Daily Sunscreen Cuts Skin Aging By 24 Percent

The good news from researchers at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research at Royal Brisbane Hospital is that sunscreen can keep skin young-looking even for people who are no longer young. Possibly. HealthDay reports that the researchers who studied skin aging in 903 people are convinced that daily use of sunscreen will benefit people over 55, even though most of their study participants were under 55. All the participants had been randomly assigned to two sunscreen groups, one of which was told to use SPF 15 sunscreen on a daily basis, applying it to their head, neck, arms and hands every morning, and reapplying after bathing, heavy sweating or spending a few hours outside. The second group was not told to avoid sunscreen, but rather to use it when they felt like it. The researchers found that after 4.5 years, regardless of age or gender, those using sunscreen every day were found to have much less skin aging compared with those who did not slather daily. How much less is “much less”? Twenty-four percent.