10 Reasons to Avoid the Sun

It’s true that sunshine is good for us.

But we are frighteningly unaware of the potential damage that the sun does to our bodies.



Here are just 10 reasons to avoid the sun:

1. Most of the signs of aging that show themselves in later life such as fine lines and pigmentation problems are actually caused by the sun before we are even 18 years old.

2. Exposure to the sun has been established as the primary trigger for the skin disease called Rosacea. This is characterised by permanent redness in areas of the face. While Rosacea isn’t dangerous to your health, it does give you a blotchy red appearance.

3. Protect your eyes! Did you know that one of the major causes of age-related cataracts is exposure to the sun? It’s not just your skin that could be suffering!

4. Cumulative sun exposure massively increases the risk of skin cancer. Whilst most skin cancers can be removed easily, some require invasive and potentially disfiguring surgery.

5. Another effect of cumulative exposure to the sun is precancerous lesions. These are ugly reddish or brown spots that appear on the skin and indicate the risk of future skin cancer.

6. Although remarkably easy to avoid by wearing sunscreen, solar lentigines are disfiguring brown-pigmented areas that can be found on skin areas that are exposed to the sun. They are usually the result of sunburn, but they also appear in elderly people who had years of exposure to the sun.

7. It’s true that facial acne is temporarily put on hold because exposure to the sun affects the outer layers of the skin. However, being in the sun greatly stimulates oil production in the skin, which makes skin bacteria multiply aggressively. Once away from the sun, there is a major eruption as all of the built up oil, bacteria and dead skin cells are forced to the surface of the softening skin.

8. If you’ve experience the unsightly pigmentation changes caused by acne, you’ll want to stay out of the sun. Sun bathing will make these changes darker and much more difficult to treat.

9. Exposure to the sun causes your hair follicles to become damaged, leaving your hair looking dull and making it brittle. The sun also strips hair of its natural colour, and prematurely ages it.

10. The fake sunlight emitted from tanning beds radiates UV rays that deeply penetrate your skin and is worse for your skin than the real sun!

Treatments such as Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) and SmartXide Laser Skin Resurfacing are currently available to help reduce the appearance of sun-damaged skin.

With IPL, the dark sun damaged areas absorb the intense light and after just a few days they darken and crust over and fall off. SmartXide Laser Skin Resurfacing offers the best results. It uses an advanced laser that leaves the skin looking younger, tighter and smoother.

For treatment solutions for sun-damaged skin, contact Riverbanks Clinic for a consultation.