Skin Photoaging and UV Rays – How Korean Skincare Protects You from the Sun

After a long and dark winter, the skin is extra vulnerable to the strong UV rays that come with the spring and summer sun. When the skin is suddenly exposed to intense sunlight, while the skin barrier is weakened after the winter months, the risk of skin damage and photoaging increases significantly. Therefore, Korean skincare acts as a necessary shield that both prevents and repairs sun damage in depth. By choosing the right protection, you can prevent your skin from losing its natural elasticity and glow.

In addition, the skin's sensitivity increases significantly when exposed to ultraviolet rays, which can manifest as pigmentation, dryness, and early wrinkles. Furthermore, loss of elasticity is one of the most common consequences of prolonged sun exposure without adequate filter. Since ultraviolet rays (UV rays) are invisible light waves that penetrate deep into the skin layers, they are one of the main causes of premature skin aging. The result of good sun protection is a healthier and younger skin surface that is equipped for bright days.

What are UV rays – and why are they so harmful to the skin?

Ultraviolet rays have a great impact on our skin, and it is important to distinguish between the different types:

• UVA rays: Penetrate deep into the dermis and cause "Aging", wrinkles, and pigment spots all year round.

• UVB rays: Cause "Burning" (sunburn) and damage the upper skin layers, especially strong in summer.

• Photoaging: A process where sunlight breaks down collagen and elastin, leading to sagging skin and lines.

• Weakened barrier: UV exposure dries out the skin and makes it more susceptible to irritation and redness.

Consequently, our solutions for UV protection at WeShine.no are the best insurance you can give your skin after a long winter. Korean sunscreens are world-renowned for using innovative filters that provide maximum protection without feeling heavy or sticky on the skin. Furthermore, our sun products often contain nourishing ingredients such as antioxidants and moisturizers that actively counteract photoaging. Investing in professional Korean sun care means taking care of your skin's future with the most advanced technology available.

Discover your new favorite in sun protection at WeShine.no and enjoy the sun safely!

1. UV rays are the main cause of skin aging.

When skin is exposed to large amounts of UV rays over time, a damaging process known as photoaging is caused. This is a type of aging caused by external influence, and which differs from the natural (physiological) aging that occurs gradually with age.

Photoaging leads to:

• Early wrinkles

• Pigment spots

• Loss of elasticity

• Dry and sensitive skin

Because UV rays penetrate deep into the skin and break down collagen and elastin, the skin will age faster than normal if it is not protected. Therefore, it is important to protect the skin every day – all year round.

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2. So what are the UV rays that damage our skin?

Among the sun's rays, the light that can be seen with our eyes, such as red and green waves, is called visible light, and the light outside the red light is ultraviolet rays.

Ultraviolet rays have benefits such as sterilization and are involved in the production of vitamin D, but when exposed to the skin for a long time, they cause photoaging. Depending on the length of the wavelength, they are classified into UVA, UVB, and UVC.

UVA

It is a long wavelength, corresponding to approximately 1% of the sun's rays. Because wavelength is inversely proportional to energy, long-wavelength UVA has less energy than medium-wavelength UVB, but the amount is about 100 times greater than UVB, so it has a very large impact on skin aging.

Because UVA has a long wavelength, it passes through the epidermis and penetrates deep into the dermis, transforming the collagen and elastin that support the skin, and causing long-term damage to skin aging, since it persists even on cloudy or rainy days and in winter, it is UV rays we must be concerned about in all four seasons.

UVB

Ultraviolet rays are medium wavelengths that cause skin changes such as daily burns, like erythema and blisters, when exposed to the hot sun in summer for extended periods.

Because the energy is stronger than UVA, it is more irritating to the skin and causes skin pigmentation. Prolonged exposure can also cause DNA damage to cells and cause skin cancer.

Especially, the energy is very strong in summer and from 10:00 to 14:00, and because UVB passes almost 100% through water, pigmentation occurs more intensely when swimming in summer.

But luckily, more than 90% of UVB is blocked by glass windows, and since its transmittance is low, it has little effect on the skin indoors. As winter approaches, the energy of UVB weakens and its influence on the skin surface decreases.

UVB is the ultraviolet ray that functions in vitamin D synthesis, one of the beneficial effects of the sun on the human body.

UVC

Since it has the shortest wavelength, most of it is absorbed by the ozone layer before reaching the Earth's surface, so the amount that reaches the Earth is still very small and has little effect on the human body.

But when the ozone layer is damaged due to environmental pollution, UVC, which has very strong energy and destructive power, reaches the surface and can cause skin aging, skin cancer, and even death, so we must all participate in protecting the ozone layer. For reference, UVC is said to reach the Earth's surface at the Earth's polar regions.

3. What are the effects of ultraviolet rays on the skin?

Typical symptoms that occur when the skin is exposed to ultraviolet rays for a long time include the formation of wrinkles, loss of elasticity, pigmentation, and dry skin.

The human body always activates a 'defense mechanism' when exposed to external harmful environments to protect the body from the outside; to do this, a 'defense mechanism' is initiated. As a function of melanocytes, the pigment cells that create skin color, tyrosinase, a melanin pigment-forming enzyme, and tyrosine, a type of amino acid, combine to form melanin.

In this way, melanin is created as a defense mechanism to protect the skin when exposed to ultraviolet rays, but when this melanin reaches the skin surface, it can cause pigmentation and freckles.

Among ultraviolet rays, UVA, which has a long wavelength, passes through the epidermis and reaches the dermis. UVA that penetrates the dermis stimulates fibroblasts, and at this time, reactive oxygen species are formed in the fibroblasts, which produce matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) enzymes to form collagen and elastin are cut.

As the bond between collagen and elastin in the dermal layer is destroyed, the density of the dermis is reduced, resulting in the formation of wrinkles and reduced elasticity in the skin.

Have you all seen this picture???

This image was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2012 and shows a grandfather who worked as a truck driver for 25 years. Like this, due to my job, ultraviolet A rays penetrate more intensely into the left side of my face, so the left side appears to have aged more strongly than the right side.

Dr. Jennifer Gordon, who conducted the study, emphasized: You should use sunscreen all year round, whether you are indoors or outdoors, whether the sky is clear or cloudy.

The way to protect your skin from UV rays is to use sunscreen.

Supplement the collagen in your skin that is destroyed by UV rays with a sunscreen containing collagen!! It applies smoothly like a moisturizer, does not sting the eyes, and protects the skin from UV rays.