Sun is one of the worst enemies the human skin could have. First of all because there are very few ways in which we can stay out of its way. Everywhere we go we have to meet the dangerous sun rays, especially during the hot days of summer. Because we got so used with it, sun no longer is seen as a threat. Moreover, there are people who benevolently expose their skin to the powerful sun rays without any protection, thus damaging their skin willingly.

But why is sun a threat to human skin after all? Well, the ultraviolet rays which come from the sun are the ones which affect the skin. People with lighter color of skin feel the solar attacks more acutely than people with darker types of skin. This is mainly because of a component of skin called melanin. Melanin is the substance responsible with the color of the human skin. The more melanin your skin produces, the darker it would be. In addition to giving the skin a darker color, the melanin is also responsible with absorbing and neutralizing the ultraviolet rays coming from the sun. Thus, people with darker skin have more melanin in the composition of the skin, thus are less prone to skin lesions or burns caused by the sun rays. On the other hand, people with lighter skin lack the necessary amount of melanin which can effectively combat the sun rays, thus are more susceptible to burns and skin damages cause by sun.

When the skin is exposed to the sun, more melanin is produced, so the skin gets darker. We call that a suntan. This suntan can become dangerous when the skin is no longer able to produce enough melanin to protect the skin, thus the skin starts to get burned. The reason for which the tan is not permanent is because in time, the cells containing a greater amount of melanin than normal are pushed at the surface where they are discarded, thus leaving room for a new and healthy layer of skin. However, there are times when the skin can be so affected that it would not recover in time, brown spots and darker patches remaining in place forever. In addition to that, skin cancers and other skin diseases can appear because of excessive exposure to sun.