Daily Sunscreen Use May Slow Skin Aging
Sunny summer days ….. and afternoons at the pool…
gardening tasks…. or vacations enjoying the beach…
They all can lead to too much sun exposure for delicate skin!
But excessive sun can cause more than the aggravation of a painful sunburn.
The sun’s UV rays can cause PHOTOAGING…( which means WRINKLES ! )
or even CANCER !
So what can we do to mitigate these risks besides shunning the sun, wearing
clothing which covers the skin all over, or using wide-brimmed hats?
SUNSCREEN !
A recent study carried out in Australia, where sun rays are direct and intense
much of the year, looked at the question of whether faithful daily use of
sunscreen products could slow the aging of the skin.
To carry out this project, Dr. Adele Green, along with her colleagues at the Queensland
Institute of Medical Research, analyzed data gathered between 1992-1996
from 903 adults under the age of 55 years.For their project they chose 50 % of the
study participants who were asked to use sunscreen with SPF rated 15 or greater on their head,
neck, hands and arms every morning, reapplying as needed. The other half of the
group only used sunscreen sporadically.
Before initiating the study and also at the conclusion, the researchers monitored
and documented the status of the back of the left hand of each study participant.
Over the following four years, they found no observable skin aging changes
on the hand of the people who used sunscreen every day.
The other study subjects developed notable photo-aging on the unprotected
skin over the four year period.
This study shows that photo-aging changes can be slowed with diligent use
of effective sunscreen products.
Photo-aging results from long-term exposure to damaging UV rays, which can penetrate the skin,
leading to collagen breakdown, and DNA mutation, which can even lead to cancer.
SO …enjoy the summer sun…
but please USE YOUR SUNSCREEN !
Skin damage prevention with sun-protection should start early in life to provide the greatest
health and beauty benefits .