• Question: why do we get sun burnt and then after a while it fades

    Asked by pricee to MarkF, Mark, Michael, Panos, Sarah on 18 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Sarah Burl

      Sarah Burl answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      The sun burn is not fading, you are losing skin cells as the top layer of your skin is being removed all the time. The skin changes colour when the DNA is being danaged so getting sun burnt is very bad for you and getting sun burnt when you are young has been shown to be linked to getting skin cancer later in life so be careful when in the sun!

    • Photo: Mark Fogg

      Mark Fogg answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      Sunburn is caused by over-exposure to UV rays from the sun. The skin has a pigment called melanin that goes brown in response to the suns UV, the more exposure you have, the darker it gets. This helps protect the skin from further damage. People like me, with fair skin, have less melanin so burn more easily. The tan fades when melanin is no longer being exposed to UV. Black skinned people have way more Melanin than fair skinned people, hence the colour.

    • Photo: Mark Travis

      Mark Travis answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      Sun burn is caused by UV radiation from the sun causing damage to skin cells. It fades after a while as the skin cells die off and are replaced with new ones.

      UV from the sun can cause mutations in your skin cells that could potentially lead to cancer- this is why it is very important to wear sun cream and try and not get sun burnt!

    • Photo: Panos Soultanas

      Panos Soultanas answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      Because the body’s repair mechanisms kick in and repair the damage very effectively.

    • Photo: Michael Loughlin

      Michael Loughlin answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      well the UV rays part of light damage DNA in our cells ( we use UV light to kill bacteria in the same way) the cells try and produce melanin to protect the DNA but if still much UV gets through the DNA is daamged and cells begin to die. Underneath then cells begin to produced to replace them which is where the peeling off the old dead skin and exposing the new pink skin comes in. Tanning is whe the Melanain is produced and protects the skin after multiple exposures
      I am certain that there must be genetic links to melanin prodcution to explain why some people tan and other blister

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