Overexposure to the sun results in not just tanning but in you looking much older than you actually are.
The ultraviolet rays of the sun accelerates the ageing process, as many studies prove. The New England Journal of Medicine had published a unique case some years ago in which a 69-year-old man had serious wrinkling only on the left side owing to constant exposure to the sun, during his days of truck driving. Going by such facts, it is easy to make out how badly staying long in the sun can damage the skin, and rapidly age your skin.
Ageing is a natural process and with the passage of time, the skin experiences many changes. The skin’s ability to hold moisture content reduces along with its ability to form new cells, resulting in the formation of wrinkles. The permanent small muscle contractions also lead to crow’s feet and frown lines.
Premature aging that happens because of the sun is also called photo-ageing. The rays present in the sunlight, namely UVA and UVB, are responsible for wrinkle formation, besides other severe skin problems, including skin cancer. An important protein that gives firmness to skin, namely collagen, gets badly damaged due to the sunlight.
Not only collagen, but the UV rays of the sun also affect another protein in the skin called elastin. When there is constant damage of the protein elastin, enzymes called metalloproteinases start forming in the body. In the whole process, there is also an increased production level of free radicals leading to accelerated enzyme metalloproteinases.
While dermal fillers and abrasions can bring you respite, the only solution is to avoid direct exposure to the sun as much as possible.
— The writer is an aesthetic surgeon
