Protect Your Skin From Sun Exposure

The absolute number one key to good skin health and anti-aging is to use a sunblock consistently at a minimum of an SPF of 30.  SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor and is the measure of the efficacy of the product.  Sunblock should be applied at least 20-30 minutes before initial sun exposure.  A big problem with getting my clients to use sunblock is that they don’t believe they are in the sun!  The initial moments of sun exposure are the most harmful, such as walking from your home to your car.  Then when you are in the car on the way to run errands or to work, the whole time you are being exposed to damaging UVA and UVB rays, these are the ultra violet rays that come from the sun.  UVA is invisible to the human eye but the affects manifest as a sunburn, where the damaging UVB rays are internal and can damage the DNA of cells.  The worst affect of unprotected sun exposure is Melanoma, which is a malignant tumor of the melanocytes.  Melanoma is the deadliest of all cancers and can be avoided.  With properly applying sunblock and use of topical anti-oxidants you can avoid getting Melanoma.