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Skin Care 101

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Skin Care Basics
Skin Protection Ultraviolet radiation: the sun's death ray
Skin Biology
Biology of Aging The reason sunlight and tanning beds are bad for your skin is ultraviolet radiation (UV-light or
UV-rays for short), which represents a small but important portion of the sunlight spectrum. UV is
Ingredient Guide
a killer of living things: it can damage almost any part of the cell, but especially its blueprint, the
Skin & Nutrition DNA. Suntan, which is the accumulation of UV-blocking pigment melanin, is a defense
Skin Conditions mechanism whereby the skin tries to protect itself from destruction.

There are three subtypes of UV light: UVA, UVB and UVC.

Anti-Aging Treatments
Topical Actives UVA (320-400 nm wavelength) is at the long end of the UV spectrum. UVA ratiation
penetrates deeper into the skin and is the major contributor to skin aging and wrinkles. It
Wrinkle Fillers
also contributes to the development of skin cancer (along with UVB). UVA rays pass
Noninvasive through ordinary glass. UVA is sometimes divided into two subtypes: long UVA (a.k.a.
Invasive UVA-1, 350-400 nm wavelength), and short UVA (a.k.a. UVA-2, 320-350 nm wavelength).
This subdivision is important because some UVA sun blocking agents cover only UVA-1 or
UVA-2 rather than the entire UVA range.
Skin Care Smarts
Smart Choices UVB (280-320 nm wavelength) is the middle range of the UV spectrum. UVB causes
sunburn but has a relatively modest effect on skin wrinkles because most of it is absorbed
Best Practices in the epidermis (the outer skin layer) and does not reach the dermis where wrinkles form.
Quick Tips It also contributes to the development of skin cancer (along with UVA).

UVC (100-280 nm wavelength) is at the short end of the UV spectrum. UVC is the
Reviews harshest type of UV radiation. Luckily, UVC is almost completely absorbed by the ozone
Product Reviews layer and does not reach the Earth's surface. As long as we haven't destroyed the ozone
layer, we don't have to worry about the UVC.
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UV index
How-To Infopacks
If you are not prepared to take measures for maximum possible UV-protection every single day,
Skin Rejuvenation you can use the UV index to get an idea when to take UV-protection more seriously. Even though
DIY Skin Care even a cloudy winter day at a high latitude can produce sun damage, not all days/locations are
created equal -- some are much harsher on your skin then others. Enter the UV index. The UV
Skin & Nutrition
index is an standard international measure of how strong the ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the
Eye Skin Care sun is at a particular place on a particular day. You can find out about UV index at a given
time/location in your area at weather.com or similar websites.
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The UV index uses a roughly linear scale, approximately between 1 and 10. "Roughly linear"
Forums means that two hours of exposure at UV index 1 are approximately equivalent to one hour of
Search exposure at UV index 2.

The US Environmental Protection Agency provides some basic recommendations for UV

protection based on the UV index. Below is a brief summary of EPA recommendations (for more
details, see EPA website).

UV Index 0-2: Low danger to the average person. Wear sunglasses; use sunscreen if
there is snow on the ground, which reflects UV radiation, or if you have particularly fair
skin.

UV Index 3-5: Moderate risk of harm from unprotected sun exposure. Wear sunglasses
and use sunscreen, cover the body with clothing and a hat, and seek shade around
midday when the sun is most intense.

UV Index 6-7: High risk of harm from unprotected sun exposure. Wear sunglasses and
use sunscreen having SPF 15 or higher, cover the body with sun protective clothing and a
wide-brim hat, and reduce time in the sun from two hours before to three hours after solar
noon (roughly 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM during summer in zones that observe daylight saving
time).

UV Index 8-10: Very high risk of harm from unprotected sun exposure. Same precautions
as above, but take extra care - unprotected skin can burn quickly.

UV Index 11 or higher: Extreme risk of harm from unprotected sun exposure. Take all
precautions, including the following: wear sunglasses and use sunscreen, cover the body
with a long-sleeve shirt and pants, wear a broad hat, and avoid the sun from two hours
before to three hours after solar noon.

Keep in mind that UV index data, their interpretations and EPA recommendations have important
limitations. In particular, the UV index is weighted more towards UVB frequencies and tends to
underestimate UVA exposure. In other words, the UV index is more useful in assessing the risk
of sunburn than long-term damage to the dermis and skin matrix that leads to wrinkles. In fact,
low values of the UV index may, in certain situations, underestimate the impact of sun exposure
on skin aging. Therefore, if you are concerned with skin aging you may want to be even more
proactive than the EPA guidelines recommend.

UV exposure vs. season, time of day and latitude

Most people know that UV exposure is highest around noon and in early afternoon, in the
summer and at low latitudes. Correspondingly, EPA recommends to reduce time in the sun
between roughly 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM during summer in zones that observe daylight saving
time. However, things are not as simple as they might seem. Indeed, UV intensity varies
dramatically during the day as well as between seasons and across latitudes. (See the charts of
radiation intensity vs time of day/year for UVA and UVB. For example, a sunny winter morning in
Canada presents virtually no risk of sunburn, whereas a sunny summer noon in Egypt virtually
guarantees it (assuming no sun protection). Yet, sunlight can contribute to skin aging even
outside peak hours, summer season, or low latitudes. This is partly due to the fact that skin aging
is caused predominantly by UVA. While both UVA and UVB rise towards midday, summer and
lower latitudes, the changes are much less dramatic for UVA than for UVB. As a result, non-peak
levels of UVA may be considerable compared to its peak levels (much more so than for UVB).
Therefore, if you wish to minimize skin aging, you should expand your UV-protective measures
beyond just midday, the summer and low latitudes.

Indirect sunlight

Much of UV radiation remains in the sunlight when it is reflected from the majority of common
surfaces or refracted via clouds or water. When outside, don't assume that wearing a hat or
staying in the shade fully protects you. Reflected sunlight may retain over a third of its UV rays.
In particular, your UV exposure is much higher on the snow and water. Even beach sand reflects
20-30% of UV. Beach goers and skiers should be especially thorough regarding UV protection
measures.

Clouds, except perhaps on a heavily gloomy day, cannot be relied upon for UV protection. A thin
layer of clouds reduces UV intensity by only 20-40%. Water is a similarly weak protector: twelve
inches of pool water would also reduce UV intensity by only 20-40%.

Clothing can be more or less protective, depending on thickness, color, fabric type and many
other factors. Wet clothing is less protective than dry clothing - up to 50% of UV penetrates wet
clothing.

Indoor UV light

You may have heard that glass blocks UV rays. It does block UVB quite well but often fails to
block much of UVA. The degree of indoor UV exposure depends on light intensity, type of glass
and other factors. (See our article on UV radiation indoors for more details and protection
guidelines.)

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 Intelligent anti-aging skin care based on independent research
Lose wrinkles, keep your bank account!

Skin Care 101

You are here: Skin Protection >
Skin Care Basics
Skin Protection Ultraviolet radiation indoors: What you don't know can hurt you.
Skin Biology
Biology of Aging If you never venture outside, never walk in open air, spend your entire existence between your
office, home, car and supermarket - well, that is not fun. You might think that the upside of such a
Ingredient Guide
lifestyle is to never have to worry about sun damage. I'd have to disappoint you again. Indeed,
Skin & Nutrition you won't have to worry about sunburn and could worry less about skin cancer. However, being
Skin Conditions indoors does not protect you from the kind of UV damage that causes skin aging. There are two
kinds of ultraviolet radiation that affect the skin: UVB and UVA. UVB (the one that causes
sunburn) does not generally get indoors whereas UVA (the one that causes skin wrinkles) does
Anti-Aging Treatments so with relative ease. (See our article on ultraviolet radiation to better understand the relationship
Topical Actives between UV rays and skin damage.).
Wrinkle Fillers Glass and UV protection
Noninvasive
Most people believe that ordinary window glass blocks UV radiation, making any other UV
Invasive
protection unnecessary indoors. This is half-truth at best. Window glass blocks UVB but lets
much of UVA through. The percentage of UVA that passes depends on the type of glass and the
Skin Care Smarts type of coating on the glass. Window glass falls into three major categories: ordinary (clear)
glass, reflective glass (allows to see in one direction much better than in the opposite one), and
Smart Choices
tinted glass. While all these types of glass block UVB, their capacity to block UVA varies
Best Practices considerably. As architectural fashion keeps moving towards larger windows, the impact of these
Quick Tips differences is continuing to grow.

Clear glass allows up to 75% of UVA to pass. Tinted and reflective glass absorbs more of the
Reviews UVA but still allows about 25-50% to pass; they also have the shortcoming of blocking more of
Product Reviews the visible light than clear glass. There is also the so-called Low-E (low-emissivity) glass,
developed to minimize heating and cooling costs. As far as UV is concerned, regular Low-E (the
Reviews By Brand ones w/o special anti-UV coating, etc.) behaves similarly to clear glass: most UVB is blocked,
most UVA gets through.
How-To Infopacks
The best protection comes from the types of glass specially geared towards blocking UV rays,
Skin Rejuvenation such as laminated glass and UV-blocking coated glass. Both filter out from 95 to 99% of all UV
DIY Skin Care light. Neither is common in residential or commercial structures. Laminated glass, made of two
layers of glass with a plastic layer in between, is used in some public buildings, such as airports
Skin & Nutrition and museums; it is also used for automobile windshields. UV-blocking coated glass is also used
Eye Skin Care largely in special circumstances. All in all, whenever indoors, don't assume protection from the
windows against UVA unless you know that special glass in installed.
Community & Misc UV protection indoors
Forums
If your home and office have special windows with full spectrum UV protection (see above), you
Search can consider yourself a lucky exception. Otherwise, if you want to minimize skin aging, you need
to protect yourself from indoor UVA exposure.

If possible, use window blinds or shades during peak sun hours. Arrange workspace and
sitting/recreation areas not to be too close to the windows. As a minimum, they should not be in
direct sunlight. Indoor UVA intensity decreases as the distance from the window increases. If you
have large windows, you may want to avoid spending too much time close to the windows, even
if sun is not shining into the room directly. The above steps should reduce indoor UVA exposure
to acceptably low levels. However, if you feel that the indoor areas where you spend a lot of time
receive too much daylight, you may consider additional protective measures. This may include
additional window blinds or shades, sufficient clothing and sunscreen. If you spend some of the
time outdoors, you need a good, strong sunscreen anyway. Otherwise, a moderately robust
sunscreen with good UVA protection applied to face and neck should suffice. Many popular
moisturizers provide moderate sun protection as an extra feature. Such a moisturizer may be a
good choice for indoor UV protection as long as it adequately covers UVA range.

UV protection in cars

In the modern world, people are spending ever greater portion of their time in cars. This trend is
likely to continue unless rising fuel costs and/or global warming bring about major changes in our
transportation habits.

In the majority of modern cars, the windshield is built of laminated glass that blocks all of UVB
and the vast majority of UVA. However, the side and rear windows are usually made from non-
laminated glass and let much of UVA through. Clear non-laminated car windows allow up to 60-
70% of UVA to penetrate. Tinting reduces UVA penetration to about 15-30%, a much better but
still significant level.

If your car has clear glass windows, you can add tinting at a qualified auto shop. However, make
sure the facility can guarantee compliance with the federally mandated standard of 70 percent of
minimum visible light transmittance through the windshield.
There are other factors influencing UVA exposure in the car: you position (the closer you are to a
non-laminated window, the greater the exposure), direction of driving relative to the sun, time of
day/year, etc. However, people rarely have much control over any of these. Therefore, you
should still use sun protection measures while in the car, such as sunscreens, protective clothing,
and so forth.

Fluorescent lighting

There are two common urban myths about fluorescent lighting and UV exposure. The first myth
says that fluorescent lighting generates hazardous amounts of UV rays, rivaling direct outdoor
sun exposure. The second one says that the first myth is complete nonsense and that
fluorescent lighting generates no UV rays whatsoever.

The reality is a bit more complicated. Most fluorescent lamps work on the following principle.
Inside the lamp, electrical discharge excites a gas (usually neon or mercury vapor in argon),
which emits ultraviolet radiation. UV rays hit a special dye covering the bulb, which absorbs UV
radiation and emits visible light. In this process, most of the UV radiation is absorbed (or
otherwise blocked) by the fluorescent dye and/or the glass of the bulb. Yet, some does get
through.

Fortunately, it seems that typical exposure to the UV light from commonly used types of
fluorescent lamps is relatively small. According to the report by the UK Health Protection Agency,
fluorescent lighting may add about 3% to the lifetime UV exposure. However, this estimate is
imprecise and some lamps may be greater offenders than others.

If you spend a lot of time under intense fluorescent light, you could consider extra protection.
One possible step is to ensure that fluorescent bulbs have plastic diffusers over them. Depending
on the material used in the diffuser, UVA would be reduced by 17-99% and effective UVB by 19-
100%.

Halogen lighting

Halogen lamps are incandescent lamps filled inert gas and a small amount of a halogen such as
iodine. Halogen lamps operate at a higher temperature than regular incandescent lamps and
emit a somewhat different spectrum of light, which includes some UV light. Furthermore, halogen
lamps are often made of quartz because it is more resistant to intense heat. (Regular glass
cannot withstand the heat generated by halogen lamps.) The problem is that quartz does not
block UV radiation.

Manufacturers of halogen lamps are certainly aware of this issue and resolve it by using the so-
called doped quartz (quarts with UV-blocking additives) or special heat-resistant glass, or by
simply enclosing quartz bulb inside a regular glass bulb. As a result, most of UV light generated
by common halogen lamps is blocked. The question is what percentage, if any, is not blocked
and what are the variations among lamp models and/or manufacturers. Unfortunately I am not
aware of such data being publicly available. My guess would be that UV risks of halogen lamps
are relatively small but not necessarily negligible -- perhaps similar to those of fluorescent lamps.
If you spend a lot of time under direct light of halogen lamps consider additional protective
measures such as diffusers or switching to lamp designs that employ reflected light.

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