It’s almost summer time in Sydney, Australia! So we all know what that means. It’s time for those summertime skin care routines and searching for the best ways to protect our skin from damage in the blazing sun.
Sounds troublesome doesn’t it?
Well, if only our skin could naturally produce a shield and protect itself from the sun’s rays, everyone would have healthy, youthful skin and be celebrating in flying colours right?
We all know that slopping on ‘sunscreen’ is the ‘best’ way to protect our skin against the sun’s UV rays. In the morning, when you wake up, before heading out to work or go grab lunch with your friends, you vigorously rub in your local drugstore sunscreen with ‘SPF 30+,’ thinking your skin is protected from the sun for the whole day. However, you are most likely wrong.
In fact, your skin has most likely been exposed to UV rays the minute you woke up for the day
Here’s why.
UV rays are ubiquitous rays emitted from the sun and are widely present. It doesn’t matter if you are indoors or if it’s an overcast day. UV light can penetrate through your bedroom curtains, windows, glass and reflect off mirrors. More so, 80% of UV rays can still penetrate clouds on overcast days.
So what does this mean for you?
It means your skin has been exposed to UV light before you even knew it!
Showing off your skin to the sun constantly is like a one-way ticket to old age and wrinkles. Overtime, overexposure to the sunlight can cause other unwanted negative effects such as sunspots, sunburns and even lead to skin cancer!
It may sound dramatic and sometimes we need to see to believe. But in fact, this is a serious issue. There have been victims that have suffered from severe sun damage on the skin due to unforgiving UV rays.
|
Let’s rewind 4 years ago where a 66-year-old truck driver, Mr. Bill McElligot was a victim of premature aging skin on the left side of his face. This was due to the sunlight pervading through the window of his truck that he drove within Chicago. This is definitely a shocking incident and clearly tells us that we are not completely aware of the dangerous effects of the sun. Furthermore, researchers from the University of Michigan Medical school have found out that exposure to UVA light breaks down collagen, the protein that keeps our skin firm and looking youthful. |
|
No matter where we go, the suns rays are always present and are already harming the skins cells.
Of course, you wouldn’t want this to happen to you.
Our skin is a delicate, important and major part of our body so we need to protect it from harsh UV rays. There are three kinds of UV rays, all naked to our human eye.
Here is a quick reminder about UVA ad UVB:
- UVA – These rays can be easily remembered as your unfriendly “UV Aging” rays. UVA penetrates deeper into the skin. Because it invades deeper into the skin, it breaks down the collagen, making it lose its firmness, causing wrinkles and sagginess. Although it does not often cause sunburn, it causes damage that can lead to aging of the skin, which can lead to skin cancer. They are also responsible for discoloration of skin and sunspots. UVA rays are less intense than UVB rays but are much more pervasive.
- UVB – These rays are remembered as the “UV Burning” rays. They penetrate the top layers of the skin. UVB rays are the cause of tans, sunburns and skin cancer.
Of course, we can’t completely hide from UV rays. But at least we can minimise our exposure to such radiation and use preventative measures to keep our skin looking youthful.
GENSEN products not only rejuvenate the skin but also protect the skin from further damage. In developing the GENSEN range, we sought a safe and effective sun-protective ingredient that would be highly acceptable to use.
Gensen's SUN AGE CONTROL range