How Does Sunlight Damage Skin?

Being in the sun has a really positive influence on people’s lives and provides the body with vitamin D which helps to keep the bones and teeth healthy; however, it can cause damage to skin. Short term damage such as sunburn and longer term damage such as skin cancer are both consequences of over exposure to sunlight.

Over exposure to sunlight can cause the skin temporary damage e.g. tan or sunburn. It could lead to premature ageing, dry skin, itching, enlarged blackheads, wrinkles and loss of elasticity.

Sunlight contains different wavelengths of light known as ultraviolet (UV). The two most damaging are ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB):

• UVB rays are absorbed by the top layer of the skin (epidermis) which causes the skin to tan and/or burn.
• UVA rays will penetrate deeper and can cause damage to the middle layers of skin (dermis). UVA damage causes premature skin ageing and can lead to wrinkles.
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When the skin is exposed to the sunlight, a coloured pigment called melanin is produced and this will stop the skin from burning easily but it won’t prevent the harmful effects of UV rays.