The Single Most Important Thing for Anti-Aging Skin Care

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Sunscreen is put to the test in a randomized controlled trial to see if it can actually slow skin aging.

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Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

Considered the single most important practice for maintaining youthful skin: the daily application of sunscreen, and taking other protective measures, like wearing a hat. All other things you can do for your skin pale in comparison, especially for those with pale skin.

Up to 90 percent of visible facial aging among people with lighter skin tones is due to exposure to sunlight. Those with darker skin are relatively protected due to their built-in melanin sunscreen, but they are still affected. Sun damage in darker skin tends to be less about wrinkles and more about pigmentation issues, such as uneven skin tone, dark patches, and small dark bumps on the face. Either way, dermatologists now agree that there is nothing more important to slow the signs of aging than to protect your skin from the sun. To illustrate, here’s a dramatic photo of a trucker who spent decades getting more sun on the left side of his face through his driver’s side window––reminiscent of a Batman villain.

Factors like sun exposure and smoking can make us look up to 11 years older. Compare that to extensive cosmetic surgery—a face-lift and a neck lift, and removing excess skin from both the upper and lower eyelids, and a forehead lift, which combined, can make us look about eight years younger. So, a healthy lifestyle may work even better.

Protecting your skin from the sun should be a lifelong endeavor. This can involve applying sunscreen, wearing sun-protective clothing, hats, and sunglasses, and avoiding direct sunlight during the peak hours of 10 AM to 4 PM and instead seeking shady, covered areas. Sunbathing is frowned upon, even with sunscreens like zinc oxide or titanium dioxide that offer broad-spectrum protection against both UV-A and UV-B rays. We now know that other wavelengths, such as near infra-red, that are not covered by sunscreens, also contribute to skin aging. Men and women who use tanning beds appear significantly older than those who don’t, and white women who sunbathe appear years older than they actually are––similar to what is seen with smoking.

UV-A rays are primarily responsible for skin aging, whereas UV-B are the rays that cause sunburn. But a broad-spectrum sunscreen covering both is recommended, since both types of UV contribute to cancer risk. To prevent skin cancer, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher, but an SPF even as low as 15 can help prevent skin aging. How do we know? Because it’s been put to the test.

Despite the widespread belief that the use of sunscreen would prevent skin aging, all we had were data on hairless mice. That is, until ten years ago. Nine hundred adults were randomized either to years of daily sunscreen use, or to continue with their own discretionary use. (It was considered unethical to withhold protection by giving people placebo sunscreen.) In the end, 77 percent in the recommended daily sunscreen group were applying sunscreen at least three to four days per week, compared with only 33 percent in the discretionary use group. Would that be enough of a difference to make a difference? Yes, there was significantly less skin aging in the instructed daily use group. In fact, they suffered no detectable increase in skin aging over the four-and-a-half-year study. The researchers concluded “Regular sunscreen use retards skin aging in healthy, middle-aged men and women.”

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Motion graphics by Avo Media

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

Considered the single most important practice for maintaining youthful skin: the daily application of sunscreen, and taking other protective measures, like wearing a hat. All other things you can do for your skin pale in comparison, especially for those with pale skin.

Up to 90 percent of visible facial aging among people with lighter skin tones is due to exposure to sunlight. Those with darker skin are relatively protected due to their built-in melanin sunscreen, but they are still affected. Sun damage in darker skin tends to be less about wrinkles and more about pigmentation issues, such as uneven skin tone, dark patches, and small dark bumps on the face. Either way, dermatologists now agree that there is nothing more important to slow the signs of aging than to protect your skin from the sun. To illustrate, here’s a dramatic photo of a trucker who spent decades getting more sun on the left side of his face through his driver’s side window––reminiscent of a Batman villain.

Factors like sun exposure and smoking can make us look up to 11 years older. Compare that to extensive cosmetic surgery—a face-lift and a neck lift, and removing excess skin from both the upper and lower eyelids, and a forehead lift, which combined, can make us look about eight years younger. So, a healthy lifestyle may work even better.

Protecting your skin from the sun should be a lifelong endeavor. This can involve applying sunscreen, wearing sun-protective clothing, hats, and sunglasses, and avoiding direct sunlight during the peak hours of 10 AM to 4 PM and instead seeking shady, covered areas. Sunbathing is frowned upon, even with sunscreens like zinc oxide or titanium dioxide that offer broad-spectrum protection against both UV-A and UV-B rays. We now know that other wavelengths, such as near infra-red, that are not covered by sunscreens, also contribute to skin aging. Men and women who use tanning beds appear significantly older than those who don’t, and white women who sunbathe appear years older than they actually are––similar to what is seen with smoking.

UV-A rays are primarily responsible for skin aging, whereas UV-B are the rays that cause sunburn. But a broad-spectrum sunscreen covering both is recommended, since both types of UV contribute to cancer risk. To prevent skin cancer, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher, but an SPF even as low as 15 can help prevent skin aging. How do we know? Because it’s been put to the test.

Despite the widespread belief that the use of sunscreen would prevent skin aging, all we had were data on hairless mice. That is, until ten years ago. Nine hundred adults were randomized either to years of daily sunscreen use, or to continue with their own discretionary use. (It was considered unethical to withhold protection by giving people placebo sunscreen.) In the end, 77 percent in the recommended daily sunscreen group were applying sunscreen at least three to four days per week, compared with only 33 percent in the discretionary use group. Would that be enough of a difference to make a difference? Yes, there was significantly less skin aging in the instructed daily use group. In fact, they suffered no detectable increase in skin aging over the four-and-a-half-year study. The researchers concluded “Regular sunscreen use retards skin aging in healthy, middle-aged men and women.”

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Motion graphics by Avo Media

Doctor's Note

Spoiler alert: The single most important thing? Wear sunscreen. The next two videos go into more detail: Does Sunscreen Cause or Prevent Skin Cancer? and The Best Type of Sunscreen to Use. 

I did a lot of research on skin aging for my new book, How Not to Age. Some of that research has also come out in videos:

I also recently answered the question: Do Collagen Supplements Work for Skin Aging?

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