Prevent photo-ageing for younger-looking skin

Did you know that sunlight is the major cause of skin ageing and dark marks? That’s why, with our strong African sun, if you care about how your skin looks, you should be using a moisturiser with an SPF every day.

Exposure to UVA and UVB light (and, experts say, blue light from screens) causes premature ageing. This means wrinkling, loss of elasticity and dark spots appearing much earlier. Other common signs include brown spots, broken capillaries (spider veins), redness and blotchiness, rough, uneven skin texture – and even skin cancer.

Dermatologists say the damage the sun does to skin happens when ultraviolet (UV) light hits skin unprotected by sunscreen, causing DNA changes at a cellular level. Because photodamage happens in the dermis, the deepest layers of the skin, it can take years before the damage surfaces and becomes visible. Just check the difference between skin in an area that doesn’t see the sun and your face to see the results over time.

“I see many patients who have a lot of sun damage,” says dermatologist Kathleen Suozzi from Yale Medicine Dermatology. “They feel like their skin aged them, that they appear older than some of their peers, and they’re regretful of not being better with sun protection in their youth.”

The simple truth is that prevention is better than cure. The advice is always to use a daily SPF. Luckily, African Extracts Rooibos skin care simplifies your life by including an effective UVA/UVB sunscreens in daily moisturisers, saving you money, and cutting out a step in your morning routine.

An added benefit in all these moisturisers is the presence of Bio-Active Rooibos extract, known to help protect the skin against sun-induced changes, including inflammation in skin cells that is linked to skin cancer development.

Choose from Advantage Multi-Protect Moisturiser SPF30, South Africa’s favourite essential daily moisturiser Classic Moisturising Day Cream in SPF15 and SPF30, and new Purifying Triple-Action Moisturiser SPF15, specially formulated for oily and problem skins.