Still NOT wearing sunscreen everyday? This video may help change your mind…
Artist Thomas Leveritt organized a beautiful experiment where women and men of all ages viewed their faces under an ultraviolet lens. This revealed everything that the naked-eye cannot appreciate; all of the freckles, all of the brown-spots, all of the sun damage.
When it comes to skin, an ultraviolet-light is like the end-all, be-all truth serum: it shows both your future and your past, and there is no way to hide anything.
Unprotected exposure to the sun (or tanning bed) causes freckles, age spots, and skin-damage.
The majority of these spots may not (yet) be visible to the naked eye, but will become darker and prominent over time.
It is also important to note that children (or vigilant sunscreen wearers) appear to have flawless skin. This is because the decades of sun damage and exposure have not accumulated and manifested yet.
It cannot be repeated often enough: SPF is your greatest defense against aging.
Under an ultraviolet camera, sunscreen shows up as a black barrier against UVA and UVB rays. This is what your skin should always look like during the day.
The net takeaway?
Make sure to put on a broad-spectrum sunscreen every day, of at least SPF 30. Sunscreen is not just for beach vacations or during sunny, outdoor days. The sun damage you are acquiring while driving in your car, walking to walk, or even sitting by a window, is incremental, but adds up. Even though your eye might not be able to detect it yet, it will eventually be inescapable.
Take advantage of the easily available protection (and avoid skin cancer!!!!!!) by the simplest means possible: make sunscreen application an absolute necissity to your self-care routine.