Sunscreen Can Prevent These Scary Things From Happening To Your Skin

You might not be aware of this, but the sun can sneakily do some very scary things to your skin. With skin cancer being the most common type of cancer in the U.S., sunscreen is the most effective tool for sun damage prevention as well as for already sun damaged skin.

Older Than You Really Are

Rain or shine, sun protection is a must. Even on cloudy days where you know you won’t get any burns, the sun can still harm your skin in ways that will come back to bite you later. As you might have learned recently from our blog about sunscreen secrets, UVB rays from the sun are the ones that cause sunburns while UVA rays are the ones that cause signs of aging. While you probably won’t get sunburnt on a rainy day, those UVA rays can still penetrate through the clouds and into your skin to cause premature aging, including fine lines and wrinkles. 

The more you expose yourself to the rays, the more sun damaged skin you’ll have, making it appear drier, flakier, saggier, and older than it really is. Wearing a broad spectrum sunscreen every day is perfect for sun damage prevention, as it will protect your skin from both UVA and UVB rays no matter the weather.

A Curse for Your Skin

Burns and aging aren’t the only problems associated with the sun. Over time, skin damage increases because of changes in the layer of collagen in your skin, so it won’t look as firm or young. In addition, your skin will lose its moisture and essential oils because of sun exposure, so even if your skin type isn’t dry now, it can become dry as you get older. Even worse, sun damaged skin can have genetically changed skin cells, which is probably the primary source of skin lesions and carcinogens. 

This means that the more carcinogens and DNA damage your skin is exposed to, the higher at risk your skin is to developing skin cancer. Genetically changed skin cells, however, is not something sunscreen can fix, so protect your skin from this danger while you still can. If DNA damage does indeed cause a genetic mutation in your skin, the cells will grow rapidly and form a malignant tumor. Because melanin protects against skin cancer, people with lighter skin tones are more at risk, but make no mistake—everyone should wear sunscreen for sun damage prevention.

Veins and Vessels

Other visible forms of sun damaged skin are things like spider veins, which are small, clustered blood vessels (usually red, blue, or purple) that are visible just under the surface of the skin. They tend to pop up on the legs or the face but can be anywhere on the body. Not only can the sun make the vessels more apparent, but it can damage them enough to break the blood vessels, causing red blotches and bumps to appear. 

Fresh scars and wounds that are exposed to the sun also cause permanent scarring in the form of dark spots and hyperpigmentation. In this case, it is best to keep them covered up completely from the sun than to apply sunscreen on them. Lastly, actinic keratosis, a very common pre-cancer due to sun exposure, comes in tiny, sandpaper-like bumps that are either red, yellow, pink, or brown. They don’t go away on their own, and about fifteen percent of them turn into dangerous skin cancer cells, so make sure to get them removed or treated by a doctor as soon as you can.

Sun Damage Prevention at Dr. Longwill’s

At Dr. Longwill’s office, we highly prioritize sun protection and sun damage prevention in any skincare routine we recommend to our patients, so we have our own custom sunscreens that are perfect for any skin type. Check out our skincare shop on our website and pick out the right one for you, or stop by our office for a consultation and we’ll choose! All of our custom sunscreens are 20% off this summer for a limited time, so don’t wait!