Dirty Science Friday: Why Does Sun Exposure Cause Wrinkles?

UV Rays Cause Wrinkles, and Here's Why You Should Care

Exposure to UV radiation is the known leading trigger causing skin wrinkles, a processes called photoaging. According to The New York Times photoaging "accounts for about 90% of the symptoms of premature skin aging," even beating the effects of longterm smoking. Summer after summer however, I meet people (including a lot, I mean A LOT, of gays) who look like they were locked in a microwave. In this Dirty Science Friday we look at exactly why sun exposure makes us look like ball sacs, and the importance of taking fucking care of ourselves this summer!

Here's the reason I'm writing this article about sun exposure and wrinkles on Fleshbot Gay. As you may know, our office is located in Chicago, where there happens to be a gay beach on Lake Michigan filled to the brim in summertime with pork rinds and aspiring pork rinds. The ridiculous standards for beauty and youth in the gay community are widely talked about, and *THE LOOK* in the summertime happens to include being tan. At DA CLUB twinks and old dudes will squeal with equal delight if you tell them they've got a good tan going.

What happens, of course, is a cyclical vanity trap in which gays get nice and tan while also complaining about wrinkles. The tan will go away, the wrinkles won't. We need to understand the science behind what the hell is happening between the sun and our skin in order to create a change in *THE LOOK*. The madness stops right here, right now!

Here's Why UV Radiation Causes Wrinkles

Our skin maintains its shape to due its elasticity, which comes from healthy collagen fibers. When you pinch your skin and it immediately goes back to where you left it, you can thank collagen. Over time the fibers holding us together begin to unravel, and without the infrastructure our skin loses its shape, and wrinkles form. While age is a bitch, the breakdown of collagen is greatly exacerbated by exposure to the sun, as the radiation damages the tissue.

In addition to breaking down collagen, sun exposure breaks down a protein called elastin, which also supports skin so healthy it bounces back. You can really tell your body fucking hates sunlight because damage to elastin actually creates enzymes that in turn destroy collagen. WTF, skin. 

What You Can Do

While creams in the gleaming Target beauty section promise to have anti-aging effects, you can't gain back your body's natural elasticity. In fact, and sorry if this is kind of a bummer, most of the sun exposure that contributes to our wrinkles happens by the age of 20. However, this does NOT mean you're exempt later in life.   

It's much better to be proactive about protecting your skin from the sun. First off, you should always use sunscreen and wear sunglasses. Duh. While everything you read says that these are in no capacity enough to fully protect your beautiful skin from the sun (which is true), I'm a realist and know that we're not all going to go to Columbia and get those wide brim dad hats. Slathering on sunscreen in the morning and calling it a go, however, is a no go. It should be reapplied throughout the day every couple of hours.

If you're really going to commit to this and say, "The hell with the hot crowd of gays playing frisbee in banana hammocks, just talk to me in 30 years when I'm beautiful and you're not," you can take these extra measures: Stay in the shade between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM (when we're exposed to 80% of the day's UV rays), wear tight knit clothing or look into purchasing special clothes that block UV rays, and avoid reflective surfaces, which increase the damage of UVB rays.

Of course, if you have any concerns about your skin going into the summer, you should speak with your doctor! Stay pretty bitches! 

Via The New York Times, Images Via Queerty