Thickening the epidermis

[granola grrrl]

Hello Guys,
I was wondering.....how to thicken the epidermis....I feel that lately my epidermis has gotten even thinner, especially on the left side of my face where 99% of my permanent red blotchy rosacea resides.

I have avoided the sun like the plague for years so I do understand from recent posts that might not be the best as some moderate sun in early or late hours of the day can increase the thickness of the epidermis. If I am already wearing suncreen (SPF30) and makeup with SPF 17 is there really any value to me taking a walk in the sun with this high an SPF on or do I need to wash my face first which would just be more irritating/drying for me and apply a lower SPF (which I don't have and wouldn't know which to use?).
I was thinking of going out on my deck BEFORE I apply my sunscreen in the morning for maybe 10 minutes (is that long enough, how many times per week?) but I don't know if the sun is strong enough at 7:00 am??????

Also wondering about supplements that claim epidermal thickening (such as Silica, MSM, etc.) Anyone know/have experience?

And how about topicals such as Emu Oil also said to thicken the epidermis by like 30% or something. My skin has been also feeling very dry lately and I was thinking it might be an idea to mix a drop or two of Emu Oil (never tried it yet) into my current topicals for extra moisture. I'm wondering about the effects of long-term Zinc Oxide in drying out the skin.

Any thoughts appreciated

Shelley

[granola grrrl]

PS. One more thing, has anyone noticed visible difference in epidermal thickening post laser tx? I understand that IPL etc can stimulate collagen production and help thicken the epidermis? Is this correct? Anyone notice a difference after a series of tx over time?

Thanks again

Shelley

[Jordan]

I would recommend just taking a walk in the park without a hat on, but with your regular sunscreen on. The sunscreen doesn't completely block all sun, and it would be healthy for your skin.

[recluse]

retin A is great for thickening the dermis. . . but rosaceans can't use it. IPL will stimulate collagen growth in many patients but V beam will do this much better. but don't take my word for it, i think you can find dr. nase has good things to say about v beam in relation to collagen production. he mentioned it a while back on the esfb board. look it up.
and getting a speck of sunlight couldn't hurt either.

[irishgenes]

I have read a few posts mentioning emu oil. I don't really know anything about it, but I Googled it and found a lot of emu oil + quackery websites. Here's a typical quote:

"The American public does not want to eat dead emus in sandwiches or in stir fries. Emu investors have bludgeoned and shot to death these friendly, peaceful birds with baseball bats and bullets because the birds didn't make them millionaires. Still these loser-investors keep pushing on, trying to find places to dump their poor innocent birds. They want Americans to rub oil from slaughtered emus all over their skins as a miracle cure. Instead of snake oil, there's emu oil. But as the New York Times Magazine wrote about emu oil on March 16, 1997: There's no convincing evidence that emu oil has medicinal value."

[Ajay]

Not sure about the medical value but I bought it to try and all I can say is it would make a very good (but very expensive) toilet cleaner it nearly knocked my head off.

[snwbdrloco84]

Another thing is copper peptides, but I haven't found a gentle formulation of it.

Ray

[IowaDavid]

I'm still doing a trial on this, but, if my own early indications and anecdotal reports from Kristen and Peter are correct, Low-Light Therapy (red light ~ 660nm) can help thicken your skin and fill in scars, wrinkles, etc.

I'm about to construct my Rose Helmut (tentative title). A series of clusters of red LEDs positioned around my face and ears and head that'll be akin to a standing hairdryer, only for red light.

I'll keep the board posted as electrify myself and ruin countless wires and LEDs hooking it up.

Of course, thermal, in-office laser treatments help, too.

David

[icuraus_cat]

all those lasers help DERMIS grow, NOT epidermis. As long as I know, there is not much you can do about thinned epidermis.

[IowaDavid]

woops! Well, I was speaking over my head then.

David