Sun exposure is responsible for most of the visible aging of your skin—far more than all other factors combined. It’s true, UV rays from the sun are the primary cause of wrinkles, pigmentation, sun spots, reduced skin elasticity, the degradation of skin texture, and many other signs of skin aging. In fact, many scientific estimates have shown that up to 80-90% of how young or old you look for your age is due to how much sun exposure you’ve sustained.

The key word here is exposure. This is why Dr. Beckman, founder and CEO of Theraderm Clinical Skin Care, says wearing a facial sunscreen is the single most important part of your anti-aging strategy.

Below are three of the top reasons your anti-aging strategy should include sunscreen:

1. UVA rays are present from sunup to sundown.

From the moment the sun rises in the east to the final sliver of light in the west, photo-aging UVA rays are present. This includes sunny days, cloudy days, summer days and winter days. Every single day these rays are present and without protection, they are aging your skin prematurely.

2. UVA rays penetrate the surface of the skin.

Though powerful, the shorter wavelength of UVB rays doesn’t allow them to go very deep so they don’t cause as much damage to the skin. The not-as-intense, UVA rays penetrate the skin more deeply and are more prevalent year round. Because they are able to reach the dermis, they cause serious damage to the collagen which in turn causes laxity, wrinkles and dark spots. Using a broad-spectrum sunscreen with the RIGHT ingredients is imperative in your battle against aging skin. There are actually 2 types of UVA rays, UVA1 and UVA2. This is important because it usually takes 2 or more chemical blockers to cover this. At Theraderm, our Platinum Protection Facial Sunscreen contains zinc oxide and titanium dioxide which are both mineral (more natural) blockers and both cover the two types of UVA rays.

3. UVA rays are considered the sun’s silent killers.

UVA rays are considered the sun’s silent killers because, unlike UVB rays, you do not feel the effects of UVA rays damaging your skin. UVA rays are the cause of tanning, and unless you burn first, getting a tan isn’t painful—but, those unfelt UVA rays are reaching deep into the skin, causing havoc in every layer. Another key difference: UVA rays penetrate glass, while UVB rays do not. Unless the window you sit by at work or the windows in your car is specially treated to filter UVA radiation, your skin is being exposed to UVA rays, making sunscreen an absolute necessity.

Remember - it is always easier to prevent that it is to repair!