Sunscreen as an Anti Aging Skin Care Product

How Sunscreen Keeps You Young

By Mark Stibich, Ph.D., About.com Guide

Updated May 08, 2009

Anti aging skin care products should all have one thing in common: sunscreen. Sun damage is behind almost all of the signs of aging skin such as wrinkles and age spots. To prevent damage to your skin from aging, be sure that sunscreen is your number one anti aging skin care product. Choose a sunscreen with an SPF rating of at least 15 (use a sunscreen with a higher rating if you plan to be in the sun for a longer period of time). Also, be sure that you use a broad-spectrum sunscreen that protects your skin from damage from UVA and UVB rays. Finally, be sure that your sunscreen is water resistant even if you are not planning on swimming –- your sweat alone undo the protection of non-water resistance sunscreens. All the ointments, moisturizers and creams in the world can’t compare to the anti aging effectiveness of ordinary sunscreen. Here are some other tips to keep looking young:

• Avoid the Sun: Sunscreen is great, but if you can avoid long exposure to the sun, that is even better. Don’t spend a whole day at the beach in the beating sun. Limit your time out in the sun and your skin will age better.
• Wear Protective Clothing: If you have to be in sun, do your best to keep the sun off your body. Wear long sleeved shirts and pants. A hat with a wide brim is great to protect your head and your face, neck and shoulders.
• Wear Sunglasses: Your eyes can be damaged by UV light as well as your skin. Be sure to wear sunglasses that protect against 99% or more of UV rays.
• Avoid Artificial Tanning: Sunlamps and tanning beds are just asking for trouble –- don’t use them. They will damage your skin and speed your skins aging while increasing your risk for skin cancer. Artificial tanning lotions and make-up actually do provide some minimal protection from UV rays. But the effect is minimal and short-lasting. Your skin may look darker, but you have none of the protection of a real tan (and people often don’t bother with sunscreen and tanning make-up together because it just ends up a creamy mess). Finally, avoid anything marketed as a tanning pill. These pills basically turn your skin orange and the long-term safety of high doses of tanning pills is unknown.
• Check Your Skin: Almost of 50% of people who make it to age 65 will have skin cancer in their lifetime. You need to check your skin often for any signs of skin cancer as well as see a dermatologist regularly for a skin check. Learn how to do a skin self-check.

Finding a Provider

Finding a Provider

To find a qualified provider in your area, most specialties have websites that list board-certified doctors in that specialty. You can call your state's medical board to see if a specific provider has had any complaints against him or her. Finally, ask your friends, people from the place of worship you attend, or community organizations you are involved in if they have recommendations. The good providers are usually well known.

When to See a Dermatologist

When to See a Dermatologist

Some conditions are pretty exclusively treated by a dermatologist. These include severe forms of common diseases such as acne, atopic dermatitis, and rosacea. Also included are uncommon diseases such as pemphigus, porphyria, and cutaneous lupus. Finally, most skin cancers are treated by a dermatologist, sometimes in conjunction with a surgeon.

When to See Your Primary Care Provider

When to See Your Primary Care Provider

Generally, if you have a new rash, you should see your regular provider. Many skin conditions don't require a specialist to diagnose and treat. Some rashes are chronic, or long-term, requiring regular check-ups to keep them under control. You should consider seeing a dermatologist if your regular regimen is not working.

How To Do The Basic At-Home Facial

ballyscanlon/Getty Images

the right beauty tips for your skin from the Experts. Apply Now!KayaClinic.com

There’s nothing better than getting a professional facial, but they can be expensive. To maintain your healthy skin between professional treatments or to do them yourself, try this basic at-home facial once a week. This basic facial works on oily, dry and combination skin. And don’t worry, I’m not going to make you whip up a batch of egg-whites & oatmeal. If you want natural, do-it-yourself recipes, see ‘Make Your Own Face Mask.’

You saw the 5 "dos" for perfect skin care. Now here are 5 don'ts:

• You saw the 5 "dos" for perfect skin care. Now here are 5 don'ts:

• Don’t pull and rub your skin. Aging skin has been under attack by UV rays, stress and carbon monoxide so don't stress it more by pulling on it.
  
  
• Don’t forget to moisturize. While it's a myth that wrinkles are caused by dry skin, moisturizing can improve the appearance of lines by temporarily plumping them up.

  Extra tip: Moisturizers are best used on damp skin. They lock the moisture in. Dr. Dennis Gross doesn't use tap water when washing skin because of harsh minerals found in many city water sources. Instead, he rinses off with Evian water.
  
  See my list of the best moisturizers.

• Don’t ignore your neck and chest. The neck and chest are first to show the signs of aging (they have fewer oil glands than the rest of your body), yet most of us ignore them. Look for moisturizers that have age-fighting ingredients like vitamin A (retinols), kinetin, copper or vitamin C.
  
  
• Don’t tan. Even if wrinkles haven't shown up yet, you need to stop tanning now because they will. Once signs of aging appears, you'll be spending a lot of money to reverse it. So if you do have sun damage? You can reverse the damage with photorejuvenation such as pulsed light treatments. Many spas and dermatologists provide these pricey fixes.
  
  
• Don’t sporadically take care of your skin. One word of warning: Once you start an anti-aging regimen, you need to keep it up for best effects. The effects of acid peels, AHAs, moisturizers -- all the anti-aging products that remove dead skin cells and make skin look plumper -- won't last forever. You have to maintain them.

Your Guide to Perfect Skin

You can reverse the aging process

Photo courtesy of Aveda

More Images (2)

"What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful that the garment with which it is clothed?" -- Buonarroti Michelangelo

5 Dos and 5 Don’ts to Help Slow the Aging Skin Process

Maybe you're in your 20s or early 30s and you think you can't possibly have (gulp) aging skin yet. Well, you're wrong. Your skin's "youthfulness" has less to do with age than how it's been treated, so if exposed to sun, smoke and stress, your skin will start "acting old," losing collagen, glow and elasticity. Lines will develop prematurely and your skin may look dull and "blah."

It's easier to prevent damage than to repair it, but the good news is you can put the brakes on prematurely aging skin and you can reverse the aging process, well, to a point.

Here are 5 dos and 5 don’ts to help slow down and reverse the aging process and leave your skin glowing at any age.

• Do stop smoking. Ever notice the skin of a lifelong smoker? It can appear wrinkly like a squashed paper bag. The fact is, smoking is the 2nd biggest cause of skin damage after sun exposure. Why? Nicotine constricts blood vessels and decreases the flow of oxygen to the skin. Not good things.
  
  
• Do use a retinoid every day. A daily application of a one percent prescription retinoid lotion (such as Retin-A or Tazorac) can erase years from your face. In fact, dermatologists claim retinoids (see "Is this product the secret to looking young?" are the one anti-aging product that really works.

  Before I used Retin-A, I suffered from dull skin. My complexion had a white cast, a dull pallor until I bought a tube of Retin-A over-the-counter in Mexico. I had friends who swore by the stuff. After using the product for a few weeks (and going through the annoying period where my skin turned red and peeled), all of a sudden I had dewy, glowing skin and people started to tell me I had gorgeous skin.

  AHAs used properly not only rids your face of dead skin, but can seem to take 10 years off as well by reducing fine lines. (Keep in mind these products do NOT shrink pores. Your pore size is completely hereditary, so don't believe promises of permanent reduction). Over-the-counter options such as RoC Deep Wrinkle Night Cream are good, but prescription creams work the best. Extra tip: You must stay out of the sun if you use retinoids. You are extra-susceptible to sunburns.

• Do exfoliate once a week. Choose a formulation that's best for your skin type. Chemical exfoliators (glycolic or salicylic acid) are best for oily or combo skin, while scrubs found in microdermabrasives work best for sensitive skin.

  See my list of the best facial scrubs and peels.

• Do use an eye cream daily. Eyes are one of the first places to show aging. The skin around the eyes is extra thin so you'll want to protect it from the sun with eye cream with SPF. Eye creams are controversial. Some experts and dermatologists believe you don't need a special product around the eyes, while others swear by the benefits of eye creams.

  See my list of the best eye creams.

• Do wear sunscreen every day, rain or shine. You’ve had it ingrained in your head since youth, but seriously, even in winter it can take just 20 minutes of unprotected sun exposure to damage the skin. Here's a list of great sunscreens, including what I believe to be the best sunscreen in the world.

  By the way, it's a MYTH that 80 percent of your lifetime sun damage occurs before age 18, according to the April, 2006, issue of O Magazine. Katie Rodan, MD, adjunct professor of dermatology at Stanford University School of Medicine, says in O that this myth stands officially debunked and studies indicate we get only 23 percent of total UV exposure by age 18. Of course it gets worse as we age. So you CAN prevent sun-induced aging by wearing sunscreen.