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Skin Care and Aging

Skin changes over the years

From NIH, for About.com

Updated: July 23, 2006

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Americans spend billions of dollars each year on "wrinkle" creams, bleaching products to lighten age spots, and skin lotions to keep skin looking smooth and healthy. But the simplest and cheapest way to keep your skin healthier and younger looking is to stay out of the sun.

Sunlight is a major cause of skin changes we think of as aging--changes like wrinkling, looseness, leathery-dryness, blotchiness, various growths, yellowing, or pebbly texture. Still, one-third of all adults sunbathe even though they know that sunlight can hurt their skin.

Your skin does change with age--for example, you sweat less and your skin can take longer to heal. You can delay these changes by staying out of the sun.

Over time, the sun's ultraviolet (UV) light hurts the fibers in the skin called elastin. The breakdown of these fibers causes the skin to sag, stretch, and lose its ability to snap back after stretching. The skin also bruises and tears more easily and takes longer to heal. So while sun damage may not show when you're young, it will later in life.

Nothing can completely undo sun damage, although the skin can sometimes repair itself. So, it's never too late to begin protecting yourself from the sun.

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