- One medical case showed a 69-year-old with wrinkling of the skin on the left side of his face:
The patient reported that he had driven a delivery truck for 28 years. Ultraviolet A (UVA) rays transmit through window glass, penetrating the epidermis and upper layers of dermis. Chronic UVA exposure can result in thickening of the epidermis and stratum corneum, as well as destruction of elastic fibers. This photoaging effect of UVA is contrasted with photocarcinogenesis.
- A report by nlm.nih.gov said in an article:
Within the skin’s epidermal (outer) layer are cells that contain the pigment melanin. Melanin protects skin from the sun’s ultraviolet rays, which can burn the skin, and over time, could reduce its elasticity and cause a person to age prematurely. Suntanning occurs because exposure to sunlight causes the skin to produce more melanin and to darken. The tan fades as these cells move toward the surface and are sloughed off.
- The United States Environmental Protection Agency reported:
Other UV-related skin disorders include actinic keratoses and premature aging of the skin. Actinic keratoses are skin growths that occur on body areas exposed to the sun. The face, hands, forearms, and the “V” of the neck are especially susceptible to this type of lesion. Although premalignant, actinic keratoses are a risk factor for squamous cell carcinoma. Look for raised, reddish, rough-textured growths and seek prompt medical attention if you discover them.
- A new study found that regular sunscreen use protects against photoaging: the wrinkling, spotting and loss of elasticity caused by exposure to the sun's ultraviolet radiation.
Conclusion: Regular sunscreen use retards skin aging in healthy, middle-aged men and women. No overall effect of β-carotene on skin aging was identified, and further study is required to definitively exclude potential benefit or potential harm.
- There is a term now, for skin induced by chronic UVA and UVB exposure, it is called photoaging or photoaging (also known as "dermatoheliosis"), see wikipedia page:
UVB rays are a primary mutagen that can only penetrate through the epidermal (outermost) layer of the skin, resulting in DNA mutations. These mutations arise due to chemical changes, the formation of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and photoproducts formed between adjacent pyrimidine bases. These mutations may be clinically related to specific signs of photoaging such as wrinkling, increasing in elastin and collagen damage.[5][6]
- The FDA warned against photoaging in a post called The Risk of Tanning:
Premature aging is a long-term side effect of UV exposure, meaning it may not show on your skin until many years after you have had a sunburn or suntan. Avoiding UV exposure is essential to maintaining healthy skin.
- L’Oréal Paris, the world's largest cosmetics company confirmed that sun exposure in premature ageing of the face.
Our study confirms the accountability of sun exposure in premature ageing of the face.
Our comparison between two groups of women, whose sun behaviour was different, has allowed us to clearly demonstrate the effect of UV exposure.
- Most important evidence for your question: UV rays accounted for 80 per cent of skin ageing, including wrinkles, in a study of almost 300 women ,half sun-worshippers and half shy of the sun. The study also found that a two per cent increase in skin damage ages a face by three years.
With all the elements described in this study, we could calculate the importance of UV and sun exposure in the visible aging of a Caucasian woman’s face. This effect is about 80%.
Conclusion: It is a fact that sunlight exposure causes most of the wrinkles on our faces. It ages us because exposure to ultraviolet light destroys elastin and promotes wrinkles. There is no doubt one should use sunscreen when exposed to the sun.
