Photo-ageing is a complex process which accelerates premature ageing on the skin but it can be controlled, as Marta Rull, Cristina Davi, Elena Cañadas, Wim Van Den Nest and Raquel Delgado explain
The sun’s rays have a proven ability to make individuals feel happy and motivated at the same time as offering other positive physiological effects: they are a primary source of vitamin D; they promote cell function and energy in the short term; and they help to regulate our natural biorhythm cycles. However, sun exposure can also have both acute and chronic consequences for the skin. Making up 95% of UV radiation, UVA radiation (320-400nm) can penetrate the epidermis and cause indirect DNA damage as a result of the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as well as single strand breaks in DNA and DNA–protein crosslinks, dermal damage and matrix remodelling including abnormal elastin fibres and increased collagen degradation and crosslinking.[1,2] Although UVB radiation (290-320nm) is mostly absorbed in the epidermis, it is more cytotoxic and mutagenic, directly inducing DNA damage.[3,4]