 Protecting
Your Skin With Preventive Skin Care
Your skin reflects your health. It's your body's canvas and
one of its most valuable assets. For good skin care, start
developing healthy habits that guard your valued possession
from outer (and inner) forces. It's the only skin you'll ever
get, so your daily habits mean everything.
Are You Ready to Take Charge?
Start simple. You can spend all the money you want on the
most complex skin care routine, but it won't really matter
if you haven't developed healthy habits. So before you charge
a few hundred dollars worth of skin care products, evaluate
your current skin care routine. Do you have healthy habits?
For instance, do you properly cleanse your skin? If you're
a woman who wears make-up, be sure to remove all traces of
make-up at the end of the day. No matter what your gender
is, you should drink plenty of water, providing your skin
with vital moisture from the inside. When you're out in the
sun, be sure to wear sunscreen. Even though you won't see
immediate results, those little steps make a big difference
over time.
Start early. Integrate a proper skin care routine into your
day early. If you're a teenager or if you have a teenager
at home, start now to develop healthy habits. If you're an
older adult, lead by example! You can't replace the skin you're
in, but you can nourish and pamper it to protect it for the
future. With the proper care, your skin can stay fresh as
you age.
Seek professional help for skin problems. Skin's not going
to be perfect. It can be dry or oily; it can develop rashes
and acne, among many other issues. Address the problem with
a professional skin expert, either a skin aesthetician at
your local salon or a dermatologist for more severe skin problems.
Block the sun. Protecting your skin from the sun is important
because the sun emits ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Over time,
exposure to UV radiation causes many changes in the skin,
including wrinkles, discoloration, freckles or age spots,
benign (non-cancerous) growths such as moles, and pre-cancerous
or cancerous growths such as basal cell carcinoma, squamous
cell carcinoma and melanoma. In fact, most skin cancers are
related to sun exposure.
Exposure to the sun is so damaging to skin that is worth understanding
this problem thoroughly. There are two main types of UV radiation:
UVB and UVA. UVB rays cause sunburns and UVA rays cause tanning.
UVA rays are believed to be responsible for photoaging –
the damage that occurs to the skin from many years of exposure
to the sun. Both rays contribute to the risk of developing
skin cancer.
Most sunscreen products available in the past were developed
to prevent sunburns by blocking UVB rays. Fewer sunscreen
products have been equally successful in blocking UVA rays.
For that reason, sun protection recommendations emphasize
certain behaviors, as well as the use of sunscreens. The recommendations
include:
Avoiding mid-day sun between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Wearing wide-brimmed hats, long sleeved shirts and pants
Using a generous amount of sunscreen and reapplying it frequently
(every 2-3 hours)
Using sunscreens that have a sun protection factor (SPF)
greater than 15, and that have UVA and UVB coverage
Avoid tanning beds Read more about the damage the sun can
cause skin.
Learn how to take care of your dry skin.
Reviewed by the doctors at The Cleveland Clinic
Department of Dermatology.
Edited by by Michael W. Smith, MD, April 2003,
WebMD.
Portions of this page © The Cleveland
Clinic 2000-2003
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