Tanning is an important part of looking good for bikini season. Sure, doing your makeup right and choosing the right bikini is essential, but having that dark bronzed skin is what’s going to turn heads. Spending enough time in the sun is the best way to get that tan you want!
But did you know that the sun doesn’t just bronze your skin beautifully, but it can also do serious damage? It’s important to know how the sun does damage to more than just your skin!
Blood Vessel Damage
When you spend a lot of time in the sun, the small blood vessels near the surface of your skin–called the capillaries–dilate (expand) in order to accommodate an increased blood flow to your skin. Heat causes the dilation of your blood vessels, and it’s normal for the dilation to occur when you spend a lot of time in the sun.
However, if you spend too much time under the hot sun, those blood vessels dilate so much and for so long that they are actually damaged. The capillaries stay dilated, which gives your skin a red appearance. If you notice that your skin always looked flushed or mottled red, it’s because of the sun causing permanent dilation of your blood vessels.
Eye Damage
When you spend a lot of time in the sun, you increase the risk of a condition called surfer’s eye, or pterygium. This eye condition is common among people that spend a lot of their time outdoors, but it’s most common with surfers.
What happens is that fleshy pink tissue begins to grow on the whites of your eyes, usually on the side next to your nose. It isn’t a cancerous lesion, but it will often continue growing for the rest of your life. This will not only interfere with your vision, but you may find that the lesion will spread and grow completely over your eye. It may cover your pupil completely, and you may go blind in that eye. It can affect both eyes, and it’s primarily caused by prolonged exposure to UV light.
Serious Skin Damage
Of course, you know that the sun causes damage to your skin, but do you know how extensive the damage can be?
- Liver or Age Spots –– Also known as lentigines, these spots are the result of too much melanin being produced by your skin. The melanin clumps together, forming thick, dark brown spots that are highly visible on the skin. They can cluster not only around the face, but also on the back and chest.
- Skin Breakdown –– There are two proteins keeping your skin healthy: collagen and elastin. When you spend a lot of time in the sun, these two proteins are broken down by the UV rays. This leaves your skin unprotected, which can lead to serious skin damage. The proteins not only help to keep your skin looking good, but they’re also necessary for healthy skin. Your body cannot produce the proteins fast enough, so you end up with skin that is ageing, sagging, and drying out at a very young age.
- Skin Cancer — Everyone knows that skin cancer is the result of too much time spent in the sun, but do you know why? What happens is that every time your skin comes in contact with the sun’s UV rays, the UV rays cause subtle changes on the cellular level. The more changes made to your skin by the UV rays, the more permanent the damage will be. This is why you’re recommended to avoid prolonged contact with the sun.
