Stop thinking you’re special and your bronzy tan makes you look sexier over time. It doesn’t. Sure, bronzed, sun-kissed skin can look great and Vitamin D makes us feel great, but there can be too much. Actually, to get the Vitamin D we need for optimal health, we only need 15 minutes of direct exposure 3 times a week. Too much exposure to the sun without adequate protection can have devastating results. Let’s go ahead and completely set aside the worst of it—CANCER—and focus only on the aesthetics of it all and the outlook is still pretty terrible, people.
Your skin can go unprotected for about 15 minutes at a time, but after that, negative effects start activating. What negative effects?!
- An increase in a naturally-occurring MMP enzyme in the skin begins to eat away old and damaged collagen and, as a result, elastin fibers get over-populated and start munching on your healthy collagen and elastin fibers.
- An increase in super-oxides—the most abundant free radical in the skin caused by UV exposure—start to occur and wreak havoc on everything around it (oxidative stress).
You: “WAIT. Are you telling me if I can be safely exposed to the sun for 15 minutes that means I can wait 15 minutes to put on my sunscreen?”
Me: “NO! Sunscreen takes about 20 minutes to absorb and become fully active. This 15 minute rule really applies when you are making a quick run to the store, walk around the block, or getting some fresh air for a few minutes. If you plan to play in the sun, drive, or work next to a window all day long you’d better be putting on the SPF before you leave the house. Then, after you do whatever you’re doing for 30-60 minutes, REAPPLY and then reapply again about every 90 minutes.”
Chronic overexposure to the sun can change the texture and weaken the elasticity of the skin. Sun induced skin damage causes premature wrinkling, sags and bags, and easy bruising. In fact, up to 90% of the visible changes commonly attributed to ageing may be caused by sun exposure. Cosmetic changes include leathering of the skin, increased wrinkling, and reddening.
And, especially with women, facial sun damage is significantly correlated with how old women look for their age. You don’t want to be the 30-year-old women who people think is 40. And, do you want to look leathery?! No, you don’t.
Sun Damage Affects All Layers of Your Skin
Can it be reversed? Wellllllll, that’s the thing. A skilled esthetician (me!) can do work that will lead to positive change over time, but to some point, what’s done is done. This is partially because sun damage affects all layers of your skin.
Sun exposure damages five major parts of the skin. This damage can cumulatively be termed dermatoheliosis, and it involves the epidermis (actinic keratosis), dermis (solar elastosis), blood vessels (telangiectasia), sebaceous glands (solar comedones), and melanocytes (diffuse or mottled brown patches). What does this all this fancy talk mean? In short, it means wear sunscreen.
But You (WE) Can Control It
Cumulative sun exposure is the most significant controllable factor in skin aging. Intrinsic aging is directly associated with individual habits and relates to environmental exposures, health, and lifestyle. Extrinsic aging includes diet, tobacco use, exercise, and – YOU GOT IT – sun exposure. And, research tells us that of all extrinsic aging factors, sun exposure is the most significant.
First, wear sunscreen. It’s easy as pie to wear sunscreen when it’s actually in your moisturizer. I can help with this. Also, regular treatments and attention can help you get ahead of sun spots, premature wrinkles, sags and bags, and all that jazz.
The sad news is, we’ll all end up with wrinkles and sags and bags, but we don’t have to settle for them earlier in life than in necessary. Let’s delay that shit!
Sun lovers, I get it! The sun is fun and it feels SO good! You are who I can help the most. My treatments for you will NOT make you more sun-sensitive and will help build the immune strength to fight environmental damage when you’re doing that fifth 14’er of the season!
Make an appointment for a consult. Let me be that honest person who tells you how you look and then we’ll take the steps to correct what we can.
