Little Rock Cosmetic Surgery Center Wishes You a Happy Fourth of July!

At Little Rock Cosmetic Surgery Center, laser resurfacing, Ultherapy, and Thermage are requested to repair skin damage all the time. Age will take its toll no matter how well you protect your skin, but on the upcoming holiday weekend, you might want to take some extra care.

Whether you spend the day at the market before the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Pops on the River or the Pinnacle Mountain Celebration or any other of the local 4th of July celebrations, you will be out in the sun! It will be hot! Since we all take a long weekend out in the country, or spend the day poolside or at the river eating and waiting for fireworks, it is a really good idea to have sunscreen, extra water, and think about how you’re going to work off those calories! Not that you shouldn’t enjoy the holiday weekend, the food, and fireworks, but sun and lack of adequate hydration is very damaging to your skin.

• UV rays from the sun break down the collagen beneath your epidermis causing wrinkles.
• UV rays also cause those unsightly brown age spots and can contribute to rosacea among other skin problems.
• If the outer epidermis, or outer layer of the skin is not hydrated enough, it will look dry and flakey, and it will lose elasticity. Loss of elasticity further contributes to wrinkles.
• One can measure hydration to some degree through the assessment of skin turgor. Skin tugor is how fast it takes the skin to return to normal if you pinch some skin and pull it up. If you are dehydrated your skin will take longer to get its shape back. This is a measure of elasticity of the skin.

Beyond the cosmetic value of drinking plenty of water, remember it’s easy to get dehydrated when it’s really hot. And kids get dehydrated quickly! The more active you are, the easier it is to get dehydrated. So let’s review the 4th of July basics:

1. Wear your sunscreen.
2. Drink plenty of water, make sure your kids have plenty of fluids too. And not soda!
3. Only have only 1 hot dog then fill up on watermelon!
4. Don’t forget alcohol further dehydrates you!

Interestingly, just guzzling a liter of water in 15 minutes will not work; you will just pass extra urine. Part of staying properly hydrated depends on how fast you drink the water. However, if instead you spend two hours sipping a liter of water, more liquid is retained. We normally need about two liters of water a day, on a hot active day even more. So try to intersperse plenty of water throughout the day.

So enjoy those sports! Swim, play softball, have a round of golf, anything to burn calories while you are eating that one hot dog. Drink several, about four liters of water in between those beers! Basically, have  Happy Fourth celebration, but take care of yourself too!

Dr. Branman

Call Melinda at the front desk to set up a consultation 501-227-0707