For skin care professionals, protecting the skin from the sun is about much more than the pain and redness associated with a sunburn. The sun emits three types of ultraviolet radiation: UVA, UVB, and UVC. While UVC radiation is unable to penetrate the Earth's atmosphere, UVA and UVB reach the Earth's surface and greatly affect the skin. UVA infiltrates the deeper layers of the skin, causing aging, while UVB affects the outer layers of the skin and is responsible for sunburns. Because aging has been greatly attributed to accumulated exposure to ultraviolet radiation, it is important to educate clients about its effects and thoroughly explain how they can protect themselves. Diahne Patnode says, "As the trend of cross-category sun protection continues, sunscreens are now becoming synonymous with anti-aging. People who use sunscreen daily show 24 percent less skin aging than those who do not use sunscreen daily. Even though we accumulate approximately 73 percent of our lifetime ultraviolet exposure by age 55, daily sunscreen use by adults that are 55 and under can still reduce skin aging."Want to read more? Subscribe to one of our monthly plans to continue reading this article.