Protect Your Skin to Look Younger and Live Longer

We all are going to get older. But treat your skin right and you don't have to look it. To maintain an ageless look - protect yourself from the sun.

Two big reasons to shield the sun's rays are skin cancer and aging. Tanning rays from the sun and tanning booths give off doses of solar radiation that penetrate and damage the skin.

"A lot of what we think of as aging is actually sun damage," said LCDR Kurt K. Mueller, MC, chief resident of dermatology at National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD.

According to Mueller, avoiding outside activities between 10 a .m. and 4 p.m. when the sun is most intense would be an ideal to protect your skin, but it's not very realistic.

Wearing tightly knit clothing and wide brim hats, using umbrellas and sitting under shade trees also offer protection. As a matter of fact, a T-shirt can offer as much as five on the sun protection factor (SPF) chart.

The SPF system charts how many times longer it would take for the sun to get through to your skin when wearing a lotion. For example, the sunburn you would normally get in one hour would take 15 hours with an SPF 15 sunscreen.

Mueller recommends using 15 SPF for everyday use and 30 SPF or higher in direct sunlight for most of the day while at the pool or the beach.

Whether oceanfront or pool side, use waterproof or resistant sunscreens. Waterproof sunscreens retain a protective capacity up to 80 minutes even in water. Water resistant sunscreens retain a protective capacity up to 40 minutes even in water.

Sunscreens, sunblocks and lotions that are not waterproof or water resistant wash away quickly but may be appropriate for everyday protection from harmful rays. No matter which cover you use, reapply it often for continuous protection.

Sunscreens aren't just for grown ups. Evidence suggests wearing sunscreen every day during the first 18 years of life can reduce the risk of worst skin cancer by 78 percent. Wearing it throughout your entire life can reduce chances by 98 percent.

Sunscreen use isn't limited to those with fair skin either. Although, people with black or deep brown skin are less vulnerable because they naturally possess a SPF level of five, they should protect their skin also.

According to Mueller, whether you're old or young, whatever your race, whether you've used sun block and sun screen or not, it's important to check skin moles.

"If people see a mole that appears irregular or is changing, they should get it looked at early so if it is cancerous it can be treated," said Mueller.

Protect yourself from the sun and you'll be protected from skin cancer and looking old.