We also know that the best vitamin D comes from sun exposure. 

But there is a lot of scientific evidence that sun exposure can cause skin damage leading to even serious skin cancers.

You must be wondering how are we supposed to get vitamin D from sun exposure while sun exposure can cause serious harm to our skin?

Sounds like we need sun exposure for vitamin D as much as we need to avoid sun exposure.

Guess what?

We can get vitamin D from sun exposure and avoid our skin being damaged by the sun at the same time.

The key is to strike a balance.

Skin damage is caused by the ultraviolet (UV) rays that come from the sun and not the temperature of the sun.

Let us understand briefly, what are UV rays?

UV rays are forms of electromagnetic radiation that come from the sun.

UV rays also can be artificially produced, for examples, from tanning beds, mercury lamps, or welding torches. 

There are 3 main groups of UV rays:

• UVA rays - the least energy among UV rays.  Because UVA rays have the longest wavelength,  they can penetrate deep into our skin, causing skin cells to age, damaging the DNA of cells leading to skin cancers.
• UVB rays - have more energy than UVA rays.  Because UVB rays have a short wavelength, they can only reach the outer layer of our skin causing skin to tan.
• UVC rays - have the most energy than other 2 types of UV rays.  UVC rays can’t cause harm to our skin, because they react with ozone high in the atmosphere and don’t reach to the ground.

To what extent can UV rays damage our skin depends on factors such as:

• Time of the day - UV rays are the most intense between 10am and 4pm.
• Time of the year - UV rays are the most intense between spring and summer months.
• Distance from the equator (latitude) – the further the distance from the equator, the less the UV exposure.
• Altitude – the higher the altitude, the more intense the UV rays.
• Clouds - UV rays can penetrate cloud to reach the ground regardless the thickness of the clouds.
• Reflection off surfaces - UV rays can bounce off surfaces like water, sand, snow, glass, pavement, or even grass, leading to an increased in UV exposure.

In sum, we’re exposed to UV rays during the day.  Especially in the hot summer months.

UV rays can cause our skin to:

• dehydrate
• form deep lines and wrinkles
• develop sallow skin that appears brown and yellow tone
• develop uneven pigmentation or sunspots
• reduce elasticity of skin

These are signs of prematurely damaged skin.

Though, the prime concern with UV rays exposure is DNA damage in skin cells.

UV rays can destroy our skin cells quicker than our skin can produce new cells to replace.

UV rays can alter skin cells by turning the DNA of cells into a mutation, and once mutant cells are formed, they begin to multiply, putting our skin at risk of skin cancer, melanoma, and various forms of carcinoma.

Our skin is responsible for producing vitamin D to support our bones, teeth, and mental health.

Vitamin D is produced in our skin by UV rays’ stimulation.  UV rays penetrate our skin and turn the fat in our skin into vitamin D. 

Since UV rays can reach our skin without direct sun exposure, by going about our daily routine is enough sun exposure for our skin to produce sufficient vitamin D needed to support our health.  

Prolong UV exposure doesn’t increase the level of vitamin D but increase the risk of skin damage.

Ideally, if we start protecting our skin from harmful UV rays from early days, we can prevent unnecessary long-term skin problems later in life.

Sadly, this is not the case with most of us adults who weren’t brought up with this kind of preventative knowledge.

However, research has found that applying broad spectrum SPF moisturizer during the day for a year can significantly reverse signs of premature damaged skin.

Note that, broad spectrum SPF moisturizer product is the one that can provide protection for both UVA and UVB.

In addition, a SPF moisturizer with a high SPF rating doesn’t necessarily guarantee a better protection unless the moisturizer specifies UVA and UVB protection.

In fact, a well formulated SPF moisturizer doesn’t need to have high SPF rating as long as it contains the following ingredients: 

• UVA/UVB broad spectrum protection
•  Antioxidant vitamins like retinol vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B, or vitamin E

The ingredients that made up of UVA/UVB broad spectrum protection should include:  

1.       a chemical sun protection ingredient to absorb UV rays

2.       a physical sun protection ingredient like zinc oxide or titanium dioxide to reflect UV rays

An SPF moisturizer is incomplete without antioxidant vitamins.

Having antioxidant vitamins in a SPF moisturizer is important because they help to:

• boost the level of antioxidants needed in our skin to help resist oxidative stress
• prevent skin from dehydration
• help repair after sun skin damage

Antioxidant vitamins are especially important for mature dry skin since the level of antioxidant vitamins in mature skin is typically low.

Having said that, you can have the best SPF moisturizer in the world, you still need to re-apply it if you’re planning to be outdoor for an extensive length of time. 

Apart from applying SPF moisturizer during the day, items that are useful to strengthen the protection from harmful UV rays include:

• a sun hat to create shading for our face and protect our head from getting burnt when performing outdoor activities.
• Light long sleeves shirts and pants to reduce the impact of UV rays on our body.
• A pair of polarised sunglasses to help block UV rays that would normally enter our eyes after reflecting off of surfaces.
•  an umbrella to create shading when we’re out and about.

Especially during the hot summer months.

Armed with the knowledge of how to protect and prevent our skin from the harmful UV rays, we can relax and enjoy a beautiful sunny day while replenishing ourselves with plenty of vitamin D needed to support our overall health. 

Like all things in life, balance is the key to everything we do.