Theres not much awareness about skincare where i live, so i never really used sunscreen or anything, however i noticed just how different the shade of my skin is on my hands and neck and i was wondering if this is standard tanning, however some ppl said that it may be uv damage and irreversible.
And if this is a tan, is this reversible or harmful in any way, I have been exfoliating and my skin seems to have gotten somewhat lighter
Technically speaking, it’s both of these things. The melanistic changes to skin tone are a direct response to incoming UV damage, and is intended to be a protective mechanism.
There’s a limit on how protective melanin will be for you, though, and it does not protect from every type of damage that the sun does.
UVB rays, for example, does the most DNA damage, but can be less obvious in its immediate impacts than UVA, which cause the bulk of the tanning (and burning) effect.
It remains to be seen if the negative impacts of sun exposure will outweigh the positives for each individual.
Every person will be better or worse at different aspects of compensation; regenerating collagen, scavenging free radicals and removing damaged cells are all governed by myriad factors like genetics, behaviour, environment, and so on.
It is actually important for your skin to get direct sunlight touching your skin in some way shape or form, but it’s prudent to be in control of how long you do so for, what part of your body you expose (arm and leg skin is generally more durable than face and chest), and at what intensity.
As I understand it, a light tan is good if you can maintain it (relatively) safely, but a very dark tan stacks the odds higher on the side of cancer. No tan at all, though, leaves you very vulnerable to other forms of cancer- some things have to die to be renewed, after all- so I encourage any behaviours that limit overexposure of sunlight, and encourages cell turnover.
There are topical creams, supplements and behavioural changes you can try to encourage more cell turnover in your skin.
You might choose to use a light daily sunscreen for your face, neck and hands, but leave the rest of your body if you’re just running a few errands outdoors that day.
Or you might wear a hat with a mesh covering when working outdoors that allows filtered light.
You might check the UV rating on your phone’s weather app and choose to cover up with sunscreen if it’s high, and so on and so forth.
Lots of info, I know, but I hope I’ve helped.
It’s tanning, but you should always use sunscreen when sunny and high UV prognosis. Especially on your face, ears and neck.
Pro tip: don’t go out in the sun
