Hey Everyone! Welcome back to my blog! This week I thought I would open up the dialogue about sun exposure, since it is almost summer, and the importance of using sunscreen. If you’re like me, you love the sun kissed look. The bronzy, goddess looking skin. However, if we’re not protecting ourselves from prolonged sun exposure your skin can suffer. By not protecting yourselves during the summer season could severely damage your skin and may even lead to sun-induced Hyperpigmentation if you’re not careful. If you would like to learn more information about the condition, you can click here to see more at circcell.com to see what can be done to prevent this from happening. We all enjoy spending time in the sun but it can become unenjoyable very quickly if you are not protected properly.
Why is this important?
Skin is the largest organ on our body. The skin has an important job of protecting the body and acts as the body’s first line of defense against infection, temperature change, and other challenges to homeostasis (auto-regulated internal stability). Functions include:
- Protect the body’s internal living tissues and organs
- Protect against invasion by infectious organisms
- Protect the body from dehydration
- Protect the body against abrupt changes in temperature, maintain homeostasis
- Help excrete waste materials through perspiration
- Act as a receptor for touch, pressure, pain, heat, and cold (see Somatosensory system)
- Protect the body against sunburns by secreting melanin
- Generate vitamin D through exposure to ultraviolet light
- Store water, fat, glucose, vitamin D
- Maintenance of the body form
- Formation of new cells from stratum germanium to repair minor injuries
- Protect from UV rays.
- Regulates body temperature
Effects of Sun Damage:
Short-Term effects from over exposure or a sunburn can include some or all of the following:
- Blistering and peeling of the skin
- Hyperpigmentation
- Melasma* – A condition in which brown patches appear on the face.
- Tinea Veriscolor* (white spots)
Long-Term effects are the result of repeated and excessive exposure to the sun over the years, resulting in more serious conditions that can include:
- Breakdown of Collagen and Elastin from which you get
- Wrinkles
- Sagging
- Horizontal and vertical lines
- Dry, leathery texture to the skin
- Discoloration
- Benign and cancerous skin growths – and this is what we want to prevent!
Treatment and Prevention:
- Exfoliation
- Microdermabrasion
- Chemical Peels
- Light Therapy
- IPL – Intense Pulse Light
- LED Therapy – Blue, Green, Yellow or Red Light
- Hydration
- Sunblock
This is one I’ve used recently and found it work really well plus I like the ingredient list.
I’ll leave some links below if you would like to do more research regarding skin care. Also I’m still in search of an awesome face sunscreen so please share if you know of any good ones.
Namaste,
Mel
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integumentary_system
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeostasis
https://www.healthyskinsolutions.com/sun-damaged-skin-2/
https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2014/07/sun-skin