Shocking Reminder: The Sun is Your Skin's Worst Enemy

You hear it all the time. Wear sunscreen. Every day. All day. And do you listen? Hopefully you answered that with a resounding, "Yes!" If you didn't—and if you inwardly winced knowing you sometimes forget on weekdays or never reapply as diligently as you know you ought to, then this graphic warning should be a further reminder.

manface.jpg

This man's face, or half of it really, is cold hard proof that the sun, and all its nasty UV radiation, is cardinal enemy number one when it comes to your skin. The New England Journal of Medicine has released this jarring image of a man with unilateral dermatoheliosis, or in laymen's terms, "gradual, asymptomatic thickening and wrinkling of the skin on the left side of his face." The 69-year-old truck driver has driven a delivery truck for the last 28 years and the difference in photoaging on the side of the face that was routinely exposed to the sun through the driver's side window is dramatic.

The proof is in the pudding it seems, but don't crawl into a windowless cave just yet. Proper sun protection can help. Find out more on the new FDA regulations for SPF and make sure your skin is properly covered. If you already suffer sun damage, you can work to reverse it with these tips.
 
Top