What is photoaging?
Photoaging is the aging effect that light damage has on skin. Light damage to skin cells can cause:
- Hyperpigmentation
- Deeper lines and wrinkles
- Dehydrated skin
- Eye bags and circles
- Sunburn, irritation, and redness
Each of these makes skin appear older than it is. To make skin look youthful and vibrant, photoaging needs to be prevented and treated.
What are the causes of photoaging?
Some types of light, such as UV, are more harmful to skin than others. These types of light have higher energy, penetrating into the skin and splitting molecules to form free radicals, which are highly reactive species that cause damage to cells, making skin look older.
Photoaging is not just caused by UVA and UVB, which are thought of as the usual culprits. An increasing body of research has shown that high-energy visible (HEV) light, or blue light, is another major contributor to photoaging. HEV light is commonly emitted by digital screens, such as phones and laptops, in addition to the sun.
With greater time spent outdoors, patients are more susceptible to all these sources of photoaging during the summer months especially.
How can photoaging be prevented and treated?
While sunscreen protects against UVA and UVB, SPF is really just a start to healthy, youthful skin. To really look and feel more youthful, patients need to go above and beyond sunscreen to protect against and reverse the photoaging effects of damaging UVA, UVB, and HEV light.
We highly recommend three ingredients to help your patients prevent and reverse photoaging for younger-looking, brighter skin: vitamin C, Chromabright®, and winter cherry.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is an antioxidant and skin nutrient. Antioxidants like vitamin C scavenge free radicals; meaning, they neutralize and remove free radicals before any damage is caused. In fact, vitamin C has been shown to have protective properties against harmful UV light.
As a nutrient, vitamin C helps skin cells stay healthy, and in particular, it can help them regulate pigment levels. It’s one of the best ingredients to brighten skin, preventing and reversing hyperpigmentation. Vitamin C helps keep cells healthy for youthful radiance.
We recommend these vitamin C-containing products for the summer: C-Stem®, Vita C Peptide Spray, and Vita C 20.
Chromabright®
Chromabright® is a cutting-edge fade ingredient that corrects and evens skin tone. It’s a strong brightener, fading dark spots and brightening dull and discolored skin for a healthy-looking glow.
Chromabright® increases skin luminosity and greatly reduces hyperpigmentation by evening the skin tone. It has also been shown to protect against UVA and UVB light, and it’s a great complement to sunscreen for preventing and reversing photoaging.
We recommend these Chromabright®-containing products for summer use: Ultra Benefits®, Ultra Benefits® Eye Gel, and Lip Benefits.
Winter Cherry
Like vitamin C, winter cherry is an antioxidant that scavenges free radicals, protecting against harmful light. It is particularly effective protection against HEV light. Winter cherry revitalizes and rejuvenates skin, and it helps cells regulate pigment and repair mechanisms, reducing hyperpigmentation.
Winter cherry is one of the best active ingredients to prevent photoaging in part because of how deeply it is absorbed into skin. It prevents and reverses damage from harmful light from the surface all the way down to the dermis cell layers for thoroughly healthy, protected skin.
Recommend these winter cherry-containing products to your patients this summer: HA+ Firming Boost, Ultra Replenishing Sunscreen SPF 40, and Restorative Body Conditioner.
Offer these products to prevent and reverse photoaging
Sunscreen is a good start, but to help patients look and feel more youthful this summer, help them prevent and reverse photoaging with these dermatologist-formulated medical grade products. Browse all our anti-aging products here.
