Heed The Warnings: Protect Your Skin From The Sun

Although there are several types of ultraviolet rays, two are of particular importance when discussing skin health. The first is UVB rays which are stopped at the level of the skin and the second being UVA rays which penetrate deeply into the various layers of the skin.

For over a decade we have heard endless warnings concerning the harmful rays of the sun and the development of skin cancer. In reality most individuals do not heed this warning; which is why skin cancer has in recent years become the most prevalent type of cancer in America.

One myth that seems to persist is the belief that you are safe from skin cancer if you do not allow your skin to burn. This simply is not true or is at least not the whole story. Basal cell and squamous cell cancers are related to excessive sun exposure (ie. tanning) where as melanomas are caused by sun burns.

The fact is the sun's UV rays cause considerable damage to the skin and in turn extreme aging. The radiation of the sun's rays causes the breakdown of the collagen and elastin which are proteins that is responsible for the structure of the skin. At the same time these rays disable our ability to repair the damage. This is all accomplished by the formation of free radicals, which attack not only the protein but also the skin cells DNA. This destroying of DNA is what leads to skin cancer.

The sun greatly affects the health and appearance of our skin on many levels; whether it is wrinkles, age spots, sagging, broken blood vessels or cancer, prevention is the key. This is extremely important as more than 80% of the damage to our skin actually occurs before we are twenty years of age. Although it takes several years of damage to our skin to cause wrinkles, the point of no return will be long past when your wrinkles start appearing. The sun damage we inflict on our skin is not detectable until the final results appear.

With the plethora of skin care products available there really is no excuse for negligence. Many of the products that many of us are already using are available with built in sunscreens; everything from make-up to moisturizers. These are not specialty items they are available everywhere and at every price range, it is just a matter of reading the labels. The advantage of these types of products is that you are protecting yourself at all times because many of us do not think about sunscreen unless we are heading to the beach or some other out door adventure. Remember that just because there are clouds in the sky does not mean that the radiation rays of the sun are not getting through, the sun is there everyday regardless of the forecast.

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