Understanding UV rays and their effect on human skin and health
How UV rays affect the human skin?
UV rays affect the human skin in the following ways:
• They cause skin tan (simplest form of sun damage)
• Wrinkling and ageing of skin including brown spots etc.
• Sunburn
• Skin cancer (UV rays are increasingly responsible for skin cancer all over the world
especially due to depletion of the ozone hole).
What are the types of UV rays and the associated damage?
Scientists classify UV radiation into three types or bands - UVA, UVB, and UVC. The
stratospheric ozone layer absorbs some, but not all, of these types of UV radiation:
UVA: Not absorbed by the ozone layer; causes tanning/darkening of skin and long-term skin
damage. Mostly responsible for ageing of skin.
UVB: Mostly absorbed by the ozone layer, but some does reach the Earth's surface; causes sun
burn and wrinkling
UVC: Completely absorbed by the ozone layer and oxygen.
“UVA and UVB that reach the Earth's surface contribute to the serious health effects listed
above”
What is a Tan?
A tan is the skin’s simplest response to exposure to Ultra-Violet (UV) rays of the sun. The UVA
component of the UV radiation is mainly responsible for triggering the pigment forming cells,
called melanocytes. These melanocytes produce the skin tanning/darkening pigment called
‘melanin’ which rises near the outer layer of skin thus making the skin look darker in color.
Why is Sun Tanning dangerous?
It has been scientifically proven that Tanning is actually the simplest form of skin damage. In
some countries where fairer skinned people like to tan, there is a growing movement to tan just
a little bit and not cause irreversible damage to the skin.
Read the Full Better Sun Protection Guide HERE
How UV rays affect the human skin?
UV rays affect the human skin in the following ways:
• They cause skin tan (simplest form of sun damage)
• Wrinkling and ageing of skin including brown spots etc.
• Sunburn
• Skin cancer (UV rays are increasingly responsible for skin cancer all over the world
especially due to depletion of the ozone hole).
What are the types of UV rays and the associated damage?
Scientists classify UV radiation into three types or bands - UVA, UVB, and UVC. The
stratospheric ozone layer absorbs some, but not all, of these types of UV radiation:
UVA: Not absorbed by the ozone layer; causes tanning/darkening of skin and long-term skin
damage. Mostly responsible for ageing of skin.
UVB: Mostly absorbed by the ozone layer, but some does reach the Earth's surface; causes sun
burn and wrinkling
UVC: Completely absorbed by the ozone layer and oxygen.
“UVA and UVB that reach the Earth's surface contribute to the serious health effects listed
above”
What is a Tan?
A tan is the skin’s simplest response to exposure to Ultra-Violet (UV) rays of the sun. The UVA
component of the UV radiation is mainly responsible for triggering the pigment forming cells,
called melanocytes. These melanocytes produce the skin tanning/darkening pigment called
‘melanin’ which rises near the outer layer of skin thus making the skin look darker in color.
Why is Sun Tanning dangerous?
It has been scientifically proven that Tanning is actually the simplest form of skin damage. In
some countries where fairer skinned people like to tan, there is a growing movement to tan just
a little bit and not cause irreversible damage to the skin.
Read the Full Better Sun Protection Guide HERE
