Wednesday, September 7, 2011

The Sun And Preventing Wrinkles

By Owen Jones


There is a proven association between the force of the sun's rays and skin wrinkles. This has been known for a very long time, but what has been known for not as long is why. We now know that the sun's rays contain several kinds of ultra-violet light. Some are totally or partially blocked by the Earth's atmosphere, but some come through too.

The vast majority of our facial wrinkles are the result of contact with UVA and UVB rays. We now know that it does not matter what the source of those rays is, it is the UV rays themselves that harm skin, for that is what wrinkles are - damaged skin.

This harm can come from sun lamps and sun beds too, because UV rays are also the ones that cause our skin to go brown. Unfortunately, in the process of achieving the desired colouration, you have to cause the skin harm. The trick here is to minimize the injury when attaining the required colour.

Children's skin is especially susceptible to UV damage which may have a life long effect on their chances of developing cancer later on, perhaps decades later. The only manner to prevent this happening is to take safety measures at all times when encountering these rays from whatever source they may come.

One of the main reasons for wrinkles is the breakdown of collagen in the skin which alters its elasticity. When the skin loses elasticity, it will not return to its normal place or state and hangs lifeless.

So, how could you prevent this happening or at least slow down the procedure? The most obvious solution is to stay away from UV rays, but that would mean no more sunbathing, swimming in the open air or using sun beds. The other way is to use creams and lotions to filter out the detrimental rays.

However, lots of people do not use sun screen or sun block at all or at least not in the correct manner. The UV rays that do injure are UVA, UVB and UVC. UVC is blocked entirely by the atmosphere and UVB, which browns the upper layer of skin only is easily blocked - for instance, it will not even go through glass. UVA burns deeper into the skin and produces a long term tan.

Therefore, you need to check that your sun screen will block UVA and UVB. UVA rays are quite constant in strength throughout the day, but UVB fluctuates, so you need to take that into account whilst applying the lotion.

The first thing to do is ascertain what sort of skin you have. Individuals with fair skin, freckles and ginger or blond hair are most at risk to skin harm. The gradation of skin and hair colour largely determines the skin sort and its susceptibility to damage.

Next you have to know the strength of the sun in the region where you are and finally, the sun is at its hottest between 11 AM and 4 PM, so apply sun block creams and lotions accordingly. If you are unsure of local conditions, call into a local health or beauty shop and ask their opinion.




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