 for an appointment today!

Still Waters Day & Medical Spa