Can sunlight be harmful?
Unfortunately, the harmful effects of sunlight can also appear on our skin: sunburn, spots, and in more serious cases, irreversible damage. skin damage and illness can cause.
You wouldn't think so, but our skin is one of our most important sensory organs: when we are cold, we get goosebumps, when we are hot, we blush. Our skin has many functions, so its condition is crucial for the functioning of the human body. Sunlight is also good for our soul, as it helps us think positively and feel happy. It also contributes to the synthesis of vitamin D in our body. However, the sun's rays also contain light rays – UVA and UVB rays – that can damage our skin.
This is true in all seasons, not just in summer. Our face, neck, décolleté, and hands are the areas most exposed to sunlight. Harmful rays can not only hit our skin directly, but can also be reflected from water, snow, and reflective surfaces. In general, it can be said that UV radiation is not the same everywhere in the world, so when traveling, it is worth finding out about the specifics of the given region. Research has also shown that the composition of radiation is 96.51% UVA and 3.51% UVB. Their strength is highest between ten in the morning and four in the afternoon (Wright et al. 2015).
What is the point of tanning?
Tanning is essentially a pigmentation process. Our skin normally has cells that produce substances that determine the color of the skin (melanocytes). These substances are melanin and eumelanin, which play a very important role in protecting skin cells: when the melanocyte cell senses sunlight, it expands like a parasol over the cell nucleus and the substances it produces protect the DNA of skin cells from harmful radiation. However, research (Premi et al. 2015) has also shown that excessive UV radiation can trigger pathological processes in the skin and that DNA photoproducts responsible for mutations are produced even hours after sunlight exposure. Therefore, it is very important to pay attention to how long and when we stay in the sun and to use appropriate sunscreens.
Does sunlight age you?
Another harmful effect of sunlight is that UV radiation also promotes the aging of our skin, supporting dehydration and the production of harmful free radicals. These are harmful and very active oxygen-containing molecules that come into contact with molecules necessary for the regeneration and vitality of the skin extremely quickly. They stick to them like chewing gum and trigger harmful processes in them. It is as if they are being reprogrammed. This is called oxidative stress in the literature (Żukowski 2015). These radicals accelerate upon excessive UV exposure – which can also come from sunlight or solariums. Changes occurring at the cellular level affect the cell structure, DNA content, and the structural and functional components of cells, such as lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, or the presence and utilization of water at the cellular level.
What can we do against the harmful effects of sunlight?
Our recommendation is to constantly moisturize your skin in the summer, as sweating is much more intense at this time. After your evening shower, gently dry your skin with a towel. Do not rub, as irritated or sun-damaged skin can become even more red and it is much easier to cause superficial micro-injuries. Massage the chosen body care product into the soaked but not completely dry skin. Take your time: it is not enough to just apply the cream, oil, or body butter to the skin, you also need to massage it in.
Just think of a piece of buttered bread. If you spread it thickly, it can take up to a day for it to be absorbed into the bread. But if you spread it several times, after a while the bread will absorb the product. Just as our skin absorbs nutrients more effectively if we massage them into our skin.
In the morning, it is worth performing this ritual with your sunscreen instead of your body care products. Since such products are thicker and oilier, it is worth choosing a product for your face that is suitable for your skin type. Most sunscreen products contain vitamins, moisturizers, and anti-aging ingredients. Our experience shows that we should not overload our skin with too many ingredients and fragrances. Since sunscreen is always the last step, and we often apply makeup first, and before that, we use our daily face cream or even serum, it may be too much for our skin. Comedones or other irritations may develop. Therefore, no matter what sunscreen product we choose, we should think about our daily routine: if we have a well-proven foundation, and it may also contain sunscreen suitable for our skin type, then there is no need to apply another layer. If we judge that the SPF of our foundation is too low, then it is worth using a sunscreen product as well. However, if the sunscreen or foundation contains the necessary nutrients in sufficient quantities, it is not necessarily necessary to apply a day cream or serum.
If your skin is still burned, try to hydrate it and soothe it with products containing active ingredients that support regeneration (e.g. panthenol, bisabolol, centella, allantoin, aloe vera).
With our software facial diagnostic device (Smart Diagnosis), we help you examine the current condition of your skin and help you create a daily routine for sun protection.
In addition, it is worth choosing a healthy tan and trying alternatives (self-tanning products, or in our case, UV-free tanning) that do not require us to fear the harmful effects of UV rays.
Is there a UV-free tanning option?
With us, yes: we are talking about a tanning process that does not harm the skin, is based on natural ingredients, and does not use any UV light. Details HERE.
