Sun exposure! 

Way more than any other factor. Yip, UV rays from the sun are the main cause of:

• Wrinkles
• Pigmentation
• Sunspots
• Reduced skin elasticity
• The degradation of skin texture
• Many other signs of skin aging.

What is the role of sun exposure in skin aging?

UV radiation is particularly damaging to the skin as it has been shown to not only increase levels of the damaging free radicals, but it also causes a reduction in the antioxidants that are naturally present in human skin.

*Photo shows 28 years of sun damage that this woman received whilst truck driving, you can see the difference in the side that was exposed to sunlight.

According to new research – sun damage is the MAIN cause of visible aging.

In the study, reported in the medical journal Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, researchers wanted to calculate for the first time the effect of sunlight alone.

UV rays accounted for 80 per cent of skin aging, including wrinkles, in the study of almost 300 women – half ‘sun worshippers’ and half ‘shy of the sun’.

The study also found that a 2% increase in skin damage ages a face by 3 years!

(Various other factors can also change the skin’s appearance and structure, including gravity, the natural ageing process, pollution, diet, smoking, illness, and stress.)

Dermatologists examined the faces of 298 women, aged 30 to 78, with 12 experts studying photographs of individual faces on a screen.

The results show that the effect of UV exposure increases with age. Significant differences were seen in wrinkles and skin-texture quality after the age of 50, with the sun-seekers looking older than their real age.

The researchers worked out what they call a ‘sun damage percentage’ and calculated that the sun is responsible for 80.3% of skin aging.

They also found that women with 80% damage look their age, while those who have 82% damage look about 3 years older, and those with 78% damage appear 3 years younger.

*Photo shows Twins aged 69 who had different amounts of sun exposure

The researchers, from L’Oreal Research and Innovation Center, Paris, said: 

‘Our study confirms the accountability of sun exposure in premature aging of the face.

‘Our comparison between two groups of women, whose sun behavior was different, has allowed us to clearly demonstrate the effect of UV exposure.’

But how will we get Vitamin D if we use sunscreen?

The way most people meet their body’s vitamin D requirements is through sun exposure. 

When sunlight hits your skin, dehydrocholesterol on the surface of your skin forms pro-vitamin D3. This goes on to be activated to full vitamin D3 by the liver and kidneys. It is UV-B rays that trigger vitamin D3 synthesis. If you block UV-B rays, your skin cannot form vitamin D3.

Can your skin still make vitamin D3 if you wear sunscreen that blocks ultraviolet rays from the sun?

Yes, your skin’s ability to make vitamin D3 will be impeded if ALL your exposed skin is covered by sunscreen. Most sunscreens are broad-spectrum sunscreens and block both UV-A and UV-B rays and all sunscreens reduce UV-B. 

So, you cannot count on sun exposure while wearing sunscreen to raise your vitamin D level. Yet as Harvard Health points out, the amount of sunscreen people apply is often insufficient to block all UV-B rays, so you still get some vitamin D production - unless you apply a heavy layer of sunscreen.

To meet your body’s vitamin D needs through sun exposure, you need to expose at least 40% of your skin to 15 minutes of sunlight daily.  Protecting the face, neck and decolletage and instead exposing other areas of your body to the early morning sun (which is gentler) would be sufficient, and you only need 1/4 of an hour.

Tizo Mineral Sunscreen provides coverage from both UVA & UVB rays. TIZO contains only the top two sunscreen filters: Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide.

Zinc Oxide is the only active sunscreen ingredient that provides full spectrum coverage of UVB and long and short UVA rays by itself.

Titanium Dioxide is the next best ingredient that covers both UVA and UVB, although it does not cover long UVA rays.

Chemical Sunscreens are limited in their protection and need to be combined to accomplish what Zinc Oxide can do alone.

Check out this comparison chart from Tizo Mineral Skincare

Why Choose TIZO Mineral Protection

• Elegant Textures -TIZO Mineral Sunscreens are made with ingredients that are formulated to feel soft and light.
• Best Ingredients - All TIZO Mineral Sunscreen are made with raw materials that are “best available,” meaning they are medical grade quality.
• Free of - All chemical sunscreen filters, dyes, parabens, gluten, phthalates, preservatives.
• UVA/UVB Reflection - Mineral sunscreen filters reflect UVA and UVB rays away from the skin, whereas chemical sunscreen filters absorb those rays.
• Versatile for All Skin Types and Tones - TIZO has multiple products that work for all skin types, including acne-prone, rosacea prone, dry, and oily and for all skin tones without leaving a white mask.
• Lays on top of the skin - Mineral sunscreen ingredients lay on top of the skin. Some chemical sunscreen ingredients have been proven to absorb into the skin and bloodstream.
• Reef Safe - Mineral sunscreen ingredients are reef friendly. Although the only 2 ingredients that have been banned in Hawaii and Key West are oxybenzone and octinoxate, we believe that the safest option for our earth is to choose a mineral sunscreen.