Sun Safety - Skin Facts
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Did you know that…
- your skin is the largest organ of the body
- your skin measures about 1 mm thick when you’re born, and grows to about 2 mm thick by adulthood
- as we age, skin gradually thins and becomes more sensitive to sun damage.
Your skin has 3 main functions:
- Protective – your skin’s main job is to insulate and protect the body against invasion by bacteria and other foreign things. Quick Fact: After a sunburn, the skin breaks down and can increase the risk of infection.
- Sensory – the skin can sense 5 different kinds of stimulation: touch, pressure, heat, cold, and pain.
- Regulatory – the skin helps to control body temperature by distributing heat through the skin and by preventing dehydration.
Some people believe having a “base tan” will protect their skin from getting a sunburn. This is not true. A tan is the skin’s response to damage from UV radiation. When skin is exposed to the sun, it produces a brown pigment or colouring called Melanin. This colouring actually indicates skin damage and is the skin’s way of trying to block the sun’s damaging rays.
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