External elements, known as extrinsic factors, can prematurely age your skin. Excessive exposure to the sun is an extrinsic factor that aids in damaging your skin. Your skin naturally ages intrinsically, or internally, but exposure to the sun accelerates the aging process.

Sunlight harms your skin, most particularly the upper layer of skin known as the epidermis. The ultraviolet light of the sun damages fibers in the skin referred to as elastin. Dermatologists have a special term, photoaging, for the premature aging caused by exposure to the sun's rays and this condition occurs over a period of many years. Fair skin tends to show signs of photoaging more profoundly than dark skin because of the level of pigmentation in the skin.

Signs of damage due to exposure to sunlight include wrinkles, roughness, leathery texture, age spots, blotchy pigmentation and a reduction of flexibility. Skin that has been hurt by the sun may also be more prone to bruising. A major cause of skin cancer is the damage done by exposure to the sun. Exposure to the sun can also include tanning since you are still putting your skin into contact with simulated sun rays.

There are several ways to minimize the damage done to your skin from exposure to the sun. For effective sun damaged skin treatment, avoiding the sun between the hours of ten in the morning and three in the afternoon, when the sun is strongest, is helpful.. Use a sunscreen or moisturizer with an SPF number of 15 or higher to block harmful rays. The higher the SPF number, the more protection the sunscreen offers your skin. Wear protective clothing, such as hats, sunglasses and light, long-sleeved shirts to shield the skin from sunlight. Also, keep away from the use of sunlamps or tanning beds.

Minimizing the effects of exposure to the sun can enhance the appearance and well-being of your skin.