Exposure to the sun can cause a person to experience sun damage over time. Sun damage can cause photoaging, which is premature aging of the skin due to the sun. Photoaging can cause:
- course and fine wrinkling
- darker and lighter spots on the skin
- rough skin textures
- broken blood vessels on the surface of the skin
- yellowing or browning of the complexion
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) may be
less likely to experience the effects of sun damage than white people. This is because white people can have less melanin in their skin. Melanin is a pigment that gives a person’s skin, hair, and eyes their color. Melanin can also help to
block harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun.
BIPOC also have a thicker dermis, which is the second layer of a person’s skin. A thicker dermis can help to prevent damage from the sun.
Melanin and a thick dermis can only protect skin from the sun to a certain degree. BIPOC can also receive sun damage to their skin.
Researchers from the journal
Dermatologica Sinica noted that people with dark skin experience
five times less UVA skin penetration than people with lighter skin.
How different races age