Sun damage to the skin

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prevent or reduce yes. Reverse? No you have to heal, there are products that may reduce the pain but not reverse. Aloe has a reputation, i personally use aspirin ( orally).
 
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Tip from my modelesque wife:
See a dermatologist for a prescription retinoid. The over the counter retinoids aren't as good.
 
You talking about something to reverse long term damage meaning sunspots, moles and cancer?

Or something to help reduce pain and peeling from a sunburn?

Nothing to do about long term damage other than use sunscreen or stay out of the sun.

After getting zapped and burnt I like to use the ocean potion brand of after sun aloe lotion from Walmart, they also have one that is a gel and has lidocaine in it
 
As a kid, I used to get a lot of sun during the summer..including numerous peeling burns. Now at age 68, I have had three skin cancers on my chest and numerous skin tags. Best to practice prevention.. Wish I had known that back in the day.
 
If your are talking about sun damaged skin then see a dermatologist. I was given a cream that I put on my scalp daily for a month. It was to get rid of any sun damaged skin cells. You look pretty bad at the end of the month, but then it heals and things are much better. Then you should have yearly visits to the dermatologist for skin exams.
 
Maybe you can give this skin care line a try.

http://andalou.com/

I have sensitive skin on my face, and for a few years was dealing with redness and irritation. I tried several different natural brands which was for "sensitive" skin which would irritate it when I washed my face.
I then tried Andalou Age Defying cleansing cream, and the difference was amazing. Not only did it not irritate my skin, but it calmed it down so it didn't feel raw anymore and it started to heal.

Based on my own results, its some really good stuff. It helped my skin heal and regenerate in a way I didn't think was possible.
 
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Some sun is good or else you don't get the necessary vitamin D you should through the cholesterol to D3 conversion in your skin/kidney. Food doesn't cut it. The natural process is 3X more effective than food or supplements.

Avoiding the sun is not the cure imo. What you do need is the proper balance of UVA and UVB rays to produce optimum Vit D3. That only occurs when the sun is at the higher azimuth during the day (ie 11 am to 3 pm on peak summer days, and preferably 12-2 pm). If you follow the dermatologists who recommend sun avoidance from 10-2, then you likely get fairly little UVB, and a whole lot of UVA. The UVA only contributes to burning/tanning...not Vit D3. I live in Connecticut so from mid-Sept to late March, the sun is not high enough in the sky for UVB rays to penetrate the ozone layer/clouds/smog and whatever else is normally in the way. 80% of the UVA always comes through year round.

The gist of the above is that optimum UVB/Vit D is possibly/likely(?) protective of avoiding skin cancers. No UVB and you probably raise your risk of many forms of cancers, including skin cancers.

I don't know of anything effective to reduce the skin damage once you've burned. I got those peeling burns several times back in the 1960's. These days I get some sun, but never more than 45-60 min at a time before I put on protection. I also do whatever I can to consume lots of anti-oxidants to cart away the precursers to skin cancers/other cancers. The USA recommended levels of vit D3 at 30+ ng/ml are more geared toward minimal health...not optimum health.
 
Thanks alot all for your opinions!

I havent really been burnt in a while, so it is not that. I am concerned with the years of accumulated sun on my forearms. We just kind of always went around, played, worked, walked around, went out and stuff with short sleeves in the summer time. Now I have discovered "cool" shirts and can be more comfortable in a sleeve than a regular tshirt.

I think I was born into skin cancer. We do freckle a bit. At a young age I had, i think, two moles removed. In my family, some of us tan easily, but I have an older family member whose back is ate up with terrible looking moles and such. I assume it is from working in the fields back in the day without a shirt and hunched over.



Also, I am beginning to think it is getting worse with all the petroleum and coal we are burning as 69GTX may have pointed out.




A different train of thought. We may think we are just not 'figuring' out problems, but it may be possible we are creating the problems that now have to be cured.






Back to skin, Ive thought about using Vitamin E oil from the pharmacy.
 
Originally Posted By: cat843
Then you should have yearly visits to the dermatologist for skin exams.


Having grown up under the hole in the Ozone layer, I see a dermatologist once a year for a complete head to toe go-over. Every two or so years she schedules some suspects to be cut out, and I get a few lN2 zaps every year. I'm 41 now and we never had sunscreen until I was about 10. We grew up on the beach and in the water, so I expect by 60 my skin will be like leather.

I know of people who have died from melanoma in areas that never see the sun, so it's always wise to get an expert opinion on a regular basis.
 
Considering that a large % of melanomas occur in body areas that don't see the sun, it makes you wonder if the sun is really the primary cause. Same thought for heart disease and cholesterol. Half of heart disease occurs in those with normal chol. You wonder if the medical community consistently chases the wrong bogey man.
 
@69GTX, you have a point. I think they do not say it causes it but it contributes to the risk factors.

The biggest contributor to skin cancer, in my opinion, has been the sunscreen. For decades it prevented UVB and sunburn while it allowed UVA and cancers. With extended times in the sun, the risk factors from UVA would increase dramatically.

The new ones protect from UVA as well so I guess there is hope to see reduction in skin cancers in the future.
 
One of my workmates' daughters developed a nasty melanoma at age 14, in a place where the sun had never ever shone, prompting me to do some research, and the "sun smart" message is missing the mark entirely.

Best way to avoid a recurrence of melanoma is to have adequate Vit D levels...which is pretty ironic.

My kids eat huge amounts of raw foods with antioxidants, and get no sunburn, unlike us as kids who had an occasional apple, banana or orange, and frozen veges....it makes a difference.

Have a couple spots I've removed with petispurge, and a couple that I've removed with black salve.
 
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