UVA and UVB rays are quickly becoming one of the most talked about issues each summer.

Overexposure to these harmful sun rays can cause various types of damage that don't appear overnight, but will be seen in years to come. These effects include facial fine lines and deep wrinkles, brown patches and roughness to more serious conditions such as pre-cancerous skin lesions. Sunburns and suntans appear instantly, but with time, the skin slowly begins to show the latter signs of photodamage called photoaging. This photoaging occurs when the skin's connective tissues weaken and cause sagging, wrinkling and visible imperfections in the surface of the skin.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1 million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year leading to more and more people looking for a way to prevent and protect themselves from too much sun exposure.

"No one can hide from the sun's harmful effects." Ross A. Clevens, MD, FACS, Center for Facial Cosmetic Surgery, Melbourne, FL recommends, "Ask yourself a few questions to see if you should take a more precautionary approach to sun exposure. Do you live near the sunbelt? Are many of your daily or leisure activities outdoors? Are you on any specific medications that enhance the effects of the sun? Does skin cancer run in your family? Have you had any recent cosmetic procedures that warrant specific avoidance of sun?"

New to the market, and the first to treat the effects of all types of photodamage at once, "Portrait(R) Plasma Skin Regeneration is raising the bar for non-invasive technologies," according to Dr. Clevens. "It's remarkable how the science behind Portrait(R) plasma treats all the results of sun damage simultaneously," he added.

Here's how it works: Portrait(R) delivers nitrogen plasma (a highly energized gas) energy, which work both at and below the surface of the skin to modify the skin's architecture and generate new collagen ... never making direct contact. The skin's outer layers remain intact and act as a protective cover until the new skin regenerates. Once this happens, the old skin peels away, taking with it all the signs of photodamage; including brown sun spots and actinic keratoses (rough-textured patches or lesions that form on the outermost layer of the skin after years of exposure to ultraviolet light.) Additionally Portrait(R) has a profound cosmetic effect on the other results from photodamage: wrinkles, skin tone and texture and skin laxity.

Clinical studies show continuing improvement of the skin for up to a year later -- a unique and significant advantage that distinguishes Portrait(R) from all other skin treatments. With the ability to vary the strength of the treatment (depending on the extent of photodamage associated with each patient), from one higher level treatment to three lower level treatments, recovery time can be limited to accommodate each patient's schedule.

A full face treatment takes from 20-30 minutes, and the long-term improvements of the skin's collagen continue for up to one year.

The bottom line is that all amounts of sun exposure are dangerous. Whether it is the long-term effects of photodamage, or pre-cancerous lesions, protecting your skin should be a top priority this summer.

If treatment is not an option, following some easy steps will guarantee a healthy summer outdoors: Avoid the sun during 10 am and 4 pm; Cover your skin with clothing; Use, and reapply sunscreen.

Portrait(R) PSR3 is FDA-cleared for treatment of facial wrinkles; the superficial skin lesions common on sun-exposed areas; and actinic keratosis, the dry, scaly patches that result from overexposure to the sun. Introduced to physicians at major worldwide academic meetings to overwhelmingly positive response, Portrait(R) is poised to become the gold-standard treatment in skin regeneration.

Rhytec, Inc http://www.rhytec.com/rhytec.html