Protect Your Skin From The Aging Effects of the Sun
Are you as careful to protect your skin from sun damage as you should be? Do you wear sunscreen every time you go outside for prolonged periods? Or do you think you’re safe for some other reason?
Most people are aware of the dangers of skin cancer resulting from overexposure to the sun. While people who rarely burn are less likely to contract skin cancer than people who burn easily, everyone is at risk. Even with no family history. And our collective knowledge about skin cancer risks is constantly changing. For example, dermatologists used to condone minimal use of high-pressure tanning beds (which use UVA rays almost exclusively, with very little of the UVB rays) for people who tan easily and rarely burn. The tan from these beds was thought to protect your skin from natural sunlight. Now dermatologists are finding that UVA rays cause deeper tissue forms of skin cancer, which are more difficult to detect and treat.
Even if you never contract skin cancer, overexposure to sunlight also accounts for a surprising number of the signs of aging we think of as normal. Tanning produces deep skin wrinkles,...