A lorry driver who never wore sun cream has aged dramatically but only on one side of his face - as that's the side in the sun as he drives.
Steve, 54, has deep lines, wrinkles, and 'crêpey skin' on the right side of his face, but if you caught sight of him from the left, you'd think he wasn't a day over 45.
The driver, who doesn't wish to disclose his surname, noticed that the skin on his face would sag and hang, but he put it down to ageing and thought it was something he'd have to live with.
Then one day he looked in the mirror and realised the other side of his face looked quite youthful, and then it struck him - the sun, coming through the right side of his cabin, had withered the right side of his face.
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Steve, from South Yorkshire, said: "For the last four or five years I was noticing deep lines and wrinkles on the right side of my face. I used to look in the mirror and pull the skin around my eye back and think to myself, 'I'm getting old'.
"To be honest, I thought it was part and parcel of ageing and I never thought about having any treatments, until I remembered a newspaper picture and story featuring a UV photo of a lorry driver's face showing the really bad sun damage just on his right side – the driver's window side.
"That's when it clicked with me... My lines and wrinkles were also likely caused by sun damage. I can honestly say that even that didn't prompt me to stock up on sun cream, I just thought I'd have to live with it."
Steve has worked as a lorry driver for 30 years and spends six days per week on the road - and for all that time the sun is hitting only the right-hand side of his face.
One day, Steve spoke to Dr Hannah Higgins, aesthetic doctor and clinical director of The Wellness Space in Barnsley, and she persuaded him to treat his uneven face.
He continued: "When I jokingly asked her if there was anything she could do to help me, she said she could.
"I told her about the newspaper article I'd read and wondered if it could be sun damage and after a consultation when she examined my face, she agreed.
"She told me the sun had not only damaged the surface of my skin, but the deeper layers too, which had caused the right side of my face to sink a little bit. She also said I had a skin condition called rosacea, which was making my face a bit red.
"She gave me a really good talking to, told me if she was going to treat me I'd have to start using factor 50 sun cream every day and explained how important it was to start a protective skincare regime and to use sunscreen before she could treat me to correct my lines and wrinkles.
"Hannah gave me a medical-grade skincare regime to carry out for three months, to repair my skin, plus reduce the redness and inflammation the sun damage had caused.
"I had to use it morning and evening – including a broad-spectrum SPF 50 that I wore – and still do, every day. That helped my skin, and I did notice a little difference.
"My skin felt and looked better, which made me feel better in myself."
The expert also used a dermal filler treatment using MaiLi filler on Steve's face to smoothen out the deep wrinkles.
"After the filler treatment, I noticed a difference straight away," the trucker added.
"It was really amazing and made me realise that I hadn't seen how bad it was before.
"I have to admit, it was a bit worrying when Hannah told me the damage the sun had done to the right side of my face, not only the surface layers of skin, but to the deeper layers too.
"Now, I'd tell everyone to use sunscreen whether they are in a lorry cab or outside. I'm really happy with the results of my treatments, and my wife is over the moon!"
Dr Hannah Higgins added: "I've seen female patients with asymmetrical lines before, often caused by simple things, such as always sleeping on one side of their face, which can cause more advanced ageing.
"However, the asymmetry caused by the sun damage to Steve's face was more marked than anything I'd previously seen.
"His entire face showed signs of UV damage; there was redness, erythema (reddening), age spots and pigmentation, plus more oil resting on the surface of the skin than I'd normally expect.
"On the right-hand side specifically, there were deep lines and wrinkles and significant volume loss, compared with the left side of his face.
"Steve had never even used a facial moisturiser, meaning I knew I had to build trust quickly with him, and that after he fully understood the value of aesthetic interventions, in the future he might be open to treatments that take longer, with more downtime.
"The treatments successfully addressed the asymmetry of Steve's face. The redness is gone, and his skin now looks healthier, and his lines and wrinkles are significantly decreased."
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