Photoaging and Skin Protection: Understanding the Effects of Sun Exposure

Staying in the sun has tremendous benefits. However, being exposed to the UV rays of the sun for too long negatively impacts our skin. It results in premature aging of the skin or photoaging. Photoaging of the skin primarily depends on the degree of ultraviolet radiation and the amount of melanin in the skin. ⁽¹⁾

Photoaging is the premature aging of your skin or the skin damage caused due to prolonged sun exposure, particularly the ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation. It can also lead to skin cancers. Photoaging can come from natural UV rays exposure from the sun or artificial UV light sources (sun lamps or tanning beds). Photoaging is also known as solar damage, sun damage, photodamage, and dermatoheliosis.

Everyone is susceptible to photoaging. However, people who are at the most risk of photoaging are:

• Those who have a light skin tone.
• Those having many moles.
• Those who have had skin cancer or a family history of skin cancer.
• Those who have freckles and burns before tanning.
• People who have blue or green colored eyes or blond, red, and light brown hair.
• Those who live at high altitudes or live in places that receive a lot of sunlight.
• Individuals who spend a lot of time outdoors.
• Those who are older adults. ⁽²⁾

The epidermis, the dermis, and subcutaneous tissue are the three layers of the skin. Proteins, including collagen, elastin, and other essential fibers are present in the dermis. These proteins affect the strength and elasticity of the skin and are responsible for the smooth and youthful appearance of the skin. Being exposed to UV radiation, damages these important proteins, resulting in photoaging skin damage.

Let us learn how photoaging or sun damage occurs.

UVA rays reach you when you are outdoors. UVA radiations from the sun are responsible for long-term skin damage and photoaging. They deeply penetrate the skin, break down collagen, and contribute to the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. However, unlike UVB radiations, UVA rays do not cause sunburns or any immediate changes to the skin.

The UVA radiation that penetrates the skin can provoke free radicals, which break down proteins found at the deepest skin layers, thus resulting in cell and DNA damage.

Your body starts the production of antioxidants that work as a natural defense against free radicals. Antioxidants help to neutralize free radicals and counteract the effects of UV radiation.

Oxidative stress begins when the number of free radicals becomes too great for your body’s natural antioxidant defenses to fight off. This oxidative stress leads to the visible signs of aging.

Wrinkles, rough skin, skin dryness, loss of the skin tone, mottled pigmentation, severe atrophy, laxity, leathery appearance, actinic purpura, sola elastosis, precancerous lesions, melanoma, and skin cancer are some clinical signs of photoaging. ^{(3, 4)} Some other signs of photoaging are lip lesions or actinic cheilitis, worry lines on the forehead, spider veins, thinning of the skin, and white spots on the legs, arms, and back of your hands.

Complications of photoaging include:

• Increased risk of melanoma.
• Worsening of rosacea.
• Increased number of precancers, such as actinic keratosis.
• Development of seborrheic keratosis, actinic lentigines, actinic elastosis, and telangiectasia.

Some of the possible treatments for photoaging include:

These are the topical products that are beneficial for treating early signs of photoaging. These are the chemicals that encourage skin cells to slough off so that new skin cells come to the surface. Retinoids and retinol also stimulate the production of collagen, which keeps your skin tighter. They are essential for treating wrinkles and fine lines, age spots, and also for reducing skin roughness.

The skin damage caused by free radicals can be slowed down by using vitamin C and other antioxidants. Antioxidants reduce the damage caused by UV radiation, lower the breakdown of collagen, and slow down photoaging.

Hydroquinone and other whitening or lightening agents can lighten blemishes, sunspots, and uneven skin tone.

Cryotherapy is the procedure where liquid nitrogen is used to freeze noncancerous age spots and actinic keratosis. The treated areas of the skin become dark and shed in a few days.

Lasers can be used to remove the damaged top layer of your skin and to increase the production of collagen, which in turn, makes the surface of the skin smoother and offers a more even appearance to the skin. Uneven skin pigmentation, sun-damaged skin, age spots, fine lines and wrinkles, and more signs can be treated through laser skin resurfacing.

Dermabrasion is a technique that is beneficial in improving wrinkles, age spots, and more such signs of sun damage. The technique “sands’ away your skin to unveil the new and smooth skin underneath.

This is the therapy in which your skin is coated with medication and then a blue or red fluorescent light activates the medication. This therapy destroys precancerous cells. Treatment might cause a sunburn-like reaction that would clear off in a week or two.

Plastic surgery procedures, such as facelifts, brow lifts, and neck lifts are used for treating sagging skin, deep wrinkles, and extreme loss of skin elasticity.

Although it is usually hard to prevent photoaging completely, following some tips can help in lowering the risk. Let us learn about the ways to protect skin against photoaging.

Wear broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen daily while outdoors. It protects your skin against both UVA and UVB radiations. Use sunscreen formulations with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or higher.

• Wear hats, sunglasses with UV protection, and lightweight long-sleeved shirts and full pants while outside.
• Avoid the peak hours, usually between 10: 00 AM to 4: 00 PM.
• Cleanse your skin gently. Avoid scrubbing, since it irritates the skin and increases skin aging.
• Perspiration can irritate the skin. So, wash the sweat off your skin as soon as it comes.
• Apply skin moisturizer daily.

Apply antioxidants like vitamin C topically. You can also take oral antioxidants that could help in preventing photoaging caused by UV radiation.

Eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in sugar and refined carbohydrates. This helps in preventing damage that leads to photoaging.

Eat healthy foods, reduce alcohol consumption, stop smoking, exercise on most days of the week, and get adequate sleep. Drinking alcohol dehydrates your skin which can cause more damage, smoking speeds up skin aging and causes dull complexion and wrinkles, while exercising increases blood circulation and boosts the immune system, which helps improve your skin quality. Apart from this, quality sleep gives your body enough time to repair itself.

Photoaging is the premature aging of the skin caused due to excess exposure to the UV radiations of the sun. Some of the major signs of photoaging include wrinkles and fine lines, skin dryness, thinning of the skin, loss of skin tone, and more. If you want to protect your skin from photoaging then avoid prolonged sun exposure and try out various means to protect your skin by applying sunscreens, taking an appropriate diet, and focusing on the clothing that you wear while outdoors. Finally, remember that seeing a dermatologist is the best way to treat and protect your skin from photaging.

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