The Sun's UV Rays & How It Affects Our Skin
The sun's utraviolet rays, known as UV rays, possess the potential to damage the skin, cause premature aging, wrinkling and skin cancers. Skin damage and the risk of developing skin cancer increase with repeated overexposure to the sun.
-
Cell Damage
-
UV rays penetrate the skin and change the structure of the DNA in skin cells. They react with melatonin to cause suntans, and change the appearance, texture and overall skin health.
Tanning
-
A suntan is actually the result of injured DNA in skin cells. Long-term tanning significantly increases the risk of squamous and basal cell carcinomas and melanoma.
-
Sunburn
-
Sunburn is caused by overexposure to UVB rays. UVB rays also contribute to tanning and skin cancer.
Skin Damage
-
According to the Environmental Protect Agency, up to 90 percent of skin changes commonly associated with aging are directly related to sun exposure. Repeated exposure to UV rays can also cause actinic keratoses, which are skin growths that occur on body areas exposed to the sun, and are a risk factor for skin cancer.
Skin Cancer
-
Repeated exposure to UVA and UVB rays increases the risk of developing skin cancer. One serious sunburn in childhood more than doubles the risk of developing skin cancer as an adult.
-
References
- Photo Credit Creatas Images/Creatas/Getty Images
