Something you should know about sun tanning...

I explained in one of my very first posts the process of tanning but here's a quick reminder. Melanin is the pigment responsible for our skin color and the more melanin you have the darker your skin will be. When you expose your skin to the  sun rays, your body will produce more melanin to protect it from burning. However, the sun rays contains two types of ultraviolet rays that are dangerous :

• UVA are responsible for aging and wrinkling the skin 
• UVB are responsible for sunburn. Severe sunburn caused by those rays can contribute to skin cancer on the long term such as melanoma, especially when you are young. 

Tips to remember: UVA, A for Aging and UVB, B for Burning. 
So you understand that unprotected skin and long exposure can cause aging (hello wrinkles) and sunburns but also skin cancer. This is no joke and the reason why you MUST protect your skin when you expose your skin for a long time. Moderate exposure is actually very good because it produces Vitamine D. However, if you have:

• Moles (or parents have a tendency to develop moles)
  
• Very fair skin
  
• A family history of skin cancer, including melanoma

You are then particularly exposed to sun danger and you must protect your skin.

Two more thing you should know :

• UV can reach your skin even through the clouds so if you are exposing yourself during a cloudy weather, beware and don't skip the sunscreen
• UV can also penetrate window glass

And if you still want to skip the sunscreen and not protect yourself, check the picture below...

The New England Journal of Medicine

This 69-year-old man had driven a delivery truck for 28 years. On his left side, he had been exposed 
to UVA rays transmit through window glass of his truck. They penetrated his skin epidermis (superficial layer of the skin) and upper layers of dermis  (deeper layer of the skin). The picture speaks for itself: the chronic exposure damaged this man's skin, thickening his epidermis and destructing the elastic fibers (wrinkles). 

The window glass didn't protect him and without any sunscreen you can see with time the damages the rays have done to the skin. According to the study, he will also need to treat his skin because UVA can also create a DNA mutation which can lead to cancer as well.