Sunscreen is an even better anti-ager than we all thought. We know that sunscreen prevents skin damage. Now a new study published in Dermatologic Surgery a medical journal proves that sunblock can also reverses the signs of skin aging! That’s great news.
Conclusion – Daily Use of Sunscreen Delivers Younger Looking Skin
I know I’m spoiling it all upfront. But if you don’t read the entire post I want you to get the key conclusion:
“The daily use of a facial broad-spectrum photostable sunscreen may visibly reverse the signs of existing photodamage, in addition to preventing additional sun damage.”
Now let’s get to the details…
Study – Real People, Real Results
This new study was conducted by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. and published in Dermatologic Surgery medical journal. Now I know, this does present a bit of a conflict of interest, Johnson & Johnson is a major brand that sells a lot of sunscreens. But real doctors and scientists conducted the study on real people via an independent laboratory. That’s why I think it has merit.
Method – Sunscreen was the Only Anti-Aging Product Used For One Year
For the study, 32 people applied a broad spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen for 52 weeks to their entire face everyday. The ONLY anti-aging product these people were allowed to use during the year was sunscreen.
People’s skin was assessed through dermatologist evaluations and via the subjects' own self-assessments at the beginning to get a baseline and then at Weeks 12, 24, 36, and 52.
Results – 100% Improvement in Skin Health
The dermatologist evaluations concluded that:
- All photoaging parameters improved significantly from baseline as early as Week 12 and the improvements continued until Week 52.
- Skin texture, clarity, and mottled and discrete pigmentation were the most improved parameters by the end of the study (40% to 52% improvement from baseline)
- 100% of subjects showed improvement in skin clarity and texture
Even more interesting by the end, in their self-assessments most of the participants felt sunscreen helped their skin look firmer plus improved their skin tone and texture. For instance about half felt they noticed improvement in skin dullness, roughness, crow’s feet fine lines, redness, and tone evenness.
It’s clear that using only sunblock everyday for year had a significant impact on everyone’s skin for the better.
More Proof of Sunscreen’s Benefits
If you want even more research on the benefits of sunscreen – check out all of our sunscreen and skin care studies here.
For tips on preventing skin damage and skin aging check out our Education and Suncare Smart series.
