You'll Keep Yourself Looking Young for Years to Come
If you ask a dermatologist for anti-aging advice, chances are they're going to tell you to add sunscreen to your morning skin care routine, pronto. That's because sunscreen protects you from UVA rays, the ones that accelerate signs of aging. UVA are the longer of the UV rays, meaning they can penetrate your skin more deeply. "UVA affects collagen structure, transforming the normal triple helix structure that looks like straight, uniform rods of dry spaghetti to broken, fragmented and different-sized tangles," says Palm. "This translates to visible skin changes, including textural changes, wrinkles and a sallow discoloration to the skin."
Image via Imaxtree
Photo 4/8
You'll Shield Yourself From Skin Cancer
More than four million cases of basal cell carcinoma (the most common form of skin cancer) are diagnosed every year in the United States, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. That's a startling statistic, but it's one that can be drastically improved if we all get better at incorporating sunscreen into our daily lives. "Daily sunscreen use is the best skin cancer tool short of avoiding direct midday sun exposure altogether," says Fayne Frey, MD, a dermatologist in West Nyack, New York. While it used to be a popular belief that skin cancer was caused by UVB radiation, there is now evidence that UVA radiation contributes as well, says Joshua Zuckerman, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York City. "UVB radiation penetrates the skin more superficially than UVA radiation and causes sunburn. It also damages the DNA of skin cells, producing genetic mutations that can lead to cancer," he says.
Image via Science Photo Library/Getty
Photo 5/8
You'll Steer Clear of Dark Spots
Wrinkles aren't the only signs of aging caused by the sun. "Sunscreen can also protect your skin from developing brown pigmentation or 'sun spots' which aesthetically age the skin," Nussbaum says. UVA rays are the ones that lead to dark spots and blotchy hyperpigmentation, says Palm. "UVA causes DNA changes in melanocytes, the pigment-producing cells of our body," she says.
Image via Imaxtree
Photo 6/8
You'll Save Your Skin from Long-Term Damage
All that damage adds up and if you keep exposing yourself to UV rays sans any protection, expect major skin issues down the road. "UV damage has been shown to be cumulative, meaning every exposure adds up to more and more damage," says Erum Ilyas, MD, a dermatologist at Montgomery Dermatology in Pennsylvania. Ilyas offers this analogy to explain the cumulative damage caused by the sun: "The best way to visualize this is to think of a town after a storm comes through that causes some damage. If there are no other storms that come through for a long time, then the town will have the time and resources to repair the damage and move on. However, if the town is subjected to one storm after the next, before they are finished repairing from the last, at some point the time and resources to fully recover will be lost." This is what happens to the DNA of our cells with repetitive UV exposure. "Every time your DNA starts to repair itself, another exposure triggers further damage making it harder and harder to heal," Ilyas says.
Image via Imaxtree
Photo 7/8
You'll Get Added Skin Care Benefits
While protecting yourself from skin cancer and preventing premature signs of aging are the major benefits you get from applying sunscreen every morning, there are some additional reasons you should grab a tube the next time you're getting ready. Many of today's sunscreen formulations have added ingredients that can address a variety of skin issues. Mineral sunscreen agents, for example, are anti-inflammatory and can help to calm irritated skin, Palm says. Many sunscreen formulations also contain moisturizing ingredients like hyaluronic acid to improve the skin barrier, as well as antioxidants such as vitamin C and green tea to protect against damaging free radicals.
