If there’s one thing Florida is known for, it’s beautiful, warm weather. With well over 200 sunny days every year, Florida isn’t called the Sunshine State for nothing.
Still, as great as those warm rays feel on your skin, it’s important to remember that the ultraviolet (UV) energy contained in those rays can be very damaging to your skin and its structure. In fact, sun exposure is the No. 1 cause of skin aging, playing a major role in skin laxity, wrinkles, and changes in pigmentation that tend to become more visible with age.
Rodrigo Belalcazar, MD, and his team understand how important it is to feel and look your best. At Advanced Eye Center in Hialeah, Florida, he and his team use state-of-the-art Plexr® technology to treat dark spots, smoothing out skin tone so patients can feel more confident about their complexion.
If you’re bothered by dark skin spots, here’s what you should know about why they form and how we can help them go away.
Skin gets its color from a pigment called melanin, which is produced in special cells called melanocytes. For the most part, these cells produce a roughly “equal” amount of melanin to achieve a consistent tone across our skin.
Melanin acts to protect our skin from the sun. When melanocytes are exposed to more sunlight, they ramp up production of melanin to help prevent sun damage. A suntan is the simplest example of how melanocytes respond to sun exposure. As we get older, all those years of sun exposure add up, and sometimes, dark spots form where melanin “clumps together” under the skin.
Also called liver spots or age spots, dark spots are more common among people with lighter skin and among those who’ve had a lot of sun exposure during their lives. They also tend to appear more frequently in areas that are routinely exposed to the sun, such as:
While age spots are harmless, they can make you look older, and they can take a toll on your confidence as a result.
Plexr uses plasma energy to create tiny areas of “controlled damage” beneath the skin’s uppermost layers. These areas trigger natural healing responses, replacing damaged darkly pigmented skin cells with new, healthy cells.
Dr. Belalcazar passes the Plexr device over your skin. The device emits measured “doses” of plasma energy with high precision for quick, effective fading of even the most stubborn age spots. Most treatments take under an hour, depending on the number of areas you’re having treated.
Afterward, there’s no downtime. You can go right back to your regular activities. However, your skin will be a little red in the treatment area, and you might have some mild swelling and tenderness. If you have any discomfort, you can apply ice to the area if you like.
As your skin heals, you can expect some crusting or scabbing before the damaged layers of skin eventually slough off. Using sunscreen is important to support normal healing, too. One treatment can yield very good results, but depending on the depth of your skin damage, you might need a series of treatments to achieve the outcome you’re looking for.
One important note of caution: Not all dark skin spots are age spots. Some spots can be caused by skin cancer. If you notice a new dark spot on your skin or you have a spot that changes its shape, color, or size, it’s important to have it medically evaluated right away to make sure it’s not cancer.
You can’t “undo” your years of sun exposure, but with Plexr, you can fight the effects of premature “sun aging,” enjoying clearer, smoother, more youthful-looking skin. To learn more about Plexr for age spots and other skin-aging issues, call 305-874-0115 or book an appointment online with Advanced Eye Center today.
