Skin/wrinkles

Sun in any amount can damage your skin. There are two kinds of rays: UVA (which do not burn you, but do cause skin damage that results in wrinkles and skin cancer), and UVB (which causes burning). You can't really get one type of UV ray without getting the other, and damage is cumulative.

That having been said, go to the nearest Sephora and have them show you bronzers. I use one by Nars that is fantastic and makes me look like I just stepped off a plane from Hawaii!

Sadly, it's all bad. The one good thing about the sun is that you get Vitamin D from it. However, you can get that from food or a supplement.

Any amount of sun damages the skin. Obviously more sun is worse.
Look at your butt if you want an example of what skin can be like with no sunlight. Look at certain areas that commonly receive a lot of sun, like the neck/chest area. It can be pretty mottled-looking, on people over 40. It's not all about "wrinkles." Skin that has had a lot of exposure to the sun is thin, and discolored and kind of ragged-looking.

However, we have to have a life, and life without sun isn't worth living, IMO. So, use sunscreen.

p.s. Riley, below, might still be in her 40's and/or have olive skin. I guarantee you, especially if you are a whitey, once you are in your 50's you will see the damage the sun has wrought. There is no hiding from it in your 50's.

Any sun exposure can be harmful with th UV rays however as one of the ladies mentioned we also get Vitamin D from the sun which is necessary. don't be afraid of the sun, just be smart. Wear good SPF sunscreen at all times and when outside for prolonged times keep under a shade. I am in AZ too and there are a growing number of us proud to be fair skinned, that "healthy glow" really isnt healthy at all!

If you don't want wrinkles I would not get any sun on my face - it IS what causes wrinkles. Period. No refuting this whatsoever. If you MUST get your 10 minutes so as not to feel too pale you should use antioxidants to combat the free radicals from the sun damage. Get a face cream with them in it. And eat healthy.

You do need about 15 minutes of sun exposure a day for adequate Vitamin D absorption, but there are times during the day that the sun is most dangerous I suppose. You can still get that while wearing an spf and get a little glow.

I don't like tanners, but I do like light bronzing blushes, they can look very natural, have you tried those?

Any sun is bad for your skin. I'm extremely fair -- I burn in about 10 minutes in the sun -- so the only alternative to fair for me is burned. At 40, I have no wrinkles and I attribute that to my parents starting me on daily sunblock on my face (and other spots as exposed) when I was a teen. People think I'm in my 20s. Personally, I'm happy being fair and unwrinkled. It's worth it to me to protect from the sun.

Well the thing about tanning being bad...is that most people use tanning beds. I did a paper for a biology class on this once, and I was surprised!

First off, most places don't regulate the intensity of the rays you get..which is bad...as they are usually much stronger than regular sun, and there is some speculation about artificial light being a carcinogen...which as with most things...more is bad.

Also, it's really refreshing to see someone that also doesn't want to ruin the health of their skin. I am always horrified by the older women (who have obviously been tanning for years) that are orange and their skin just looks like a leather bag. Who wants to look like that?

However, if you want a natural glow..I have heard that up to 20 minutes a week in the sun is great. This also helps your body to create Vitamin D..which is crucial for the absorption of calcium. Have you tried bronzer? I never use it because I'm pretty simple in the makeup department, but I know if it's applied right it should look good. You can always go to a department store to the makeup section, and ask a sales lady to show you how to effectively apply bronzer without looking all fake. They can usually help you find the best one for your skin tone, and show you how to get that healthy glow. Only problem is that most of those bronzers are a bit more spendy than the drugstore variety lol.

I love the sun and love having a glow. It is was causes 90% of skin damage. I counter-act my love for sun with a great anti-aging regime. An SPF of 20 is recommended for every day and I use a 30 when out at the beach. Being 47, I am still taken for 30 something...I will take that.

Hello
I find that Drmercola.com has a lot of good tips about tanning and the sun in general... He is a big proponent of Vitamin D which with the help of sun exposure allows your body to produce and is something our body so very much needs.. if you go to his website, I think you will find some good info..
best of luck.. :)

A lot of wrinkling is genetic. On my mom's side about half of us have skin that tans almost ethnic dark (we also tan "red", like native american tan versus european tan) and the other half is porcelain fair. Those of us who tan super dark also have very oily skin. Wrinkles tend to hit in the late 70's - mid eighties... a good 30 years later than most people. Even though we're all very "outdoorsy" people who are in the sun constantly. The fair skinned lot splits down the middle. Some wrinkle along more normal lines, some don't wrinkle until later (like we dark skins). Typically, it's those who are "cursed" with oily skin when they're younger (lots of breakouts)... tend to have great skin as we age.

For myself... my skin gets "sick" when I'm not in the sun on a regular basis. Kind of green and scaly and prone to infection. But when I'm in the sun several hours a day, my skin clears right up. I'm just as active in sunny or cloudy weather, and I eat the same foods, treat my skin with as little regard, etc. My sister, otoh, (fair) is the opposite. Her skin is glowing and beautiful when NOT in the sun, but she burns easily and gets dry/scaly even without a burn during sunny weather.

Moderation my dear. A few minutes in the sun is good for you. I hate being pale too and have been a major sunworshipper since jr high school. I have wrinkles now tho, but I'm 53 and a grandma, and wouldnt trade all my fun in the sun days for nothin! 10 minutes of sunshine a few times a week would give you a little bit of healthy looking color and I doubt very seriously it would cause wrinkles. People like me that lay out in it for hours, now we can make mocassins from our skin :)

Skin damage is cumulative. Every exposure you've had since day one has already begun to damage and weaken your skin.

UVA - aging rays and UVB - burning rays are both BAD for us. Tanning beds are just as bad because they are UVA rays.

While I don't have any wrinkles I'm almost 47 and let me tell you what happens when you hit 40 - all of the sun damage starts popping up! If I could show you a picture of my face with no make up you'd see all the brown spots/patches.

I can tell you where most of it came from - a major sun burn I got in drill team camp when I was 18.

Stay out of the sun, wear a hat and sunscreen religiously - even in winter! Be proud to be pale!