Recently read something about how a few bad sunburns when you’re young can cause a large increase in cancer later in your life. How can you develop cancer several decades after you’re burnt if your skin cells are constantly dying, falling off, and regrowing?
In: Biology
The sun’s radiation is filtered through our atmosphere and a fraction of it reaches the ground level where we live. Of this, some is filtered through our skin too but a fraction reaches the ground level of our skin called the basal layer. When the sunlight hits the basal layer its either absorbed by pigments called melanin or its absorbed by other sensitive cells. When its absorbed by sensitive cells it can cause the burning sensation. This basal layer doesn’t replace itself as quickly as the outermost layer of ‘dead skin’.
Interestingly, we only get exposed to a small percentage of the sun’s energy. Imagine how burned you would get if you were on top of a mountain or high up in the atmosphere! Also, sunscreen works by adding an extra layer of filters at the top layer of your skin.
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