Now’s the Best Time of Year for
Professional Skincare Treatments

TAGS: SKIN DISCOLORATION, SKIN IS RED, SPF 50, MINERAL SUNSCREEN

Now’s the Best Time of Year for Professional Skincare Treatments

1. Chemical peels
2. Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)
3. Non-ablative lasers
4. Microneedling
5. Reminder: You still have to wear sunscreen

With the beginning of fall right around the corner, it's the perfect time to begin considering skin treatments. In addition to the leaves beginning to change and the kids going back to school, it’s a time for fresh starts.

Did you know this time of year is also ideal for professional skin treatments? Post-summer sun spots and skin discoloration are new to skin, and now is the perfect time to tend to them. And as social gatherings and leisure activities shift from the great outdoors to inside as temperatures drop, spending less time in the sun can help you achieve even better results with these skincare treatments.

It’s always imperative to stay out the sun if the skin is red or irritated, as exposure to UV rays while the skin is inflamed can increase the chance of developing a type of skin discoloration called post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH). The sun can also impede the skin’s healing process after a professional skin treatment and ultimately impact the final outcomes.

While injectable treatments like dermal fillers and neurotoxins are seasonless (and need to be performed year-round to maintain results), any clinical procedures that involve resurfacing or deeper exfoliation are best timed when it’s easier to avoid the sun. This also applies to treatments that are designed to improve skin discoloration, since sun exposure is bound to prompt the production of more pigment. In order to fully avoid that worry, Fall is a great time to invest in these skincare treatments!

If you’re thinking about using this time of year to your complexion’s advantage, here are four professional treatments to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, discoloration, and more while revealing fresh, radiant, youthful-looking skin. However, always keep in mind that the sun does not go away with the summer months—and you should still wear an SPF 50 mineral sunscreen daily whether you decide to try a professional skin treatment or not!

1. Chemical peels

SkinCeuticals offers a wide array of office-based chemical peel options to address the full spectrum of skin concerns. Chemical peels work to help a myriad of issues, including fines lines and wrinkles, skin discoloration, sun damage, excess oil, enlarged pores, acne blemishes, and acne scarring. Featuring trichloroacetic, resorcinol, glycolic, and salicylic acid peels that penetrate to light, medium, and deeper depths, your SkinCeuticals skincare professional can determine the best chemical peel approach based on your goals and willingness for downtime.

2. Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)

A non-invasive laser skin treatment that sends high-intensity light into the deeper layers of the skin to improve the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, skin redness, skin discoloration, sun damage, and more. Since most of us experience different skin concerns, Intense Pulsed Light can be customized to address each patient’s unique skin concerns. Also known as a “photofacial,” IPL skin treatment is generally performed as a series of three to five sessions and requires minimal downtime—although temporary post-procedure swelling and redness (similar to a sunburn) is possible.

3. Non-ablative lasers

Skin resurfacing helps stimulate cellular renewal and collagen production while improving visible signs of aging like fine lines, wrinkles, skin discoloration, sun damage, and rough texture as well as acne scarring. Non-ablative laser treatments send heat to the lower layers of the skin to promote the skin’s wound-healing response without disrupting the skin’s surface, however it’s common to experience mild redness, burning, and swelling for up to several days afterwards, depending on the intensity of the treatment.

4. Microneedling

Also known as “collagen induction therapy,” microneedling benefits are abundant: improving the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, skin texture, acne scars, and stretch marks by creating micro-wounds that trigger the skin’s natural healing response. Microneedling can carried out at varying depths as well as on delicate areas where chemical peels and laser treatments aren’t appropriate, such as around the eyes and mouth, the chest, and backs of the hands—and some skin treatments integrate energy such as radiofrequency as well. Depending on microneedling intensity, slight redness and swelling may persist for a day or more, and peeling can be expected as the skin heals.

5. Reminder: You still have to wear sunscreen

This may not be a surprise to anyone at this point, but SkinCeuticals still encourages sunscreen 365 days a year. Summer festivities may be on hold for now, but that doesn’t mean you can skip the daily mineral sunscreen. Skin is exposed to UV rays while walking to and from the car or even by sitting next to a window, and this intermittent sun exposure adds up—and can definitely have an impact on post-procedure healing and final treatment results. Opt for a SPF 50 mineral sunscreen—and we offer a variety of formulations for every preference and skin need.