Just about everyone in the modern world has heard about the dangers of UV rays and sunburn, and so sunscreen is on everyone’s vacation packing list, and yet day to day very few people will think about adding SPF protection to their daily routine. The fact is that whether your skin sins are huge, like slathering yourself in oil before sunbathing, or small, like failing to wear SPF moisturiser daily, your skin is getting damaged by day to day exposure to ultraviolet rays.
Here are the top reasons that you should wear sunscreen not just on vacation, but every day of the year.
Avoid uncomfortable sunburn
Sunburn might not seem like the worst thing that could happen to you, but it’s somewhat of a gateway. You see the swelling, itching, pain, and peeling that comes with sunburn is merely a side effect of much deeper, cellular damage which can result in the kind of mutations that lead to cancer. Studies have shown that just one blistering sunburn in childhood can double the risk you face of cancer in later life, and five sunburns throughout your adult life can have the same effect. Of course, you can avoid burns on vacation by regularly topping up your sunblock.
Protection from Developing Skin Cancer
Of course, wearing sunblock will not only stop you from getting burned, but will decrease your risk of developing cancer even if you don’t burn. Studies estimate that 90% of all non-melanoma skin cancers, as well as 65% of melanomas, develop because of exposure to UV rays. This means that sun block is the single most effective method of skin cancer prevention available to us today. Of course, it has other, less life altering, benefits too!
Avoid Premature Aging
As well as causing cellular damage, exposure to UV rays can cause “photoaging”; UV induced early aging that can display as sagging, wrinkling, discoloration, a leathery texture, and hyperpigmentation (sometimes called age or liver spots). Of course nothing can stop the clock, but developing a routine of cleansing, moisturising and SPF protection can really go a long way towards keeping your skin soft, smooth, and youthful for longer.
It’s key that you keep this up even on overcast or cloudy days as up to 80% of the sun’s rays can make it through fog and cloud cover, and things like concrete, snow, and water can increase the effects by 70% or 80%.
So you see, it really is key that you wear sunscreen on a daily bases, and even more important that you wear it while you’re on vacation in sunny climes, getting in and out of the pool or sea.
