'Rays of sunshine' The harmful effects of the sun on your skin.

All of us can agree that the condition of our skin will always remain vitally important to each one of us throughout our lives. As much as we wish we could, we cannot stop the aging of our skin over time. As the years pass, and they do pass briskly, so do the lines and elasticity of our skin, coupled with the health of our skin and our bodies. It is inevitable. But it does not mean that there isn’t something that we can do to slow the process down. Fortunately, advancements in medicine and skincare products have given us this opportunity.

Our skin ages, whether quickly or slowly, due to several biological and environmental factors. The first and foremost prominent factor is the sun. Although the sun is an essential part of living organisms, it has harmful effects on our skin, especially if we do not try our best to avoid those effects as much as possible.

The question is, how does the sun affect our skin? The sun’s UV exposure will not necessarily have an effect on your skin over short bursts of time, however, over long periods of time, exposure to UV rays will most likely lead to sunburn as well as additional long-term changes in your skin. These changes include; the thickening of your skin, the formation of deep wrinkles and loss of elasticity promoting saggy skin, distorted pigmentation, skin cancer, loss of epidermal Langerhans cells, and actinic keratoses. Long exposure to UV rays over several years also leads to slower healing time once your skin has been bruised or torn. It is apparent that taking care of your skin while you are exposed to harmful UV rays should be a priority, for the reason that later on in life, these changes cannot be reversed or undone.

There are a few ways in which we can prevent or even avoid the exposure of UV rays on our skin, these include; committing to UV protection skincare products every day, wearing a widened hat that will cover your face and neck, investing in sunglasses that offer complete UV protection, purchasing clothing that has an ultraviolet protection factor, and avoiding the sun during peak UV radiation hours. Protecting your skin from the sun should be considered an easy, simplified task, particularly for those of you who have specific skin goals in mind. Take the chance you have and protect your skin today!