With the summer in full swing, it seems like everywhere you look, there are advertisements for sunscreen, people talking about the importance of slathering up, while others worry about how shielding ourselves from UV light will affect our Vitamin D levels. The differing opinions and wealth of options can be overwhelming to say the least, which is why we’re dedicating the next few articles to answering some of your most common summer skin care questions. Today’s edition is the first in a three part blog series exploring how you can not only survive the summer, but thrive, enjoying the hot weather in a natural, healthy fashion.
Most of us have heard that too much time in the sun can cause skin damage, and that that damage can have a range of effects, from premature aging to skin cancer. But is it all just hype? How much sun is too much? And is it the same for everybody?
From tanning and sunburns to bone health and skin cancer, the sun’s effects are more than just skin deep. While the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays may not be the stuff of nuclear power plants, they are a form of radiation. And since radiation can penetrate your skin, it is able to interact with your body on a cellular level, creating free radicals and causing DNA damage. It is this damage that leads to premature aging of the skin (often referred to as “photo-aging”) and can cause cancerous changes in your cells.
These effects can be cumulative and become more pronounced with increased exposure. Research is showing that they can also be time-sensitive, with childhood sun burns seeming to have a greater effect on future skin cancer risk than burns later in life. And as with most things, when it comes to the sun, all people are not created equal. Those with fair skin (and therefore less melanin, the natural sun protecting skin pigment), woman who are pregnant, and people on certain medications, such as antibiotics and oral contraceptives, all tend to be more sensitive to UV light and may burn more easily.
Which means it’s important to slather on that sunscreen, right? But what about all those unrecognizable ingredients in sunscreen? Is there any real difference between the different brands? And what the heck is SPF, anyway?
We’ll look at these questions next week in Part 2 of our Summer Survival Guide series. For more information, check out our Facebook page or contact the clinic today!
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