“The sun damages your skin completely,” explains Karen Burke, M.D., of the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, California. “It gradually destroys your skin’s inner elastic tissue and breaks down the connective tissue, all causing premature aging. As the outer layer of your skin thickens to protect the vital inner layers, your skin becomes leathery and old looking.”
There’s also new evidence that sunlight may play a role in the formation of gallstones. In a study, the risk of gallstones was 25 times greater for sunburn-prone subjects who sunbathed than for those who didn’t. According to one theory, ultraviolet light from the sun, which triggers the skin’s pigment system, may lead to an increase of pigments in the bile. This in turn could trigger gallstone formation.
No man is about to stay out of the sun altogether. But while you’re out there, protect yourself by wearing a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher, advises dermatologist Fredric Haberman, M.D., of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. “People think they need sunscreen only when they see the sun,” Dr. Haberman says. “That’s not true. You need it when it’s cloudy, too, because clouds don’t stop damaging ultraviolet rays.” As added protection, he recommends wearing a hat with a brim to block damage from reflected light.
If you’ve already got wrinkles, you can do some repair work with Retin-A cream. Studies continue to show that regular use of this prescription medicine can eliminate the fine lines around the eyes and soften coarse wrinkles on the upper portions of the face. Dermatologists are now combining Retin-A with alpha hydroxy acids to reduce the irritation and redness that some people experience when they begin to use the medication.