fredrik, thanks for the reference I hope to read it later.
For now though I will ask a few questions?
I've used sunscreen but generally do not go out in the sun. I intentionally avoid the sun. If I am walking down the street I will walk on the side that is shaded.
When I do use sunscreen it tends to get caught up in my 5-oclock shadow. It sometimes leaves a residue and often clogs my pores and causes an out break. Now it sounds as though sunscreen is more than just sunscreen.
Enlighten me oh wise skin guru
Sorry that I didn´t respond more quickly. I´m traveling right now.
Well, the whole story of skin aging is daily photoprotection. At least 80% of skin aging is caused by incidental exposure to daylight. 5-15 minutes of UV every other day will raise your skin levels of skin degrading/remodeling enzymes, collagenase and elastase for over a week until they return to normal. When subjects (office workers) wore UV-dosimeters they averaged 18 hours of sun exposure a week. So even if you practice sun avoidance, which is the first and most important thing to do, you still need a daily sunscreen.
A broadspectrum, high UVA protection sunscreen will protect you from mottled hyperpigmentation (uneven aged skin tone), loss of firmness, dilated pores, wrinkles and some types of skin cancer. No other product can do all these things except a prescription retinoid
Daily sunscreen, tretinoin and topical antioxidants inhibits activation of AP-1, a MMP promoter. The MMPs (collagenase, elastase) degrade the skin and the imperfect repair that ensues causes microscarring, also called wrinkles. So tretinoin and daily sunscreen inhibits the enzymatic degradation of healthy collagen.
Please read one of my earlier posts on the subject and then we can discuss the particulars =)
http://www.imminst.o...=0and another quote from an earlier post (yes, I´m too tired to write, sorry):
"If it is a cool or hot day doesn�t matter. You can�t feel or see UV-rays on your skin. It is infrared rays that feels warm.
80% of all signs of skin aging is caused by UV in daylight. Yes, daylight...not the sunny beach for a couple of months a year.
The skin gets damaged and ages everyday. But that permanent damage will show up a decade after you got it. You can prevent most of this by using a spf 30 - 50+.
UVA-radiation is present everyday, all year long. In winter, on cloudy days, when it�s raining and when the sun is scorching hot. So use a sunscreen instead of [a moisturizer] or on top of anything else you use.
95% of all UV-radiation that hits us is [the aging] UVA."