The Essential Role of Sunscreen: Protecting Skin Health and Youthfulness Every Day

   

Source: LPM Sigma

    Skincare has become one of the most talked-about topics today, especially among women. The importance of using skincare to maintain skin health is often highlighted, with sunscreen being one of the key elements. In tropical countries like Indonesia, sunscreen is crucial to use during outdoor activities in the morning and afternoon. The abundance of sunlight throughout the year is one of the reasons why sunscreen is essential. While sunlight does offer benefits to our bodies by activating vitamin D, UV rays can harm the skin when exposed for too long (BPOM, 2009). Sun exposure can damage the skin due to ultraviolet (UV) radiation (Rahmawati, Muflihunna, & Amalia, 2018). Despite research on the side effects of UV rays, not everyone is aware of the importance of using sunscreen. According to data from the National Health Statistics Center, National Health Interview Survey in 2020, 12.3% of men and 29.0% of women aged ≥18 years always used sunscreen when outdoors on a sunny day for more than an hour. The percentage of men who consistently used sunscreen was lowest among those aged 18–29 (8.2%) and increased to 13.7% among those aged 30–44, 13.0% among those aged 45–64, and 13.6% among those aged ≥65. For women, the percentage of consistent sunscreen use was lower among those aged 18–29 and ≥65 (25.7% and 27.7%, respectively) compared to those aged 30–44 and 45–64 (30.0% and 30.9%, respectively). Across all age groups, women were more likely to consistently use sunscreen than men.

    In the research from the National Health Statistics Center shows that there is lacking of awareness of sunscreen. There are so many reasons that people said who doesn't like use sunscreen. For instance, "using sunscreen is complicated", "feeling sticky on the skin", "it's better to buy cigarettes than sunscreen", "using ablution water is enough", and many else. For me, those reasons are really nonsense. That means they don't care about their own skin and don't feel sorry for their own skin. It is their unreasonable reasons that will make them age quickly and have the highest risk of getting cancer. Those research and three benefit that I will tell, reinforce my belief in the importance of wearing sunscreen and continuing to emphasize how essential it is. Therefore, it’s important for us to understand the significance of using sunscreen.

    First, it prevents premature aging. Everyone wants their facial skin to always look healthy, firm, and youthful. By using sunscreen regularly, it helps keep your skin looking young. When we are exposed to direct sunlight without protection, it causes the skin to wrinkle and develop fine lines more quickly due to UV exposure. UV A rays can lead to premature aging by degrading the skin matrix. UV A radiation penetrates the skin matrix and can react with oxygen, producing free radicals that cause collagen cross-linking and damage to skin fibroblasts (Karen et al., 2009). UV rays are also responsible for damaging elastic tissue (Menter and Hatch, 2003).

    Second, it reduces the risk of dark spots on the face. Using sunscreen helps prevent dark spots, which often appear due to sun exposure. UV A radiation causes the skin to darken as it penetrates deeper into the dermis, leading to premature aging of the skin (Menter and Hatch, 2003). Sunscreen provides protection by blocking a significant amount of UV rays from reaching the skin. The broad-spectrum content in sunscreen, which protects against both UV A and UV B rays, helps prevent excessive melanin production, which is the skin’s natural response to UV exposure. Without this protection, melanin production can increase significantly, causing certain areas of the skin to appear darker or experience hyperpigmentation.

    

Source: DetikHealth

    Third, it reduces the risk of cancer. One of the great benefits of sunscreen is that it protects facial skin from UV B rays, which can lead to cancer. UV B radiation is known to cause significant skin damage and can even result in skin cancer (Mukti, 2014). According to Roelandts (2009), the purpose and benefit of using sunscreen is to protect the skin from the harmful effects of UV radiation and to prevent skin cancer. Regular use of sunscreen, whether for indoor or outdoor activities, is a proactive step in helping to protect facial skin from UV exposure that can lead to skin cancer.

    With these three benefits of sunscreen—preventing premature aging, reducing dark spots, and lowering the risk of cancer—there is every reason to make sunscreen a daily essential, whether indoors or outdoors. There's no downside to trying sunscreen, which brings so many advantages to our skin. Using sunscreen can be an investment for the future, helping to keep facial skin healthy and youthful. So let’s start using sunscreen today. If not now, then when?

Thea Enjelina