It takes as little as a quarter of an hour for you to damage your skin due to sun overexposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In just that amount of time, sun exposure can contribute to skin damage that makes you look older and even raises your risks of skin cancer. However, it's possible to protect yourself from the sun and reduce the appearance of the damage you've done to your skin in the past.
Cause
Without the sun, humans couldn't live on this planet, but it's a double-edged sword. While we need the sun's ultraviolet rays to live, they also damage our skin. The sun's rays are strongest in the summer and between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., and these times produce the greatest risk for overexposure to the sun's rays. In addition, the sun's rays are stronger in tropical latitudes, which is why so many people from northern latitudes burn themselves badly on Florida vacations.
Results
Sun exposure, especially early in life, can make you look older than you really are. The sun's ultraviolet rays cause tanning, but they also cause age spots, freckles, prominent red "spider veins," rough skin and a blotchy complexion. When you tan in the sun, you're actually damaging your skin -- the tan color is your skin's response to that damage.
Remedy
Although you can't reverse the sun's effects on your skin, you can make it appear less noticeable. Treatments for what dermatologists call photoaging, or skin damage due to the sun, can include prescription creams that reduce fine wrinkles and injections of botulism toxin to temporarily erase more prominent wrinkles. You also can choose more aggressive procedures such as laser skin resurfacing and dermabrasion, which actually remove a layer of skin to reveal younger-looking skin underneath. Dermatologists also use lasers to remove age spots and other blemishes.
Prevention/Solution
None of this will do you any good, however, if you don't stay out of the sun. In order to prevent more skin damage from sun overexposure, you should avoid the sun in those peak midday hours You also should wear a hat to protect your face and sunblock with an SPF of at least 15 to protect the rest of your skin. If you can, wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt to protect your arms and legs.
Warning
In some cases, your skin damage due to overexposure to the sun may have progressed into something more serious: skin cancer. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, one in every five Americans will get skin cancer during their lifetime. Dermatologists can successfully treat most types of skin cancer, especially if they're caught early. You should consider having regular skin exams, especially if you've had a lot of skin damage from the sun, to make sure you identify and treat any problems.
