UV Awareness Month

July is UV awareness month. Throughout the month, the mission is to spread awareness around the importance of protecting your eyes, lips and skin from the harmful side effects of UV rays. What exactly are UV rays and how do they affect the skin?

Ultraviolet (UV) rays are invisible radiation that comes from the sun, tanning beds, and sunlamps. UV rays penetrate and change skin cells, leading to photodamage and skin cancer. UV radiation is classified into 2 primary types: ultraviolet A (UVA), and ultraviolet B (UVB).

Ultraviolet Aging or UVA rays causes photoaging. These rays penetrate deep within the layers of the skin resulting in damage to collagen and elastin. This damage leads to your skin breaking down and ageing early. UVA rays also are responsible for creating harmful free radicals to the skin. These rays are responsible for wrinkles and hyperpigmentation.

Ultraviolet Burning or UVB rays penetrate superficially to the outer layers of the skin. UVB rays are responsible for sunburns. These rays damage the DNA within your skin cells. When the DNA is damaged it causes mutations and can make skin cells multiply quickly to form malignant tumors, also known as cancer.

In the United States, the hours between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. are the most hazardous for UV exposure. The UV rays have the greatest intensity during the late spring and early summer.

UV Index 3-5 means low risk of harm from unprotected sun exposure.

UV Index 6-7 means moderate risk of harm from unprotected sun exposure.

UV Index 8-10 means high risk of harm from unprotected sun exposure.

UV Index of 11+ means a very high risk of harm from unprotected sun exposure.

Overexposure to UV rays from the sun during the summer months can cause skin, lip and eye damage. This damage can include sunburn, skin cancer, cataracts, macular degeneration, and cancerous growths in our eyes.

In order to protect yourself from harmful UV radiation you should:

1. Wear a hat that has a brim all the way around to shades your face, ears, and the back of your neck.

2. Apply sunscreen of an SPF of 30 or higher to all uncovered skin, concentrating on your nose, ears, neck, hands, feet, and lips.

3. Limit your time in the sun, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

4. Wear clothes to cover skin exposed to the sun. You can wear long-sleeve shirts, pants, sunglasses, SPF lip gloss and hats with broad brims.

5. Always wear polarized sunglasses to protect your eyes from harmful rays.

Having your own branded, medical grade sunscreen is a great way to help reinforce the importance of sun protection during July's UV Safety Month. Inspira Skin is committed to formulating the most efficacious, medical grade, skincare formulations for you to brand out of your skincare clinic. We are dedicated to helping you and your staff by educating, marketing, and branding your skincare to enhance the results of your skincare patients.

Interested in starting your own private label, medical grade skincare line out of your office? Contact us at contact@inspiraskin.com or call 201-206-1812.