Love the sun or hate the sun, it is always there up in the sky. Now in this guide, we’ll be touching about sun damage, otherwise known as photo damage or photo aging. And we will share with you some tips and tricks to actually minimize the amount of damage that the sun causes on your skin.
We will at the same time, break a couple of myths that you might think is actually true about the sun, which is actually not. We’ll be talking primarily about sun damage, the common misconceptions about sun damage, and the things that you can do at home to protect your skin against the sun.
Table of Contents
What is Sun Damage?
Sun damage, otherwise known as photo aging, is due to prolonged exposure to UV rays that comes from the sun. The UV rays causes long-term damage, and you might not be able to see it instantly, but over time, the structures of your skin actually alters.
How The Sun Damage Occurs
There is UV rays coming from the sun. There are three types of UV rays;
- UVA
- UVB
- UVC
UVC is typically filtered out by the ozone layer, so you are not actually exposed to them.
However, there is UVB and UVA, and they both cause significant damage to your skin.
Six Different Signs of Photo Aging (Sun Damage)
The appearance of wrinkles and fine lines prematurely
Fine lines and wrinkles occurs to everyone with age, but increased exposure to UV rays will damage the collagen and elastin production in your skin, causing premature formation of wrinkles and fine lines.
Formation of Age Spots, otherwise known as Solar Lentigals.
Solar lentigals are flat, brown, or dark spots that occurs on skin exposed to the sun. They are the direct result of increased melanin production to protect your skin against those harmful UV rays.
They occur anywhere on your body, but most importantly, they always occur on your face.
Uneven Skin Tone
The skin might appear dull, less glowing, a bit molted, and you have areas of hyperpigmentation, whereby there’s more sun exposure, and hypopigmentation, areas with lesser sun exposure. And eventually, the texture can also change, can be a bit leathery or a little bit rough.
Appearance of Spider Veins
Spider veins, otherwise known as telangiectasias, are small visible blood vessels on your skin that occurs due to chronic exposure to the sun and due to the damage of UV rays on your collagen, thinning of your dermis, making those veins more obvious.
The loss of Elasticity
Your skin loses the ability to snap back due to the reduced production of elastin, and elastin is easily destroyed by UV rays.
Appearance of Actinic Keratosis
These are scaly lesions that occurs in your skin, and they are precancerous lesions. When these actinic keratosis appear on your skin, it’s a serious sign that you need to protect your skin and see a dermatologist as soon as possible.
Myths or Misconceptions on Protecting Your Skin Against The Sun
So what are the myths or misconceptions around protecting your skin against the sun? Do you know any other antioxidant skin serums that helps reverse sun damage? Here are the top four myths that you hear every day on the internet, which is absolutely not true.
You only Need Sunscreen On Sunny Days
Love it or hate it, UV rays can actually penetrate the cloud. So even though you do not get direct exposure to the sun, you are still directly exposed to UV rays.
Tanning is Beautiful
In many countries in the world, having a nice bronze tan equals being healthy and wealthy. But did you know that it is actually causing long-term damage to your skin? And you’re increasing the risk of getting skin cancer.
People With Darker Skin Tones do not Require Sun Protection
It is true that people with darker skin tones have more melanin, means more protection against UV rays, but your skin is still susceptible to sun damage and premature aging.
Sun Damage Only Affects Your Appearance
The truth of the matter is, sun damage can lead to melanomas or skin cancer, which could affect your health overall and shorten your lifespan. So what are the prevention strategies or treatments that you can do? We are going to split into two parts. One is home prevention strategies, and the second one is clinical treatments that you can get from a lot of clinics.
Five Prevention Strategies You Can Do At Home
You need to Use Sunscreen Everyday
Choose a broad-spectrum sunscreen, SPF anywhere between 35 to 50, with a PA three to four plus, and apply it at least once a day. All you need to do is apply roughly two finger lengths of sunscreen on your entire face. And if you have the time and the effort, reapply it right before lunchtime.
Wear Protective Clothing
On the days that you know you’re going to be exposed to the sun, you might want to wear long-sleeve clothing and even a headgear like a hat to protect your skin against direct UV exposure. And furthermore, you can also protect your eyes and the skin around your eyes by wearing sunglasses.
Seek Shades When It’s Possible
The peak hour of UV radiation is anywhere between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. So from this particular time, stay indoors as long as you can.
Start using Antioxidant Serums and Supplements
Opt for antioxidant serums that contains either vitamin C or vitamin E, and apply it on your skin during the daytime because the antioxidants in this serum will help negate the negative effects of the UV rays.
But the best way to protect your entire body against the sun is to use an antioxidant supplement. Antioxidant supplements like Light Up, contains botanical extracts like pine bar extract, fern extract, and L-cysteine that protects your skin against those harmful UV rays.
Trick to Protect Against The Sun
Especially for those who are lazy to apply sunscreen, you can always opt for a moisturizer with SPF. Now, whatever that gets you to apply SPF on your skin is better than forgetting your SPF every day.
Sun Damage Treatment
So what happens when you already have sun damage? So here are three treatments that you can seek from any dermatology clinics worldwide.
Chemical Peels
Typically, chemical peels that contains glycolic acid is great to reverse sun damage as it increases exfoliation of your skin and triggers new skin growth.
Laser Therapy
Laser therapies like Long Pulse and Q-Switch Nd-YAG help target those pigmented areas and reverse sun damage on your skin.
However, if you have no access to laser therapies, you can always try IPL, otherwise known as Intense Pulse Light.
Opt for Microneedling
Microneedling triggers your skin to renew itself, triggers more collagen growth and speeds up the auto-exfoliation of your skin.
Conclusion
Sun damage is inevitable, however, it’s preventable. By applying sufficient sunscreen every day, minimise direct exposure to the sun and start using antioxidant serums and supplements, you’ll be able to reverse and minimise the sun damage that has occurred to your skin.
However, if you notice weird or suspicious dots or lesions on your skin, please go visit your nearest dermatologist.
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