McKeown Medical
167 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4SQ
How Can I Fix Sun-Damaged Skin?
Published by Dr Darren McKeown
Date posted — 8.04.25
Sun exposure is an unavoidable part of daily life – and that’s not a bad thing. When the sun is out, we feel better and brighter about ourselves, so it’s no wonder lots of us crave the sun. But over time, the sun can take a significant toll on the skin. Sun damage, also known as photoaging, can cause premature wrinkles, pigmentation issues, and loss of skin elasticity. Many individuals who have spent years in the sun or using sunbeds may notice their skin appearing older than it should. The good news, however, is that we now have many options to treat sun damage, and our clinic has invested in some of the most sophisticated lasers in the world to do just that.
At McKeown Medical, we specialise in cutting-edge treatments to restore skin health and achieve natural-looking, rejuvenated results. If you’re concerned about sun-damaged skin, this guide will walk you through the signs of damage, risk factors, and the most effective treatments available.
What Does Sun Damage Look Like?
Sun damage can present in various ways, depending on the level of exposure and individual skin type.
Common signs include:
- Wrinkles and fine lines – Premature ageing due to the breakdown of collagen and elastin.
- Uneven pigmentation – Sunspots, freckles, and hyperpigmentation from excessive UV exposure.
- Redness and blotchiness – Often caused by broken capillaries or persistent inflammation.
- Loss of skin elasticity – UV rays degrade collagen, leading to sagging skin.
- Elastosis – where the UV rays cause the skin to produce an abnormal build-up of elastin fibres, resulting in a bumpy appearance
A key distinction is photoaging versus chronological ageing. While natural ageing occurs over time, photoaging is caused specifically by sun exposure and often leads to more pronounced wrinkles, pigmentation, and skin roughness—especially in areas most exposed to the sun, such as the face, neck, and hands. Learn more about the effects of sun damage here.
What Causes Sun Damage?
The main culprit behind sun damage is ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or artificial sources like sun beds. UV rays penetrate the skin and cause:
- DNA damage – Leading to mutations that accelerate ageing.
- Collagen breakdown – Weakening skin structure and resilience.
- Oxidative stress – Promoting inflammation and uneven skin tone.
Can sun damage be reversed?
Most sun damage can be corrected using laser treatments, although it depends on the severity of the damage. Whilst mild sun damage can be reversed by relatively gentle treatments, more severe damage will require more invasive options to get rid of it.
Who Is at Risk?
Anyone exposed to excessive UV radiation is at risk of developing sun damage, but some factors increase susceptibility:
- Fair skin tones – If you have light white skin, especially if you are fair or have red hair, your skin will be especially susceptible to the effects of sun damage.
- Outdoor occupations – If you work outdoors, prolonged exposure to the sun in everyday life increases risk.
- Sunbed users – Artificial UV exposure from sun beds dramatically accelerates the damage.
- Individuals who don’t use SPF regularly – Lack of sun protection speeds up photoaging.
Long-term sun exposure can also lead to more serious complications, such as actinic keratosis (pre-cancerous lesions) and an increased risk of skin cancer. This makes it essential to seek professional advice for skin concerns, especially if you notice any new spots or lesions appearing.
Treatment Options for Sun-Damaged Skin
At McKeown Medical, we offer advanced treatments tailored to individual skin concerns. Here’s how we can help restore your skin’s health and radiance:
BBL (BroadBand Light) Treatment
Best for: Pigmentation, redness, pores and overall skin tone.
BBL uses intense pulsed light (IPL) to target pigmentation and redness, stimulating collagen production and improving overall skin texture. This is an excellent choice for those looking to correct uneven skin tone without significant downtime. It’s an excellent tool for patients with mild sun damage or in combination with other treatments for more advanced sun damage. Learn more about BBL treatment here.
Halo Laser Treatment
Best for: Deeper pigmentation, fine lines, and sunspots.
Halo laser treatment combines ablative and non-ablative wavelengths to target skin damage at multiple depths. This results in a smoother complexion, reduced pigmentation, and improved collagen levels. You can expect 5 days of downtime after this treatment, during which you can expect your face to be red and puffy. Halo laser is particularly effective for individuals with more moderate to severe sun damage or patients with severe sun damage who do not want to commit to a more invasive option. Click here to find out more about this treatment.
Full Laser Resurfacing
Best for: Severe sun damage, wrinkles, and deep-set pigmentation.
For those with advanced signs of photoaging, especially with deep wrinkles and elastosis, full laser resurfacing offers dramatic skin rejuvenation. This treatment removes damaged outer layers of skin, promoting the growth of fresh, healthy tissue. While downtime is longer than other options – you will need two weeks off work – the results are transformative. Learn about full laser resurfacing here.
Sun damage may be inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be permanent. With the right treatment plan, you can restore a younger, healthier complexion. At McKeown Medical, we pride ourselves on delivering natural results that enhance your confidence.
Want to see real patient transformations? Check out our gallery for examples of our results.
If you’re ready to take the next step in reversing sun damage, book a consultation with our experts today. We’ll help you choose the best treatment plan for your skin.
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Our reviews
What a lovely experience. I am delighted with my results. Much better than I expected. Dr McKeown is a genuine down to earth person and explained everything to me before my procedure. Thanks again. Would recommend this clinic to anyone looking for a cosmetic procedure. I intend to come back in a few months’ time for further treatment.
Rosemary Grant January 2024
I’m super excited to welcome Dr George Christopoulos to the dream team at McKeown Medical.
George is a plastic surgeon with a particular interest in body contouring: liposuction, tummy tucks, arm lifts and thigh lifts.
What I really love about George’s work is his approach to liposuction. It’s not about simply emptying out as much fat as possible. He approaches the body almost like a sculptor, thinking about shape, proportion, contours, highlights and shadows. It’s those details that can elevate a fairly standard liposuction result into something really special.
You can check out some of his work on his own page @gchristopoulos
I’ve also filmed a podcast with George where we get into all things body contouring — what makes a great liposuction result, loose skin, tummy tucks, lipoedema, technology and quite a lot more. I’ll be posting that over the next couple of days.
In the meantime, if you want to meet the man himself, George’s diary is now open for consultations at McKeown Medical.
What does filler look like? This!
So many people are terrified of fillers. When it’s done well, this is what it looks like. Everything looks softer. The bags under the eyes look less obvious. But nothing looks different.
The patient is delighted. What do you think?
IS THE QUANTUM LIFT A CUT-PRICE FACELIFT?
No, and here’s why.
A deep plane facelift goes deeper into the face, removing deep fat, muscle and salivary glands which is how you get those sharp neck contours. The Quantum Lift works more superficially, tightening skin and reshaping jowls in 90 minutes under local anaesthetic, but it can’t reach those deeper structures.
I believe in the Quantum Lift. I just won’t pretend it suits everyone.
Good aesthetic medicine means the right procedure for the right patient, not one treatment doing it all.
#QuantumLift #FaceliftAlternative #NonSurgicalFacelift #SkinTightening #AestheticMedicine MedicalAesthetics GlasgowAesthetics GlasgowClinic
Some more Quantum Lift magic!
This patient is just 24 hours after her Quantum lift with fat redistribution. As part of the procedure we sometimes take some of excess fat that’s been removed from the neck and jowls and replace it along the chin and jaw to create more definition.
Although she’s still bruised and swollen, I think we can all already see where this result is heading.
The patient is delighted! What do you think?
Here she is… the one we’ve all been waiting for!
Lorraine, our incredible Assistant Manager, was the very first patient to have The Quantum Lift.
She’s now approaching 12 weeks after her procedure - the point at which we really start to see the result mature - and she is absolutely over the moon with her new jawline.
It’s been especially exciting watching this result develop because Lorraine was patient number one and I think you’ll agree, she set the bar pretty high.
What do you think of her result?
This is not a facelift.
This patient is just one week after The Quantum Lift, immediately after having her tape removed - you can still see a little residual adhesive on her cheeks.
The Quantum Lift is our new minimally invasive approach to rejuvenating the lower face and neck. We first use precision liposuction to remove excess fat from beneath the chin and around the jowls, sculpting a cleaner jawline. We then use QuantumRF beneath the skin to contract and tighten the tissues of the lower face and neck.
What has impressed me most about QuantumRF is the degree of tissue contraction we can achieve. You can actually see the tissues tightening during the procedure itself, but that`s only the beginning. Most patients are through the main recovery within a week or two, while tightening and collagen remodelling continue for 3–6 months afterwards.
So, at only one week, this is still a very early result but she`s already delighted with the improvement.
No facelift. One week post-treatment. And plenty more improvement still to come.
What do you think?
Dr Rhona is back!
We’re delighted to share that Dr Rhona Cameron will be returning to clinic at the beginning of September following her maternity leave and her diary is now open for appointments!
We know many of you have been looking forward to seeing Rhona again, and we’re so pleased to welcome her back!
If you’d like to book an appointment with Dr Rhona, you can do so via our website or app, or contact the team on 0141 370 0509.
We’ve shown you lots of side profiles from the Quantum Lift, but what does it look like from the front?
This lovely patient is just four weeks after her procedure, and I think the front view really shows how much we can change while still keeping the face looking soft and natural.
As part of her Quantum Lift, we removed unwanted fat from beneath the chin and around the jowls. Rather than simply discarding that fat, we used some of it to restore volume to her chin and jawline, helping to replace some of the volume she had lost over time and bring back a little of the youthful softness to the lower face.
You’ll also notice a small amount of lumpiness beneath the chin. At four weeks, this is very common after liposuction in this area and is part of the healing process. She’s now using firmer massage to help soften this over the coming weeks, and we would expect the result to continue settling and refining.
Most importantly, she’s absolutely over the moon with the change, and we are too!
What do you think of the front view?
Once again, the combination treatment wins the day!
This patient came to us hating her neck and jowls, but she would not consider anything invasive. Treating the neck is always a challenge especially with non-invasive treatments only.
For this patient we first of all reduced the fat under the chin using CoolSculpting, then we did some hyaluronic acid under the mandible to define the jaw and finally we did some Sofwave to tighten the skin.
The patient is over the moon with her results. What do you think?
Join us on Instagram to keep up with the latest results and expert insights from the clinic team.
Our dedicated team of experts are on hand to help you as you navigate your journey with us.
When you first make contact with us you will be assigned your own personal Patient Relationship Manager. They’ll start by understanding your needs and liaising with our doctors to book you an appointment with the most suitable specialist. For any additional questions or needs, you can message or call them anytime and they’ll be delighted to assist you. Our entire team is dedicated to providing you with the best possible treatment and care tailored to your needs.
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