With summer in full swing, you may be seeing a lot of buzz around one skincare product many people deem essential: sunscreen. But is it really all that important? Experts give a resounding yes! When you fail to apply SPF before you step out into the sun, you’re risking serious consequences for both your beauty and your health—and that means more than just pink cheeks.
To learn what really happens to your skin when you don’t protect it from the sun, we spoke to Dermatologist Dr. Brandith Irwin, MD, FAAD, founder of MadisonMD Skincare. She told us that sun-damaged skin doesn’t just make you look older; it can also be deadly.
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The Aging Effects Of Sun Damage
It turns out you put your skin at risk of more than a bit of a sunburn when you skip out on your SPF. Dr. Irwin warns that if you want to avoid signs of aging—as well as serious damage to the overall health of your complexion—it's best to put sunscreen on every single day. Otherwise, you'll likely see issues like brown spots, a leathery texture, wrinkles, and dullness. "Look at a leather chair that's been sitting in a window and you'll see the same," she says. Yikes! We definitely don't want our skin looking like an old arm chair.
If looking in the mirror isn't convincing enough, we should point out that the effects of sun damage are even more obvious under a microscope. "If you look at sun-damaged skin under a microscope, you see the collagen fibers are uneven and look sick, the elastic fibers are clumped up and not regular, the cells in the outer layer (epidermis) look like a broken-down brick wall, and melanin looks uneven."
Of course, the sun can do a lot more damage than just making you look older than you are. It can also be deadly if it leads to melanoma skin cancer. "For the other forms of skin cancer that just require surgery, it's wise not to underestimate the quality of life effect they can have," Dr. Irwin says. She points out that "most of these cancers are on the head and neck area and leave visible, and not attractive scars." At the end of the day, we can likely all agree that any sort of cancer just isn't worth the risk.
Protect Your Skin With Sunscreen
Luckily, protecting your skin can be a breeze when you apply sunscreen every day. "Sunscreen, if used regularly, screens out most of the harmful UVA and UVB rays," Dr. Irwin assures. She says that one of the most important ingredients to look out for is zinc oxide, which is great at screening out UVA. "None of the chemical sunscreen ingredients can claim that," she notes.
Finally, if you're really concerned about the health of your skin, Dr. Irwin says it's best to bring in some extra protection. "No sunscreen can screen out all the harmful rays. Hats with full brims and protective clothing are also great because they mean protection," she concludes.
