Link between Sunscreen and Aging

Regular sunscreen use can improve your looks. It’s not just for preventing skin cancer, although that’s a good enough reason to put it on. Dr. Adele Green of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Australia and colleagues measured skin changes over time by taking special molds of the tops of their hands.  The study examined what impact sunscreen had on the aging process.  “When we compared the skin molds what we saw was no increase in progressive aging amongst the people who used the sunscreen regularly compared with the more severe progressive aging in those who didn’t use sunscreen on a regular basis.” Dr. Green says even if you’re already middle-aged, it’s not to late to gain this benefit. “After four and half years those who applied sunscreen regularly to their skin had no detectible skin aging, indeed, they had 24% less aging of the skin than those who used sunscreen only some of the time.” The sunscreen study appears in the Annals of Internal Medicine.