The sun's rays, which are called ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B rays (UVA and UVB rays) damage your skin. This leads to early wrinkles, skin cancer and other skin problems.
Being in the sun often over time, even if you don't burn, can lead to skin cancer.

Most skin cancers occur on parts of the body that are repeatedly exposed to the sun. These areas include the head, neck, face, tips of the ears, hands, forearms, shoulders, back, chests of men, and the back and lower legs of women.

We can summarize the main risk factors for skin cancer as follows:

• Having fair skin, red or blond hair
• Having light-colored eyes
• Sunburning easily
• Having many moles, freckles or birthmarks
• Working or playing outside
• Being in the sun a lot as a child
• Having had a serious sunburn
• Having family members with skin cancer
• Tanning in the sun or with a sunlamp

The main thing to look for is any change in a mole that you have or the appearance of a new mole. Most normal moles appear by age 30. Any moles that appear after age 30 should be watched carefully and brought to the attention of your doctor.

There are many thing we can do to decrease our chances of getting skin cancer, the key is to avoid being in the sun or using sunlamps. If you're going to be in the sun for any length of time, wear clothes made from tight-woven cloth so the sun's rays can't get through to your skin, and stay in the shade when you can. Wear a wide-brimmed hat to protect your face, neck and ears.

Remember that clouds and water won't protect you--60% to 80% of the sun's rays can get through clouds and can reach swimmers at least one foot below the surface of the water. The sun's rays can also reflect off of water, snow and white sand.

If you can't protect yourself by staying out of the sun or wearing the right kind of clothing, use sunscreen to help protect you. But don't think that you're completely safe from the sun just because you're wearing sunscreen.