Serendipity Skin

So, as you’ve gotten older, you notice more and more brown spots popping up all over your body. Chances are, if you are reading this. you don’t like the brown spots.

Almost all unwanted pigment that you will experience over your lifetime is some sort of UV damage. Most UV damage is created before we are even 20 years old, but because our skin is so supple and healthy in our younger years, the damage is literally hidden. As our skin becomes thinner, weaker, loses its fullness and health, the pigment starts to creep to the surface where we start to notice it.

Different skin types and tones will show different variations on sun damage. Sun damage is not one size fits all. It is important to know this because not all sun damage can effectively be treated the same.

Sun damage can most of the time be lifted and lightened with the proper treatments and products. And, with education, you can prevent future damage from occurring.

My advice to anyone looking to get rid of those nasty brown spots, is to talk to someone who understands skin and can educate you on how to assist in the process. Educate your kids, lather them with SPF, and invest in good skin care and SPF for yourself. It’s not too late!

Stephanie Betts has been a licensed aesthetician, practicing medical aesthetics since 2001. She also has extensive training and experience with all skin tones and types. For a complimentary consultation to learn which treatment plan would be best for you and your skins needs call or text Stephanie at Serendipity Skin 480.33.8619.

When it comes to choosing SPF, there are 3 things I tell my clients to look for.

1. At least an SPF 30. It does not necessarily mean the higher the number, the more protection. SPF should be reapplied regularly when you are in the sun, regardless of the number. Anything higher than an SPF is for the most part doing what a 30 does.
2. UVA and UVB protection. An effective SPF will say “broad spectrum” or “UVA/UVB” on the label. The sun produces many many types of rays and you want to protect against the harm of them. UVA ages your skin, and UVB burns your skin. Block against both!
3. Active ingredients being Zinc Oxide or Titanium Dioxide. These active ingredients literally sit on the surface of the skin, causing the rays to bounce right off them. Consider these two ingredients shields that sit on your skin and don’t let the harmful rays through.

Anything other than these 3 key points when selecting your SPF are really just things like… does it smell good? Is it waterproof? Is it hydrating?

Some of my personal favorites are made by Image Skincare. They all cover the 3 key points I look for, they actually work, I never burn, and best of all they are hydrating and don’t clog my pores. You can pick an Image SPF up at Serendipity Skin or call 480-332-8619 for more info.

Stephanie Betts has been a licensed aesthetician, practicing medical aesthetics since 2001. She also has extensive training and experience with all skin tones and types. For a complimentary consultation to learn which treatment plan would be best for you and your skins needs call or text Stephanie at Serendipity Skin 480.33.8619.

My short answer is, they are both great treatments! I will explain the similarities and the differences in either of these treatments, and let you choose for yourself.

Microdermabrasion and Dermaplaning or both mechanical exfoliation treatments. Meaning, they use some kind of moving part to exfoliate (remove) your dead skin cells.

Microdermabrasion removes the dead cells with a small wand vacuum. The vacuum uses suction to suck the top dead layer of cells of off your skin. The tip of the wand may be a bit textured to rough up the dead cells making it easier for the vacuum to remove them. What is left behind is a beautifully polished surface.

Chemical peels come in a variety of ranges. There are light and superficial peels, which typically lead to mild to zero skin flaking, and there are medical, very deep peels which will have your skin peeling off in sheets. And then, there is everything in between.

The depth of the peel refers to how deep into your skin it will be traveling. The deeper some chemical travels into your skin, typically, the more actual peeling you will be doing. And vice versa, the more superficial the chemical travels into your skin, the less you will actually experience skin peeling.

It is definitely safe to peel dark skin tones. However, dark skin has to be treated with a few more precautions when undergoing a chemical peel treatment.

Because dark skin has more melanin in it (color cells) you want to be sure to suppress those color cells in preparation for you peel so that they do not get triggered when you do your peel, causing your skin to become darker (hyperpigmentation)

A great pretreatment for suppressing melanin is Hydroquinone. Your skin care therapist can discuss with you how and when to use Hydroquinone in preparation for your peel.