OK so we have all heard of the fact that too much exposure to the sun's harmful rays can be damaging to our skin. What the majority of us don't understand is that not all of the UV rays shooting from the sun are detrimental to our skin.

Perhaps even more telling is the lack of general awareness regarding the complex nature in which the harmful elements of the sun's rays degenerate our skin cells. If you are concerned about the health and condition of your skin , the following is of utmost importance.

NOT ALL SUN EXPOSURE IS BAD

The sun's biggest and most vital benefit to the human body is often ignored. That is, short UVB rays are a major deliverer of Vitamin D. So what's so good about vitamin D? Vitamin D protects and increases the survival rates against an array of internal cancers such as colon cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer, as well as many other diseases.

NOT ALL SUN EXPOSURE IS GOOD

To balance the leader, it would be drastically under representative to exclude the fact that exposure to ultraviolet light, UVA or UVB, from sunlight accounts for 90% of the symptoms of premature skin aging, as well as a host of other skin changes.

UV radiation is the chief instigators of:

Collagen breakdown - causing the formation solar scars and increasing the appearance of wrinkles

Free radicals - which destroy cell function and alter genetic material such as RNA and DNA of the cell, thereby increasing wrinkles.

Texture Changes Caused by the Sun - causing a thickening of the skin that increases coarse wrinkles and yellow discoloration of the skin; along with a thinning of the skin that causes fine wrinkles, easy bruising, and skin tearing.

Pigment Changes Caused by the Sun - enhances the occurance of freckles, and age spots or liver spots on the backs of the hands, chest, shoulders, arms, and upper back.

IT CAN INCREASE THE ONSET OF CANCER

Whereas the more severe effects of UV radiation include:

Skin Bumps Caused by the Sun - more descriptively, an increased number of moles and precancerous lesions called actinic keratoses, as well as seborrheic keratosis which appear as warty lesions stuck onto the skin.

Skin Cancer Caused by the Sun - such as the 3 most common skin cancers: melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma. All of which are potentially fatal.

LOOKING AFTER YOUR SUN DAMAGED SKIN

The simplest means of protecting against sun damaged skin is to avoid any unnecessary exposure to the sun's harmful rays. Moreover, there are a number of natural skincare creams available that assist in reversing the harsh damage caused by the sun.