The sun can feel good on your skin but it contains harmful UV or ultraviolet rays that can cause damage externally and under the surface of the skin. One of the main side effects of sun exposure, short or long term, is wrinkling. Wrinkles are a natural occurrence with aging as the skin becomes drier, thinner and loses elasticity. If you have had sun exposure early on in life, wrinkles can become prominent and noticeable.
Significance
Skin that is damaged from the sun can be permanently scarred even if the signs are not visible initially. An occasional sunburn or tanning in your teens and twenties can easily occur--especially if you are active outdoors. While wrinkling generally doesn't become prominent until you reach your mid-30s, sun exposure can cause premature aging and make wrinkles deeper and more marked.
Causes
When the sun causes damage to the skin it is considered as extrinsic aging, explains Aging Skin Net, a skin care guide provided by the American Academy of Dermatology. This means that external factors such as sun can cause the skin to prematurely age and wrinkle. Wrinkles caused by sun exposure can develop within skin that has freckling or age spots. Wrinkling can also occur on skin exposed to repetitive facial expressions on the forehead or around the mouth.
Features
Wrinkles are deep crevices in the face that even when pulled tight still reveal deep lines and permanent markings. Some dermatologists can predict excessive wrinkling by a process called photo aging. UV photography can reveal age spots and skin damage directly caused by the sun, years before wrinkles develop. Wrinkles in the skin caused by sun damage are also often accommodated by leathery skin that has deep lines on the arms and neck as well as crow's-feet on the face.
Effects
Wrinkled skin that is caused by too much sun exposure can be unsightly in appearance. While genes pay a part in your intrinsic aging, or the natural process of aging, a face exposed to the sun that has a sunburn or liver spots can make wrinkles much more prominent than someone who has had years of sun protection. Wrinkling of the facial area can make you feel older than what you are and treatment can be difficult without the assistance of cosmetic surgery such as microdermabrasion and chemical fillers, notes the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery.
Prevention
You can prevent sun-damaged skin and sun-induced wrinkles by staying out of the sun as much as possible. Medline Plus shares that the most dangerous time to be in the sun is when its rays are the strongest--between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. If you have to go out into the sun's rays, be sure to wear plenty of sunblock and protective clothing. Avoid using the tanning salon and exposing yourself through UV rays. Get a skin cancer checkup each year to reduce your risk of being affected by melanoma and pre-cancerous skin lesions.
