What is sun exposure? How does it affect the skin.
Too much of anything is bad, and the same goes for sun exposure. Ultraviolet (UV) rays are the invisible radiation of the sunlight, which can penetrate deeper into the skin. There are two types of rays UVA and UVB that reach earth.
UVA rays
UVA rays penetrate deeper into skin, causing damage to connective tissue which triggers sun allergy, photoaging like melasma, pigmentation, and sunspots.
UVB rays
UVB rays penetrate the outer layer of the skin, giving immediate damage, like sunburn and tanning.
Therefore, It's very important to use sun protection, while going outside in the sun. It's also advised to use a hat and clothes which cover the full body to protect skin from the harmful rays of sun.
5 Tips to recover skin after sun exposure
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Wash everything off
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Gently exfoliate skin
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Hydrate your skin
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Restore your vitamin C level
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Hydrate internally
1. Wash everything off
Taking a bath or cleaning your face should be the initial step after coming out of the sun. Being out all day in the sun ends up in getting sweat and dirt, which mix up and make you feel gross and sticky. To remove it and soothe your skin from sunburn, use a mild face wash and body wash so that it does not get harsh on the skin to make it worse.
2. Gently exfoliate skin
After coming out of the sun, be gentle with your skin. It already gets dry and rough and to maintain the skin smoothness, it’s important to remove dead skin cells, therefore using exfoliant is the best option. Physical and chemical are two types of exfoliants. Physical exfoliant rips off your skin during exfoliating, but choosing a chemical exfoliation, it does not rip off skin. AHA is an excellent exfoliation ingredient made up of organic substances. It gently removes dead skin, giving an even skin tone and smoother skin.
3. Hydrate your skin
Sun UV rays strip off the natural moisture of your skin, resulting in drying out. Therefore, it’s vital to use products that contain hyaluronic acid, ceramide, and aloe vera to deeply hydrate and moisturize your skin. These moisturizing ingredients help to repair damaged skin barrier, thereby making your skin soft and smooth.
4. Restore your vitamin C level
A study conducted by the National library of medicine shows sun exposure weakens skin collagen and imbalanced melanin in the body due to which uneven skin tone, melasma, and freckles appear on your face. Therefore, using Vitamin C is best. Its antioxidant properties help to increase collagen in the skin, cure pigmentation, and protect from free radical sun damage.
5. Hydrate internally
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, your body loses a lot of water after getting sunburn and it’s extremely important to soothe our skin from outside as well as inside with one of the best ways to heal skin from the inside is to drink plenty of water.
It’s important to enjoy every minute of your life. However, taking precautions is just as pivotal. Going out in the sun without proper sun protection may lead to noticeable premature aging, fine lines, hyperpigmentation and melasma. Moreover, making simple mistakes while doing skin care can make your sunscreen less effective while also mucking up your skin goals. Therefore, it is wise to avoid overlooking your sun protection to attain healthy, radiant and youthful-looking epidermis.
P.S
Neglecting sunscreen on cloudy days is a very common myth. You all know about harmful rays of sun, but are you also aware that it can harm you on cloudy days also? Various research shows that sun harmful UV rays can filter through the clouds, window even during the coldest day and can cause sun allergy, ageing and melasma. Therefore using a broad spectrum sunscreen every day whether it's rainy or summer is very crucial.
