Sadly, sun damage is the biggest cause of premature aging which makes the love of the sunshine a two headed coin for many. The best method to practice in anti aging is prevention, which in this case means to limit exposure to UV rays (sunshine).

Dermatologists agree that the sun accelerates the normal aging process and say that regular use of good sunscreen is the best way to help your skin retain its youthful appearance but not everyone does of has done this. The tanning craze during 1970 is showing us just what can become of us if we do not protect our skin and many of these people are turning to plastic surgery as an anti aging technique.

It is important to remember that. Although there are anti aging treatments through surgery, it is not possible to have the face you once had. You can correct the damage to some extent, which will make you look younger, but you cannot recreate the face you had when you were 20. However, your skin will look and feel much healthier, smoother, and softer through some very simple treatments.

Not only can overexposure to ultraviolet rays cause skin cancer, but it escalates the development of fine lines, discoloration (sun spots), and wrinkles. While cancer is based internally and may require more than just surgery, the other effects can be helped through a good plastic surgeon. These results will last quite a while as long as you take good care of your skin through a well planned anti aging skin care regimen.

If you have surgery to correct your sun damaged skin there are a number of possible procedures that you and your dermatological surgeon (plastic surgeon) may consider in order to find the one that is right for you. These procedures include:

Chemical Peels: chemical solution is applied to the face in order to remove the outermost layer of the skin, leaving the newer layer beneath is at the surface. This new skin looks much healthier and younger.

Dermabrasion: the upper layers of the skin are abraded (rubbed away by friction) with a special tool. This procedure is used mainly to treat scarring from acne but is also good for correction of sun damage because it smooths out imperfections in the skin's surface.

Micro dermabrasion: the skin is abraded by minuscule particles shot through a small tube. The scraping away of the old skin through this procedure also speeds the growth of new skin cells because it stimulates the circulatory system in the area where the treatment is applied. Heavy sun damage is not helped much through this treatment, but if your damage is light or moderate you will find that this may work for you.

Non ablative resurfacing: this means that the skin is not pulled away from the muscle as it is in some surgical procedures. This procedure may be done with low temp electro surfacing, pulse light technology, and non ablative lasers; it is used to give new life to skin which has aged due to sun damage.

Laser resurfacing: the sun-damaged skin is vaporized a layer at a time to reveal more youthful skin.

Remember that having one of these procedures done will require you to take extra special care of your skin and you will probably have to be very careful about being in sunlight for a while after the procedure. Of course, caution where sunlight is concerned; to go out into much sunlight after one of these procedures in inviting sun burn, which is a major contributor to premature aging.