Did you ever realize that when it's a nice, sunny day everyone around you is in a better mood, has more energy and seems to have a little more bounce to their step? Why on a sunny day do you want to roll the window down and put the music up more than usual? Why you drive a little bit faster then normal? The answer is the sun, of course. It has that effect on us. So why can't we enjoy it the way we want to? So many people want to know, "what it is about the sun that is so bad?" How could something so bright and beautiful cause so many problems for our skin? Well it's the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays. There are two rays that effect the skin. Each rays influence the skin at different levels.
UVA rays- These rays cause us to age. Unlike the UVB rays, these rays attack our skin and weaken the skin's collagen and elastin fibers, causing wrinkes and sagging of the skin to appear.
UVB rays- These are the rays that causes us to burn. They cause tanning or burning by affecting the melanocytes (cells that are responsible for producing melanin-pigment that determines the color of your skin). Melanin helps to protect us from the suns UV rays, but can be destroyed when we let to much UV light penetrate the skin.
Sun exposure leads not only to skin cancer, but aging, hyperpigmentation, capillary damage, free radical damage (unstable chemical particles) and collagen and elastin damage.
Thats a lot to take in. We all want to enjoy the sun without getting the effects of the rays. So how can we do this? Well, there are ways to help protect yourselve against the sun. Here are some helpfull hints:
-Wear a moisturizers or lotion with a sunscreen of at least SPF 15 on all areas of exposure. Ladies if you are going to wear a foundation you should get one that has a sunscreen built in.
-If you are going to be sitting out in the sun for a prolonged period of time, use a sunscreen with a higher SPF. The higher the better.
-Avoid too much sun exposure especially during peak hours where the UV is at its highest point. This is usually between 10am and 3pm.
-Instead of trying to tan yourself in the sun to get color, try using a tinted moisturizer or a self tanning lotion. This will help get the color you want, and still avoid the damage from the sun.
- Apply sunscreen every couple hours, as they do not last all day. You need to reapply.
-Check expiration dates on all sunscreens you buy to make sure that they have not expired.
It is very important to protect your skin from the sun. You may not realize the damage it causes. Just by driving with your arm out the window you are exposed to the sun's rays. Although we can not avoid the sun completely, following the steps above will minimize your risk. It may take some time to see the visual damage that sun actually inflicts, but eventually it will catch up with you.
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