Sun exposure and wrinkles
Okay, now that I understood how smoking causes wrinkles, I just had to find out how too much of sun caused wrinkles. I mean, going into the sun is inevitable. Moreover, once again, too much of sun can lead to skin cancer is something I have always heard; but too much of sun causing wrinkles is something new to me!
According to what I found out, as the sun emanates ultraviolet or UV radiation, your skin starts aging prematurely. In fact, I was surprised to learn that the sun was the most important cause for skin cancers and aging skin where 90% of signs of premature skin aging resulted from overexposure to ultraviolet radiation. As most of these effects start by the age of 20, you can see the first signs of wrinkles 20.
The UV rays that the sun emits is divided based on its wavelength. UVC radiation is absorbed by the atmosphere and thus is
safe, does not cause any skin damage. However UVB radiation affects the outer skin layer and causes sunburn and wrinkles. Its intensity however changes according to the time of the day and season. UVA radiation hoever penetrates deep into the skin, causes wrinkles and is constant throughout the day and year.
I was surprised to learn that all it takes is small amounts of UV radiation to cause damage to collagen fibers and thus lead to wrinkles. in addition to this, it also leads to the accumulation of abnormal elastin, the protein which makes tissues stretch.
With the accumulation of abnormal elastin in the skin, you see the production of lots of metalloproteinases. These hormones generally remodel tissue that is injured by sun exposure by synthesizing and reforming collagen.
While remodeling tissue, sometimes these enzymes also degrade collagen, which leads to the formation of an uneven matrix of disorganized collagen fibers called solar scars. It is this repetitive formation of solar scars that leads to the formation of wrinkles on your skin.
So to prevent all this, and wrinkles, we have to wear a sunscreen whenever we go into the sun. Though it looks like just applying a sunscreen offers sufficient protection from the sun, I have something interesting to share with you.
While reading about sun screens, I learnt that to ensure total protection from face wrinkles, it is always better to first put on LifeCell on your face and then apply sun screen. By doing this, you are thus offered better protection from the sun and of course, wrinkles!
