Aloe Vera Sun Protection

Although sunburn is unsightly and sometimes painful, the sun's rays can also cause long-term damage to the skin, which is definitely serious. As you may already know, it is UV rays that can damage our skin. In contrast to the light that we can see, UV rays have a higher energy content and shorter wavelengths. The higher the energy of the radiation, the shorter the wavelength of this radiation. There are three different types of UV rays emitted by the sun. These are UV-A, UV-B and the most energetic and short-wave UV-C rays. Thanks to the ozone layer, which acts like a filter for UV-C rays, we normally only receive UV-A and UV-B rays on the surface of the earth. How intensively these UV rays actually affect our skin depends on various factors. The time of day and the season, i.e. the distance from the earth to the sun, the geographical location and the cloud cover all influence how much UV radiation actually reaches us. In general, it can be said that UV radiation is significantly more intense in spring and summer. In places with a lot of water or snow, the radiation is reflected. In this way, the intensity is even significantly increased by scattered radiation. Therefore, a sun protection cream is not only intended for summer holidays, but should also be applied in the snow, for example when skiing, to protect the skin appropriately.

Many people are already aware that UV rays can damage the skin, but how this damage manifests itself, apart from sunburn, is unfortunately unknown to most people. Different types of UV rays have different effects. But the infrared rays contained in the sun's rays also have an effect on our skin.

What UV-A rays do

After just a short time in the sun, the UV-A rays stimulate the thickening of the upper horny layer and form so-called light calluses, the tan of which quickly disappears. Somewhat more sensitive skin may experience skin rashes caused by light or a sun allergy. Excessive exposure to the sun without proper protection visibly accelerates the formation of wrinkles and unsightly skin aging. Evidence of this comes in the form of images of truck drivers whose half of their face has aged normally and the half of their face that has been exposed to the sun through the window has aged significantly faster. Have a look at such pictures on the Internet, if you are not already familiar with them. According to scientists and researchers, very high numbers of UV-A rays can also damage our genetic material. As some of you are probably already aware, excessive exposure to UV-A rays can lead to an increased risk of skin cancer.

What UV-B rays do

UV-B rays penetrate deeper into the skin than UV-A rays, stimulating the formation of melatonin in the skin, resulting in a much-desired tan that lasts longer and doesn't return as quickly disappears as soon as the skin stops producing excess melatonin. But it takes longer to get the desired tan. The UV-B rays build up a protective layer on our skin, which can somewhat filter further or repeated exposure to the sun. Sunburn is mainly caused by UV-B rays. Possible late effects such as skin cancer are also linked to this.

What infrared rays do

Infrared rays penetrate the skin deepest and, according to the Institute for Environmental Medicine Research in Düsseldorf, are also damaging to the skin. In the long term, this type of radiation from the sun leads to faster skin aging.

It is very important to avoid sunburn as this is technically a first or second degree burn of the skin and any sunburn also increases the risk of skin cancer. For these reasons, it is essential and absolutely important that you and your loved ones apply sunscreen to free parts of your body in good time to protect your skin. These include the face, neck, arms and ears. For added protection from the harmful and dangerous IR and UV rays that can cause skin disorders, choose appropriate clothing that covers as much of your skin as possible and headgear such as a sun hat or cap , wear. But you don't have to be afraid of the sun, as scientists have found that if the skin is not used enough to sun exposure, it can lose its ability to build up its own natural sun protection. This is particularly noticeable in early summer, shortly after winter, when the skin has not yet been able to get used to the sun. At this time, it is easy to get sunburned with lighter skin. The sun also stimulates the formation of the all-important vitamin D, which, together with calcium, is extremely important for our bones. It's about enjoying a healthy amount of sun, but not overdoing it to protect yourself.

How long your skin can protect itself from the sun's harmful rays depends entirely on the type of skin you have. In general, skin types can be divided into six broad categories.

The Celtic Type

The characteristics of the Celtic type are characterized by a very light skin color, slightly reddish or light blond hair and freckles. These freckles appear in place of a tan. The self-protection time of people with this skin type is less than 10 minutes, so these people should ALWAYS wear sunscreen.

The Nordic guy

The characteristics of a Nordic type are light skin, frequent freckles and blonde, light or dark brown hair. People with this skin type only tan slowly and only a little and often have sunburn, since the self-protection time here is 10 to a maximum of 20 minutes.

The mixed type

The characteristics of a mixed type are medium skin color, usually dark brown, light brown, or dark blonde hair, but sometimes blonde or even black hair. This skin type hardly ever has freckles, slowly tans to a light brown and sometimes gets sunburned. The skin's own protection time is 20 to 30 minutes.

The Mediterranean guy

The characteristics of a Mediterranean type are tan skin when untanned, often with an olive undertone. Most of these people have brown or black hair and no freckles. This type of skin tans quickly to a medium tan and rarely burns as the self-protection time is over 30 minutes.

The dark skin type

The characteristics of this type are dark to light brown skin when untanned, often with a gray undertone. The dark skin type has black hair, no freckles and hardly any sunburn. These people achieve a quick tan to a dark brown. The self-protection time here is over 90 minutes.

The black skin type

The characteristics of the black skin type are dark brown to black skin even when not tanned, black hair and no freckles. These people almost never get sunburned because they also have a self-protection time of over 90 minutes.

But keep in mind that every skin is different, so everyone has to find out for themselves what protection factor they need. Too much protection can mean that the skin does not develop its own defenses and thus does not get used to the sun. However, particularly light types or risk groups cannot avoid an SPF 50.