If you look at a part of your skin that is kept under clothing and away from the sun, you will find that it is smoother and softer than other parts of your body that aren’t kept covered by clothes.
Example: Compare your inner thigh to your forearm.
Aging doesn’t play a large a role in wrinkles. Indeed, unexposed skin can remain wrinkle free and beautiful even into your seventies. Ultra violet light is the main cause of wrinkles.
There are three forms of harmful ultraviolet light: UVA, UVB, and UVC.
UVA rays occur the greatest in sunlight. They don’t cause sunburns or damage to the top layers of your skin, but they penetrate deeper than UVBs, damaging the collagen and elastin fibers, which support your skin’s firmness. Overtime, it causes your skin to loosen, sag, and wrinkle. It also damages the blood vessels in your skin, making them weaker against infections, bacteria (and acne), cancer, and other diseases. The damage is accumulative, and it often doesn’t show up until many years later.
-UVA’s are also able to penetrate car windows and water.
UVB rays are responsible for causing sunburns and surface damage to the skin, such as sunspots. They are the greatest contributors to skin cancer.
UVC rays don’t need to be worried about, because they are blocked out by the ozone layer.
Note: Some evidence shows that most (70%-80%) of the damage from the sun occurs before you’ve reached the age of 20. This damage will eventually show up. When you reach your thirties and forties, your skin’s collagen will break down and loose it’s elasticity. Wrinkles and old age will set in.
Counter: If I’m twenty years old, and the damage has already been done, then isn’t it largely too late for me? Why should I take the time and effort to put on sunscreen everyday?
Reply: To prevent any further damage from being done. Also, to help avoid the possibility of skin cancer:
“The sun causes at least 90% of all skin cancers.”
“One in six Americans will develop skin cancer during his or her lifetime.”
“In the United States, over 760,000 new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed annually, afflicting more people than any other cancer.”
~Dermatology Secrets in Color, James E. Fitzpatrick, MD & John L. Aeling, MD.
