How much UV radiation can your skin handle?
Intensive and frequent sunbathing can be too much for your skin to handle. Only if you gradually increase UV exposure over a period of two to three weeks, and only expose your skin to moderate UV radiation, can you achieve a lasting tan that makes the corneal layer of your skin thicker, providing a little protection from the sun. Although this natural UV protection can prevent sunburn to some extent, it can't protect you from all of the different types of damage caused by UV light, and can't prevent skin cancer.
The skin of people who are sensitive to light can't protect itself from UV radiation for long. In very fair-skinned people, UV radiation starts becoming harmful after about 5 to 10 minutes. The table below shows the maximum amount of time people with different types of skin can expose untanned and unprotected skin to the sun per day without getting a sunburn.
|
Skin type |
Maximum amount of time |
|
I |
10 minutes |
|
II |
20 minutes |
|
III |
30 minutes |
|
IV |
50 minutes |
|
V |
more than 60 minutes |
|
VI |
more than 60 minutes |
The following can help you determine what type of skin you have:
|
Skin type I: |
l very light skin, very often with freckles l reddish or strawberry blond hair l blue or gray eyes l UV radiation leads to sunburn within 10 minutes, skin doesn't tan |
|
Skin type II: |
l light skin, often with freckles l blond or brown hair l all eye colors l UV radiation leads to sunburn within 20 minutes, skin hardly tans or tans only moderately |
|
Skin type III: |
l light or light brown skin, rarely with freckles l dark blond or brown hair l gray or brown eyes l UV radiation leads to sunburn within 30 minutes, skin tans easily |
|
Skin type IV: |
l light brown or olive-colored skin, no freckles l dark brown hair l brown or dark brown eyes l UV radiation leads to sunburn within 50 minutes, skin soon becomes deeply tanned |
|
Skin type V: |
l dark brown skin l dark brown or black hair l dark brown eyes l UV radiation only leads to sunburn after more than 60 minutes, skin doesn't become darker |
|
Skin type VI: |
l dark brown or black skin l black hair l dark brown eyes l UV radiation only leads to sunburn after more than 60 minutes, skin doesn't become darker |
Very light skin and light skin (types I and II) are typical in places like Scandinavia and Great Britain, and people who have a medium brown skin tone with dark eyes and dark hair (type IV) mainly live in the Mediterranean and geographically similar areas. People with even darker or black skin (types V and VI) have their roots in places like certain areas of Asia or Africa.