Beauty and Beastly UV Rays

suns dangerous rays UV woman hands up against sun

A key element to having beautiful skin is caring for and protecting it from beastly ultraviolet (UV) rays. Daily sunscreen is critical to keeping signs of aging and skin cancer at bay as the intensity of the sun’s rays increases. Skin cancer most often appears on the areas of the skin that are exposed to the sun, and repeated exposure unprotected can bring signs of skin cancer earlier.

A Heroic Approach to Skin Protection

When it comes to caring for and protecting your skin, be your skin’s hero and take a proactive approach by wearing daily sunscreen. The face, head, and arms are the most susceptible to the beastly UV rays and are the most common areas of the body to get skin cancer treatment. Although skin cancer is highly treatable, especially when caught early, why not make efforts to avoid the disease in the first place? There is no reason not to apply daily sunscreen and form a daily habit that protects the skin regardless of the season or the weather.

Protecting the skin with sunscreen must be part of everyone’s daily routine, regardless of the time of year. What used to be considered only essential in summer months is now a skincare step that must be carried out throughout the year.

Protect and Prevent Skin Damage

Skincare and beauty products can help firm, hydrate, and lighten dark spots on the skin, all promise to keep skin looking more youthful. However, without measures to fight off the beastly UV rays daily, all your other products will be deemed useless. No products will, toe to toe, counter the dangerous effects of the sun’s harmful rays.

Keeping it Easy and Simple

If the thought of applying daily sunscreen seems daunting. Keep it simple and easy. Applying sunscreen is the easiest way to keep skin looking healthy and youthful for years to come. At any age, sunscreen must be something that is done without exception. The damage from one day of exposure to beastly UV rays without proper sunscreen will adversely affect the skin’s health.

The Outlook on Beastly UV Rays

Ultraviolet rays cause wrinkles, age spots, skin cancer, and deplete elasticity faster than any other environmental factor. The fact is that sunscreen is incredibly effective against the sun’s rays and is a minor thing to incorporate into one’s daily skincare routine. As winter ends and spring is upon us, if you skipped sunscreen through the colder and cloudier days of winter, there is no time like the present to take a proactive approach to caring for your skin this spring and summer.

It does not have to be sunny or warm for the sun’s beastly UV rays to cause skin damage. Cloudy days are when visible rays are blocked, but the harmful rays come through whether or not you can see or feel them. The American Academy of Dermatology reports that more than 80% of the sun’s UV rays pass through glass (this includes car and office windows), smog, and clouds. When outside, near water, snow, and sand, the reflection of those surfaces will naturally intensify the UV strength, leaving skin even more vulnerable without protection. One thing is evident – even when we don’t think we need sunscreen, we do.

Pasty Sunscreens Be Gone!

Gone are the days of the best sunscreen coverage, being thick, sticky, and greasy. High-quality, light, and easy-to-wear sunscreens surpass the old sunscreens that left skin looking pasty and white. Sunscreens come in lotions, sprays, and even powders. As the beauty industry recognizes the damage of the sun’s UV rays and wants to serve its clientele better, it continues to make strides in providing products with sunscreen that also serves as a beauty product. Today, many beauty products have sunscreen; one can never have too much protection against the beastly UV rays! If your daily eye cream has SPF, as well as your serum, lotion, and makeup, your skin is getting excellent care! Think about finding a product that can quickly and conveniently be re-applied during the day. Sunscreen powders come in tones to smooth out and freshen up makeup looks.

As sunscreen beauty products continue to come on the market, many will mix them with their beauty products, creating a custom sunscreen look. Although sunscreen should be the last step of your skincare routine, it typically ends up under makeup, so if you can find makeup with sunscreen, that is a bonus! If you apply makeup over sunscreen, leave ample time for it to absorb into the skin so it is maximally effective. Remember that makeup with sunscreen IS NOT enough protection but can be an effective supplement on top of a daily, lightweight sunscreen.

If you have never had a skin cancer screening, now is the time. Identifying signs of skin cancer early is the key. Skin cancer screenings have become a typically covered annual exam by many insurance companies. If you live or work in Atlanta, call Buckhead Dermatology for a skin cancer screening appointment.