FIGHTING THE SUN

How sunscreen blocks UV rays from your skin

1 UVB

One of the two basic types of UV radiation is UVB, which is commonly associated with causing sunburn and plays the greatest role in causing skin cancers.

2 UVA

UVA exposure can also lead to the development of skin cancer. It can penetrate the skin deeper than UVB rays and causes wrinkles and skin ageing.

3 BARRIER

Sunscreen acts as a physical barrier against UVB and UVA radiation, preventing them from damaging the cells in different layers of the skin.

4 HYPODERMIS

This is the deepest layer of the skin, containing blood vessels and lipocytes, which are fatproducing cells.

5 DERMIS

Nerves, fibres and collagen can be found in the dermis layer of the skin. This is the deepest layer UVA can penetrate.

6 EPIDERMIS

Both UVB and UVA can penetrate this superficial layer of skin. Here UVB can damage DNA within skin cells, causing them to mutate into cancers.