What we treat / Sun damage and uneven tone
Sun Damage and Uneven Tone
Brown patches, broken vessels and uneven tone are problems in the skin itself, not in the muscle or the volume beneath it. Botox and filler do nothing for them. What works is light based treatment to break up the pigment and close down the vessels, and resurfacing where the surface texture has gone too. It is a course rather than a single appointment, and the result builds as the skin turns over.
Why it happens
Ultraviolet light drives the cells that make pigment to overproduce it, and they do not do so evenly. The result is patches rather than a tan. The same exposure damages the small vessels near the surface, which is where persistent redness and visible threads of vessel come from.
Most of this is accumulated rather than recent. It is common to see a decade of sun appear over a couple of years, and it is also why the treated skin needs protecting afterward or the same patches return.
How Dr. Mauer treats it
The main treatment
Laser & Skin Resurfacing
Light based treatment targets pigment and vessels directly, and resurfacing treats the surface where texture has gone with the tone. Your skin is assessed first, because the right device depends on your skin type and on the time of year.
Read about laser and skin treatmentsFor tone and texture together
Microneedling
Where the problem is dullness and uneven tone rather than defined patches, microneedling prompts the skin to renew without removing anything. It is often the better choice for skin that pigments easily.
Read about microneedlingWhat to expect
- Appointment
- Depends on the device and the area
- Course
- Usually several sessions, spaced weeks apart
- Discomfort
- Varies by device, and numbing is used where it is needed
- Downtime
- None to several days, depending on depth
- Visible
- Builds with each session as the skin turns over
- Afterward
- Sun protection is part of the treatment, not advice
Questions about sun damage and uneven tone
Why will Botox or filler not help this?+
Because they work on muscle and volume, and this is a problem in the skin. It is the most common mismatch between what people book and what they actually need, and Dr. Mauer will tell you when the thing you asked for is the wrong tool.
Does it matter what time of year I start?+
Yes. Light based treatment and recently tanned skin do not mix, and the skin needs protecting afterward. Fall and winter are the straightforward months, which is a genuine reason to book a consultation before the season rather than during it.
Is it safe on darker skin?+
It depends on the device and on your skin type, and the assessment exists precisely to answer that. Some devices are not appropriate for some skin types, and being told so is a better outcome than being treated anyway.
Will the patches come back?+
They can, if the skin goes back out into the same sun unprotected. Treating pigment without changing what caused it is a temporary result, and that is worth knowing before you spend on a course.
