Winter Skin Care and Treatment for Sun Damage

Winter is tough on skin in the desert.  Our dry climate coupled with the cold make my skin feel rough and parched.  It seems that unless I put Vaseline on my face (which I would never do!), it feels impossible to keep my skin moisturized.  After having a little conversation with the medical staff at Vitality Skin & Body medical spa, I came away with some new education and some practical solutions.  Some of them I am sure you are already aware of, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

​The first, of course, is drinking lots of water, at least eight ounces.  The second is to not bathe or wash your face with hot water, instead use warm water as the heat also causes some drying.  The third, which was really interesting to me, was that when you are putting on skin care products, start with the clearest, lightest color product first, and then layer after that towards the heaviest, thickest, darkest in color product.  This is because of ease of absorption, and made good sense to me.  Also, you will need to do a re-application of your moisturizer and sunscreen midway through the day in cold weather, and the same is true in really hot weather. Plus, I used to think that unless I was going to be outside for any extended period of time, I didn't need sunscreen, but apparently that is not the case, as even driving your car allows for sun exposure, so don't leave home without applying your sunscreen as the bottom coat of your facial products prior to makeup.
Sunscreen is a big deal to me now, because I have numerous dark spots from sun exposure on my face and hands.  Additionally, my husband just had skin cancer removed from his face, so I am taking this really seriously.   I have had five rounds of photofacial treatments at Vitality Skin & Body in Scottsdale, AZ and while there is some improvement, I still need a few more treatments!  I am told by one of the RN's there that dark spots from the sun can be quite deep and the pigment is really difficult to completely remove, so be sure to guard against it.

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I do recommend the photofacial treatment to remove the dark pigmentation, and my dark spots are much improved.  I also recommend protecting yourself so that you don't get them in the first place!  I also recommend a high quality facial with deep moisturizing to give your skin a jumpstart, and you might consider talking with the staff about their professional grade skin care product lines which I use and have found more effective than my over the counter skin care products.  
I hope this information that I was given by the medical staff at Vitality Skin & Body is helpful to you, and I also hope you will let them assist you the way they have assisted me - with high quality skin care at a professional medical spa.  I know my face is in great hands!

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