What is the MOST important skin care secret you need to know for youthful skin? If you said “Protecting from the harmful rays of the sun!”, you get a gold star.
Sunlight is a major cause of skin aging, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH). We all know a sunburn is obvious skin damage. But, did you know that short, repeated exposure to the sun (also called chronic sun exposure) is a major cause of skin damage too.
Recent news seems to be full of advice and information about protecting babies from the dangers of sun exposure. This is good. The Skin Cancer Foundation says that even one childhood sunburn doubles the risk of skin cancer later in life. And, the risk of developing melanoma, the most deadly of all skin cancers, doubles for those who have had five or more sunburns at any age. So, parents taking care that their babies are not exposed to the dangers of UV rays from the sun is a welcome and overdue trend.
However, most advice focuses first on using sun block. While sun block should be used…and make no mistake about that…the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends sun block in combination with sun protection clothing. This is an important distinction.
