Skin Aging
On areas that are typically exposed to the sun, up to 90% of skin aging is due to the effects of UV radiation.37 The same kind that you’re bombarded with every time you lie in a tanning bed. While you’re busy getting the tan that will turn heads, UV rays are busy altering the structure of your skin, making you look older faster.
Old school.
When skin prematurely ages due to exposure to UV radiation, it’s called photoaging. How does it work? Well, UV rays penetrate both the outer and inner layers of your skin and damage the collagen and elastin that keeps your skin resilient and youthful. This results in a ton of different physical effects ranging from sun spots to wrinkles.
Early Signs: 38
- Fine wrinkles around the eyes and mouth
- Frown lines on the forehead
- Spider veins on the nose, cheeks, and neck
- Various pigmented spots, such as freckles, age spots and an uneven skin colour
- A general loss of skin
- Permanent tone in sun exposed areas
- Lips start to lose some colour and fullness
Later Signs: 39
- Deep creases around the eyes and mouth
- Forehead frown lines set in and can be seen when not frowning
- Leathery and sagging skin
- Age spots appear on the face and hands
- Broken blood vessels on the nose and cheeks
- Lips are drawn, pale and thin
- Red, rough scaly spots, which may be pre-cancerous and require treatment
References:
37 Gilchrest, BA: Skin and Aging Processes 1984 CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 130 pp.
38 Canadian Dermatology Association. (2011). ”What is Photoaging” Retrieved November 4th 2011 from: http://www.dermatology.ca
39 Canadian Dermatology Association. (2011). ”What is Photoaging” Retrieved November 4th 2011 from: http://www.dermatology.ca