Skin Care-Your Skin and the Sun

The relationship between your skin and the sun is a complicated one. While a little sun is good for your skin, too much can cause irreversible damage. There are some things that you should know about your skin and the sun that will help you to know the best ways to care for your skin and to protect yourself from damaging rays.

Sunlight is a key element to the skin’s production of vitamin D, the nutrient that is essential to proper bone health and growth. This vitamin is not found naturally in many of the foods that you eat, so most people ingest it by eating foods that it has been added to or by taking supplements. The skin can naturally produce vitamin D when it is exposed to the UV (ultraviolet) rays that are present in sunlight. Without the presence of this vitamin in the diet, children can develop rickets and adult bones can become brittle and conditions such as osteoporosis can develop. So the sun is an important factor to maintaining good health, although your body does not need to be exposed to a large amount of it in order to produce vitamin D.

When a person is exposed to the sun’s UV rays, a chemical called melanin is also produced to protect your skin. The rays cause this chemical to grow and spread, causing the skin to become a deeper color (what most of us refer to as a sun tan). While many people think that a sun tan looks great, this process can cause more damage than good. It can cause the skin to lose elasticity which causes it to begin to sag. Due to your skin being dried out by the sun, premature wrinkles and aging can occur. Overexposure to the sun has also been linked to various forms of skin cancer.

So while being out in the sun for short periods of time can be beneficial for your skin, you should remember to protect it if you are going out for longer periods by wearing sun block or other UV- protective products. The precautions that you take now can save you from having to deal with more serious complications later on.