Protecting Your Skin From the Sun

The sun is a giver of life but it can also take away the life of your skin if and when you become reckless. Your skin starts to become dry with an almost leathery texture because of constant sun exposure without proper protection. Your freckles become darker in color and greater in number while your age spots start to manifest themselves.

Sunshine improves your mental health dramatically, but it can have devastating physical effects. Make sure that you are properly protected so you can enjoy the sun’s benefits safely.

What are the common skin problems associated with sun exposure?

1. Premature skin ageing: up to 90% of the visible changes commonly attributed to ageing are caused by the sun.

2. Dehydration: UV rays remove essential moisture from the skin surface. Skin that has inadequate moisture will lack lustre and vitality, making your skin look dry and dull.

3. Pigmentation: Excessive sun exposure triggers the production of free radicals and melanin, resulting in pigmentation, freckles and hyperpigmentation (age spots).

Smart sunning:
1. When shopping, you need to be aware that the actual SPF rating of your sun cream is likely to be between one-half and one-third of the SPF stated on the packaging.

2. Never sunbathe: you’ll pick up some color just by walking around, even from lying in the shade.

3. Avoid sun exposure during the peak hours: between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

4. Be sunsmart even on cloudy days: UV rays can penetrate clouds, and the aging UVA rays in sunlight can even go through glass.

5. The sun’s rays are more intense in tropical and semitropical locations, because exposure becomes more direct the closer you get to the equator. Intensity is also increased in higher elevations where the atmosphere is thinner. Extra protection for eyes and lips is necessary, in both cases.