McKeown Medical
167 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4SQ
Date posted — 13.08.24
Sun damage is, as the name suggests, changes to the skin due to long term exposure to the sun’s UV radiation.
And as the word ‘damage’ suggests, these are not positive changes.
These are changes to the structure and function of the skin that are initially visible in the way the skin looks and can eventually become severe enough that cancer cells start to develop.
So sun damage is a real problem, and something we should all take seriously.
If you think about the skin on a baby or a toddler and what it looks like, it’s usually quite pale, even in colour and smooth in texture.
Of course, this starts to change through the teenage years and the onset of puberty when the skin can become thicker with more sebaceous glands making the skin more oily.
But in general the skin remains relatively light in colour and smooth in texture.
The skin on the face doesn’t tend to stay that youthful dewy way for long.
By the time most people are in their 30s and 40s you can see visible changes have happened to the skin that continue to get worse into the 50s and 60s and beyond.
Almost all the changes we see to our skin as we age are the result of exposure to our environment and by far and away the biggest exposure is to the sun.
The next biggest environmental exposure is nicotine, although thankfully that is something we are seeing less and less of now.
To a much lesser extent, the changes to the skin we see are the result of environmental pollution and sugar (yes, too much sugar makes the skin look older too).
The first change that we see from sun damage is usually to the pigmentation of the skin.
The production of pigment – melanin – is the skin’s natural defence to protect our DNA from the harmful effects of the sun’s UV radiation.
This is the pigment we see when our skin looks tanned.
When we are young, most of us think a tan looks nice, which is why so many of us tan and don’t think about future consequences.
But years of over-production of melanin in our skin makes the mechanism by which we produce it become less well regulated, and so we develop patches of irregular pigmentation – often referred to as age spots, or hyperpigmentation.
The next change that you can see from chronic sun damage is to the vascular system on the face.
When the skin is exposed to the sun, blood is diverted to the skin to help defend it and restore normal function.
In the short term we see this as redness, often referred to as sunburn.
Due to chronic exposure, we eventually develop disregulated blood vessels on the face which cause patches of redness and visible dilated blood vessels, even when the acute effects of the sun have worn off.
This causes redness and thread veins.
The chronic inflammation caused by sun exposure also causes disruption to the collagen and elastin fibres in the deeper layer of the skin – the dermis – which is responsible for giving the skin its physical structure.
Healthy skin has well-organised patterns of collagen and elastin but with chronic sun exposure this becomes more hectic and chaotic.
The disruption of these structural molecules leads to changes to the texture of the skin – roughness, fine lines (rhytids) when the face moves and eventually even when the skin is at rest (static rhytids).
Over time, the elastin fibres can become so disorganised that they form visible little bumps on the skin referred to as ‘elastosis’ or ‘solar elastosis’ to indicate that it is caused by sun exposure.
Eventually the disregulation to the structure and function of the skin leads also to the formation of growths on the skin.
Sometimes these growths can be harmless, but sometimes the growths can become cancerous.
The effects of sun damage on the skin are cumulative – which means that they get worse over time.
I often hear patients tell me that they can’t have sun damage because they wear SPF every day and yet when I look at their skin they have plenty of signs of sun damage.
That’s because they may well take care of their skin now, but they didn’t when they were younger and it’s catching up with them now!
Discover what ‘True Skin Age’ means, how it’s measured using VISIA, and the evidence-based ways to improve your biological skin...
Pigmentation, redness and texture issues all have different causes. Learn what’s happening beneath the skin, and why VISIA analysis helps...
Skin quality is the missing piece in aesthetic medicine. Discover why tone, texture and clarity matter—and how lasers and VISIA...
1 / 3
2 / 3
3 / 3
Discover what ‘True Skin Age’ means, how it’s measured using VISIA, and the evidence-based ways to improve your biological skin...
Pigmentation, redness and texture issues all have different causes. Learn what’s happening beneath the skin, and why VISIA analysis helps...
Skin quality is the missing piece in aesthetic medicine. Discover why tone, texture and clarity matter—and how lasers and VISIA...
Here’s another gorgeous upper blepharoplasty result from our phenomenal surgeon, @bramhallplasticsurgery.
This patient is 62 years old and came to us for upper eyelid surgery just 2.5 months ago. Russell performed the procedure while she was awake with just a few numbing injections. Here at the clinic we can offer facial surgery with local anaesthetic for those who want to remain awake, or with deep sedation for anyone who’d prefer to sleep throughout (without the downsides of general anaesthetic!)
Thank you to this patient for allowing us to share her fabulous result - her scars are already settling beautifully and will continue to fade over the next 12 months.
What do you think?
Our resident superstar breast surgery expert Dr Kavita was asked to talk about trends in breast surgery on BBC Radio Scotland today. This was Kavita’s first ever live interview and we thought she nailed it!
What do you think?
And this is why combination treatments always win!
This lovely patient is in her 50s and was noticing all of the classic signs of ageing. She was starting to see some jowls forming, the neck was becoming more saggy and she felt she was looking tired.
At this stage in the ageing process it is not one thing that is responsible for causing the tired expression, its a combination of changes that are working together which is why we need a combination of treatments to target it effectively.
We did some sofwave treatment first to tighten the skin on the face and neck. Sofwave is very effective at tightening the skin, but remember: the skin is only the outer layer of the face, so we supported the treatment with some volume replacement in the deeper layers.
I decided to post her selfie style before and afters as well as her clinical pictures so you can see how it looks in real life, as well as the clinical up-close detail. The patient is over the moon with her results.
What do you think?
Here is another beautifully balanced deep plane face and neck lift by the skilful @bramhallplasticsurgery.
The deep plane technique, as the name suggests, works at a deeper level, repositioning the underlying structures of the face and neck rather than simply tightening the skin. By addressing the deeper tissues, we can restore more natural proportions, refine the jawline, and create a smoother, more defined contour beneath the chin - especially when the patient moves or bends their neck forward.
To achieve this impressive improvement in the neck, even in flexion, Russell reduced the deep fat (from under the muscle), trimmed and shaped the salivary glands and reconstructed the muscles of the neck to create a rejuvenated result. This is a much more sophisticated procedure compared with a standard face and neck lift.
At just 2 months post-op, her result is already beautifully balanced. The jawline is sharper, the neck more sculpted, and everything sits in harmony with the rest of her features. Scars are settling well and will continue to soften over time.
She may choose to refine things further with laser resurfacing for skin quality and subtle volume restoration in the mid-face, but even at this stage, the transformation speaks for itself.
Thank you to our patient for allowing us to share her journey.
What do you think?
Thank you to this lovely patient for allowing us to share her beautiful result from the talented @bramhallplasticsurgery.
This patient is just 2.5 months after upper eyelid surgery, and already looking incredibly fresh and natural. The scars are settling very well and will continue to soften over the coming months.
The incisions are carefully placed within the natural eyelid crease, making them very difficult to see once healed. Excess skin has been removed to open up the eye area, while maintaining a soft, natural appearance.
A small amount of muscle was reduced at the outer part of the eyelid to address hooding, without affecting the central area. This helps preserve a youthful fullness above the eye. There has also been a conservative reduction of the lateral brow fat to further refine the contour. This highly tailored, bespoke approach to surgery is the attention to detail that lies at the heart of our clinic’s approach and philosophy.
As with many patients, her anatomy meant these changes developed earlier than expected. In the right cases, surgery at a younger age can deliver a subtle but very impactful improvement.
What do you think?
Happy Easter from our excited little bunnies 🐣🐰
Thank you to our lovely patient for allowing us to share these photos.
This is just 4 weeks after her first session (of three) with Juläine and we’re already starting to see a soft return of fullness and improvement in skin quality.
Juläine is not a traditional filler. It works by stimulating your body’s own collagen production, gradually restoring structure, firmness and elasticity from within.
This is just the beginning. As collagen continues to rebuild over the coming weeks and months, results will become more noticeable with improved support, smoother contours and a natural, refreshed appearance.
The patient is delighted with her progress so far. What do you think?
And this is why HA fillers have never gone out of fashion in our practice!
This lovely patient had all the classic signs of volume loss in her face and there is no other non-surgical treatment that can address this quite as quickly, effectively and non-invasively as HA filler. Of course, it needs to be carefully and sensitively applied.
This patient had a total of 10mls of HA as well as some wrinkle relaxing on the upper face. She is delighted with her restoration. What do you think?
Upper eyelid surgery isn’t just for ageing eyes! Some patients naturally have excess upper eyelid skin from a young age due to their anatomy, like this 29-year-old patient who had a congenital upper eyelid fold and recently underwent an upper blepharoplasty with the ever-talented @bramhallplasticsurgery.
The excess eyelid skin rested directly on her eyelashes, causing irritation and a persistent feeling of heaviness around the eyes which had been bothering her for several years. Upper eyelid surgery can address both functional symptoms and aesthetic concerns, helping patients achieve a lighter, more open eye appearance.
This patient is just 7 weeks after surgery. At this early stage of healing the scars are still maturing and in younger patients this process can take slightly longer. The incision is placed within the natural eyelid crease and as healing progresses the scar typically fades and becomes extremely difficult to see, often blending into the natural eyelid fold.
She`s delighted with the results so far, and we`re grateful to her for allowing us to share her results with you.
What do you think?