The sun is one of the most powerful (and youth-zapping) bodies in our universe and it shines all-year round. Despite popular belief, it doesn’t only release damaging ultraviolet rays in summer – these rays are just as active, even on the cloudiest of days. With winter fast approaching, it’s super important to continue wearing a day cream with a built-in SPF, as well as sunscreen on all of your exposed areas such as your arms, hands, neck and chest.
Ever wondered to what extent the sun is damaging our skins? This short, two-part guide could save your life (and prolong your youthful skin too)!
Ultraviolet rays can be classified into two types, namely UVA rays and UVB rays. UVA rays are responsible for ageing our skin, whilst we have UVB rays to blame for getting sunburnt. It’s super important to wear a sunscreen that protects against both UVA and UVB rays, so check that yours does. Did you know that 80% of skin ageing is caused by sun damage? UVA rays penetrate the skin, damaging collagen (the protein holding your skin together and keeping it firm) deep down. When collagen is broken down, wrinkles appear on the surface of the skin, and the more damage gets done, the more wrinkles will form. Want to know the scariest part? Once collagen is broken down, it cannot repair itself. That means that you can’t erase past damage, so it’s important to avoid it from occurring in the first place.
Though freckles we’re born with are super cute and should never be covered up, sun spots are less attractive, and are signs of damage caused by overexposure. They are most commonly found on the backs of our hands, forearms and face. Though we can cover them up with foundation as much as we want to, they can’t be erased, and will always be a sign of negligence. Our advice? Always wear a daily moisturiser that contains an SPF (the higher the better). We love Prevage Day Intensive Anti-Aging Moisture Cream SPF 30. Moisturising and protective, this super day cream protects skin from sun damage all year round.
Click here if you missed Part 2 of our sun feature, where we look at tanning, burning and how the sun affects different skin colours.
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