Aside from keeping your skin flawless and blemish-free, skin aging is another concern that needs your attention! Aging will happen to everyone. But as scary as it sounds, there are still ways to delay it. Here, let us discuss how sun damage on the face happens and how to minimize its effects.

The Skin

You are covered and protected by your skin from head to toe. But the skin has a lot more duties than just being your outer covering!

The skin is an important organ that acts as a physical barrier that keeps harmful bacteria out of the body. It can also modulate your body’s temperature and store body fluids with its sweat glands. And the skin is filled with nerves, making it a primary sensory organ.

Skin Aging: How the Sun Ages the Skin

Eventually, your skin will age – an irreversible process that changes the appearance of the skin. As you age, you may notice wrinkles and dark spots all over the skin, especially the face. 

Aging does not happen at the same time for everyone. A major factor that speeds up the process is too much exposure to the sun’s rays. Since it covers the entire body, the skin has a large surface that can be exposed to the sun and is susceptible to its harmful effects.

But why is sun exposure such a concern for the skin?

Sunlight contains ultraviolet radiation, and this causes sun damage to the face and skin. Ultraviolet B (UVB) rays are known to damage the skin’s DNA, causing skin problems like sunburn or cancer. Because of these UVB rays, the skin will produce more melanin to make the complexion darker in its attempt to block the rays from penetrating any further.

On the other hand, Ultraviolet A rays have longer frequencies that penetrate deeper into the skin and cause photoaging. Under direct UVA rays, the dermis produces more enzymes that damage the skin’s collagen. Collagen is a crucial part of the skin’s plump and youthful appearance. UV rays can constantly damage collagen, leading to earlier skin aging.

Sun damage on the face happens due to the skin’s exposure to these UV rays. Long-term and constant exposure to these rays can lead to the early appearance of wrinkles and unflattering skin textures. Plus, the skin can thinned out.

Extreme cases of too much sun exposure, genetics and other factors can lead to the development of skin cancer. As much as 1 in 50 Filipinos would be diagnosed with skin cancer. Fortunately, individuals can treat skin cancer if this condition is detected early on.

Skin Preparations Against the Harsh Sun

Skin aging can start creeping up on you as early as your mid-20s. During this age, your body gradually stops making collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid. These are essential components of the skin’s elasticity. As these diminish in the body, we expect to develop wrinkles, fine lines, and other signs of aging.

Here are some ways to minimize the sun damage on your skin:

Limit and schedule your sun exposure.

Prevention is better than cure, so as much as possible, stay away from direct sunlight! UV rays are most harmful when they are directly hitting your skin. Choose to be under a shade or indoors between 10 am to 4 pm when the sun shines its brightest.

Apply sunscreen.

When exposure to sunlight is inevitable, you need to put on your favorite sunscreen. Sunscreen labels normally have their sun protection factors or SPF written on their labels. You should use at least SPF30 and constantly reapply it every two hours, especially if you are always under the sun.

But what does SPF mean? Let us take SPF30. Sunscreens with SPF30 means that applying it on the skin would make it 30 times as long to be burned or damaged in contrast to having no sun protection at all.

Application is not the only thing you need to worry about. The ingredients providing you with this sun protection are susceptible to breakdown over time, so keep an eye out for your sunscreen’s expiration date. Moreover, sunscreen is less effective when washed away by sweat or water.

Choose protective outfits.

If going under the sun, wearing protective outfits is another great way to add protection to your sunscreen-coated skin. Try putting on a hat, long-sleeved shirt, or pants, or even have an umbrella ready to give you shade.

Cleanse your face twice a day.

Hot summer days and humid climates go together, especially in tropical countries like the Philippines. The combination of the two can make you feel greasy. Keep your skin clean from excess oil and gunk by cleansing your face with a gentle cleanser twice a day.

Cleansing twice a day also helps minimize breakouts. Remember, too much sun exposure paired with humidity can trigger more acne to form!

Use moisturizers.

When your skin is dehydrated, it would have trouble repairing itself. So, when exposed to too much sunlight, your skin is more vulnerable to photoaging. Moisturizers not only hydrate dry skin. It can also help protect your skin and improve its texture. So, do not forget to use moisturizers daily and include them in your skincare kit, along with your sunscreen.

Skip the application of too much makeup.

During hot days, you are encouraged to skip applying too much makeup. Less makeup lets your skin breathe from all the heat and humidity. Plus, heavy makeup should not be your replacement for your daily sunscreen needs.

Collagen Supplements

Sun damage on the face can be minimized by following simple steps like wearing sunscreen or staying out of the sun. However, other natural processes of the body accelerate skin aging, making aging very complicated.

As you age, the collagen produced by your body lessens. Collagen is a protein found on your skin, muscles, bones, and cartilage. And, the integrity of all these structures depends on the abundance of collagen in your body!

What happens if collagen depletes? For the skin, it will appear saggy and less elastic. Wrinkles and fine lines will be much more noticeable. And since the skin’s integrity is weaker, it is not as efficient in retaining moisture and would look dry.

But this is the good news: collagen supplements like Glow Collagen are readily available! Glow collagen is packed with 2,500 milligrams of collagen hydrolysate that can be orally taken in to help the skin appear brighter and smoother.

Orally taken collagen will degrade once digested. This process will release substances like peptides and amino acids, making them available for distribution to the entire body. Your skin will love these substances as they can improve skin elasticity and give you anti-aging benefits.

A common misconception regarding collagen supplements is that they will increase the level of collagen in the body. But this is not how the supplements work. Collagen breaks down upon digestion, and the peptides from the digestion process help boost the body’s natural collagen production.

Some collagen supplements work in a specific way. And various collagen ingredients are seen on the market! These are how common collagen ingredients benefit us:

  • Hydrolyzed collagen. This safe ingredient is a type of collagen broken down into peptides. These peptides are what the body absorbs to help the body produce its collagen.

  • Undenatured collagen. This powdered form of collagen supplement is usually used to boost joint health in individuals with osteoarthritis.

  • Gelatin. This other type of degraded collagen has larger peptides than hydrolyzed collagen. But, since its contents are larger than those found in hydrolyzed collagen, gelatin is less absorbed by the body. So, you would normally see people buying gelatin as thickeners for cooking.

If you are looking for a collagen supplement to add to your diet to get the most out of its anti-aging effects, you can try Glow Collagen and take one sachet per day or as prescribed by a physician.

Conclusion

The sun will keep on shining every day. Even if sunshine gives us our daily dose of vitamin D, too much of this can lead to skin problems and faster aging.

If you worry about sun damage and skin aging, then always remember to apply your sunscreen daily and limit your exposure to the sun. You can also take collagen supplements to help maintain the elasticity and plumpness of your skin.

References:

Article Reviewed by: Dr. Mary Amy Fatima Cagayan Chua.