What Is Sunlight?
Sun sun sun! It keeps us warm, gives us perfect tans, it generates electricity, and so much more. We know all these things, but something that most people don’t consider is how the sun can help our skin! This is an area where the sun is not being taken advantage of. But before I get into that, let’s learn a little more about that warm sunshine. Let’s learn the facts.
Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the all mighty and powerful sun. Using more specific terms, the sun gives off infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. For us down on Earth, sunlight is filtered through the atmosphere surrounding the Earth, thus providing us with daylight. This means the sun is present above the horizon. When the sun’s rays are not being by clocked by clouds, which creates diffused light, they shine right on down to us. This creates sunshine, which is an unbeatable combination of radiant heat and bright light.
Too much sun isn’t always a good thing. It’s important to always wear sunscreen, protect your skin from overexposure, and always drink enough water. The sun is more than powerful and can easily affect our bodies.
If you’re like me, you cross your fingers, pray to the weather gods, and hope with everything inside of you that every single day of the year will be sunny. This is because not only is sunlight proven to have positive effects on the brain, it can also gives us that dreamy skin we’ve always wanted. Whether you struggle from a severe skin conditions such as Rosacea or Psoriasis, or you have acne like millions of other people in the world, the sun could be your medicine. If we are smart about how we manage our time with the sun and how it fits into our lives, we can be exposed to a world of skin care benefits. This is so important to know. Our skin is such a big part of us!
Our Skin…
Our skin, which is the outer covering of our body, is the largest organ in our integumentary system. Our skin has many layers of ectodermal tissue. These layers guard and protect our muscles, bones, ligaments, and internal organs. Our skin is sensitive and it is crucial to take care of it if you want to remain healthy on the inside and outside.
There are many things that can affect our skin in negative ways, one of those things being the sun. But if our exposure to the sun is kept under control, we positive effects.
How The Sun Helps…
The sun works in marvelous ways. Being exposed to sunlight on a regular basis while using the proper protection is a step in the right direction when it comes to treating acne and other skin conditions and disorders.
The rays from the sun will not outright cure your acne, but it will work to reduce redness and inflammation on the skin. UV rays in the sunlight have antiseptic effects on bacteria. The sun suppresses the immune system, which isn’t necessarily the best thing for the body, but in doing so, it suppresses the immune cells in the acne. These cells are the ones that create redness on the skin.
A Smarter Option…
Because the sun can be so harsh on our sensitive skin and we can not monitor the strength of it, using light therapy has been proven to be a smarter option for treating acne and other skin conditions. Because too much sun exposure can lower our immune system harsh sunlight can sometimes make acne worse. Also, sun screen is necessary but it tends to be thick and greasy which isn’t always the best for sensitive skin.
Light therapy, which can be monitored and set on a regular schedule, tends to be extremely effective. The severity of the condition and the medical diagnosis of it determines which light therapy device would be best.
There is a wide array of light therapy devices that can help treat skin conditions. The options range from hand held wands to panels, boxes, beds, and more. Treatments can be done in a doctor’s office but that can get expensive. At-home treatments can be done at your own convenience, have a one time cost, and with the new technology, can be just as effective as a doctor’s device. For example, a hand held red light therapy device is commonly used for treating acne. The intensity of the infrared light bulbs penetrate the skin and kill the acne causing bacteria in the pores. Other forms work similarly but it is important to determine a goal, a schedule, and a budget before experimenting with the all natural treatment. Facing Acne, a website for helping people deal with acne problems posted an article about why they think light therapy is better for the skin than the sun. In the article, the author summarizes which forms of the light treatment do what. The article reads,
- Sunlight is good for treating acne, but it is specifically the red and blue wavelengths of visible sunlight that make a difference.
- Red light reaches deep into the skin and activates hemoglobin. Red light treatment cuts off just enough of the blood supply of oil-producing sebaceous glands that pores don’t get quite as oily.
- Blue light penetrates pores and kills acne bacteria—but not all the pore’s acne bacteria. There are always some acne bacteria in the sebaceous gland that can’t be reached by blue light.
- When it comes to acne light therapy, more is not necessarily better. Drying or burning the skin by holding the face too close to the lamp does not help.
- The best way to use blue and red light therapy at home is for helping keep the skin clear between acne treatments.
- Acne light therapy is always most effective when used as part of a complete skin care system such as Exposed Skin Care.
(FacingAcne.com)
Healthy skin is not only good for our body and physical health; healthy, glowing skin is good for the mind. It raises confidence levels drastically and will help spread good energy. If you’re struggling with skin conditions, give light therapy a chance.
