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Sun-Damaged Skin? PRP Can Help!

The sun provides a lot of positive things — vitamin D, warmth, and a beautiful view. However, too much of it can cause serious damage to your skin. That damage goes beyond a painful sunburn to long-lasting damage that ages your skin and creates problems like wrinkles and fine lines. Luckily, a treatment called platelet-rich plasma therapy can help.

At IVY InfusionsSasha Beatty, MSN, FNP-C and her team offer cutting-edge treatments to help you feel and look your best. PRP is one of the many therapies that Ms. Beatty offers to help restore your skin’s youthful glow.

Signs of skin damage from the sun

The sun contains powerful ultraviolet rays that we aren’t able to see with the human eye. However, these UV rays lead to changes in your skin’s DNA. The biggest threat UV light poses is cancer of your skin.

There’s also another aspect of your appearance that the sun’s UV rays affect — the age of your skin. UV rays prematurely cause signs of aging, such as:

Other signs of skin damage include a number of pigmentation changes on your skin. These changes include liver spots, age spots, and increased freckling on your skin.

The best way to prevent this type of damage in the sun is by using sunscreen with SPF. Sometimes, though, that isn’t enough to get rid of wrinkles and other problems caused by powerful UV rays.

Understanding PRP

Platelet-rich plasma, or PRP, is a type of regenerative medicine. This means that this treatment uses your own body’s cells to improve tissue regeneration and speed up your body’s recovery.

PRP uses platelets and plasma, which are both components of your blood. Plasma is the liquid component, and the platelets are the cells that are typically used for blood clotting when you’re cut or suffer an injury.

However, platelets also contain extremely powerful growth factors that help to repair and regenerate tissues when they’re injected into your body. This is basically how PRP works.

The team obtains a blood sample from your arm and then spins the tube of blood in a centrifuge. This machine helps to separate the other components of your blood from the platelets and plasma. 

This helps to concentrate the platelets, which means extremely high amounts of growth factors. The plasma and platelets are then put in a syringe and injected into your skin.

How can PRP reverse sun damage?

If you love the sun, but want younger looking skin, you’re out of luck, right? Actually, PRP is a great tool to improve your sun damaged complexion and your overall self-esteem.

Ms. Beatty and her team determine at your appointment if PRP can help reduce the signs of aging brought on by sun exposure. If you’re a good candidate, the team will draw your blood, spin it, and then inject the plasma and platelets into your skin.

Sometimes, Ms. Beatty uses PRF, which is similar to PRP but also contains fibrin. This allows the platelets to last longer while they restore your complexion.

Although the results aren’t instantaneous, they can last for up to 18 months with one PRP injection. It often takes a few weeks to months to see a reduction in wrinkles, fuller skin, and more elasticity. 

However, with PRF, the results could last longer, as the fibrin continues to allow the platelets to work on the cells in your skin. The entire procedure only takes about 45 minutes, and you can get right back to your normal activities.

While the platelets are working, it’s important to be mindful of your time in the sun. Make sure to wear sunscreen or makeup that contains SPF to protect your skin as it’s healing with PRP.

If you want to try PRP to give your skin a much-needed boost, call our office in Greenwich, Connecticut, at 203-397-6865, or book an appointment online today.

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