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Who would’ve thought that when Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta belted out their hit song Summer Loving all those years ago, that they were touching on an important life lesson.

 This does not refer to the fact that one shouldn’t give your heart away too quickly. 

The sun can have a devastating impact on the skin and it does “happen so fast”

It is an interesting exercise to compare the skin of someone say 30 years old living in a place such as Florida, compared to someone living in chilly Chicago. If the two individuals have both looked after themselves well, don’t smoke and don’t drink too much, their skin is likely to tell two different stories.

The Florida individual is likely to have far more skin damage than their Chicago counterpart and this is most certainly directly related to the amount of exposure they have had to the sun.

 Our skin is no match for a burning ball of gases millions of kilometers in diameter. Dry skin ages more quickly  

The sun emits harmful UV rays which have a very damaging impact on the skin. Firstly they are very warm so we perspire and consequently lose moisture in our skins, then and even more damaging, the rays burn our skin. This causes not only a nasty tomato or beet red (if you happen to be fair like me), but also causes the skin to contract as it tries to protect itself.

 As a result, wrinkles are formed very quickly and there is a far greater chance of this than for people in colder climates.  

Skin cancer becomes a major concern

Although there is a wealth of information these days about cancer, many people still take chances by going into the sun without any form of protection of their skin.

It is really important that whenever you go into the sun you use a sunscreen not suntan lotion as a basic means of protection.

 We should all in fact include as part of our beauty routine – or use products that include sunscreen in them. Many moisturizers do this. There is a far greater chance of getting skin cancer if one doesn’t use sunscreen. Often a skin blemish is altered by the sun, it is therefore very important to closely monitor skin blemishes and check that the sun does not alter them!

An altered skin tag for instance could become a malignant growth.

Children and older people are the highest risk groups for this type of disease. Although this is beginning to change

Climate change and the increased harshness of the sun increase the dangers tenfold

Now it is not the idea to avoid going into the sun altogether. It is an important source of Vitamin D for the body which is one of our essential minerals. But don’t go into the sun without sunscreen and take a hat as well.

Be sure to reapply sun screen every 40 minutes for periods of lengthy sun exposure and also immediately after swimming

Sunbeds and tanning salons are also dangerous

 Not many people are aware that there is also some danger in making regular use of a tanning bed. Check with your practitioner about the levels of UV rays emitted by the tanning bed and treat as you would a trip to the beach. Take your sunscreen! So while summer loving is great, it is getting increasingly dangerous for our health and we need to make sure that we take the necessary precautions so that we can enjoy a healthy glow without paying the price

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Tags: cancer, skin damage, sun, sunscreen, UV Rays

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