Is It Possible To Reverse (And Prevent) Skin Sun Damage?
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010As you age your skin ages with you. Whilst there’s nothing that you can do about getting older there are several factors that bear more directly on the state, and the look, of your skin than just about anything else. Reverse these factors and your skin will thank you for it. One of the most potent ways to damage your looks is by excessive skin sun damage. This isn’t good for your skin care.
Too much time spent in the sun is terrible for your skin. Whether you get sunburned or even if you just spend a lot of time in the sun you can age your skin prematurely. Along with another factor, namely smoking, these are the 2 worst things you can do to ensure your skin will show your age earlier.
The rays of the sun can be seriously damaging. At worst it is now known that one of the implications of sunburn can be skin cancer which can lead to your death. Many people are aware of the risk of skin cancer but are less aware that exposure to the sun can, over time, lead to premature skin ageing. This is technically called photo-aging.
Of course there are always things you can do to help prevent excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation and therefore lower the incidence of skin sun damage, and therefore improve your overall regime of face skin care. Most important is to remember to stay out of direct sunlight during the middle of the day, particularly during summer. If you do need to go outdoors in the middle of the day for any extended period of time then wear a hat a broad brim together with a long sleeved shirt. However these are not complete answers. You can still get a burned face under a hat, for example from reflection off the water.
Then of course there are sunscreens to help prevent skin sun damage. However it is now becoming more widely known that many sunscreens do not offer full protection from the different ultraviolet rays produced by the sun, in particular those can lead to serious skin sun damage problems such as cancer.
It is possible to get natural sunscreens. There are a number of components of plants, for example, that will act as a natural sunscreen and help protect you from burning. Not only that but several of these, according to some of the most recent science, can actually help reverse the effects of photo-aging.
Lycopene is one of these ingredients. If you read the health literature you may well know about lycopene. It’s an ingredient of tomatoes and the studies are showing that lycopene can have some beneficial effects on your health. For example there is growing evidence that increasing your intake of lycopene can help prevent breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. On top of this there is now evidence that more lycopene can help reverse the effects of photo-aging on your skin and therefore help reverse skin sun damage you may have suffered in earlier years.
And lycopene is not the only natural sunscreen available, there are others sourced from plants that offer natural protection, though you ought not rely on a natural sunscreen alone to protect you from the suns rays.
Cutting edge science is starting to understand more about the mechanisms of photo-aging, one of the most damaging causes of premature ageing. And modern science is also starting to produce products that utilize the benefits inherent in these natural sunscreens.
For instance a new omega 3 supplement has been introduced to the market which now includes lycopene as an effective ingredient together with another natural sunscreen as well. Omega 3 fatty acids themselves are well known to have important qualities to improve the health and the look of your skin. The make up of Omega3 fats is very similar to the make up of the natural oils your skin produces itself and taking regular omega 3 supplements has established benefits for improving your skin.
If you’re interested in high quality skin care you need to understand the damaging effects of excessive exposure to sunlight, and that there are ways to help prevent this and also to reverse the effects of skin sun damage.
Gradually science is learning more about how to keep skin healthy and how to reverse the effects of photo-aging using such natural products as lycopene.
If you’d like to source omega 3 supplements which now include lycopene as one of the active ingredients then head over to my website.