A new study suggests that if you sunbathe once every 48 hours, (instead of once every day), you will end up with darker skin; and prevent unwanted sun damage.
This is because melanin, a protective skin pigment, is only made every 48 hours. A report by Molecular Cell suggests that daily sunbathing can disrupt the pigment’s production and leave skin vulnerable to damage from UV light. It has been discovered that the protein MITF is responsible for the production and use of melanin, along with other skin protection mechanisms involving UV light.
The researchers shone UV-B light on mice every 24, 48 or 72 hours for 60 days. The rodents that were exposed to the radiation on the 48-hour schedule developed darker skin and had less DNA damage than the mice in the other groups. Other experiments with skin cells in dishes suggest that within minutes of UV exposure, MITF activates genes involved in skin cell survival. Those genes make proteins that assist DNA repair and recruitment of immune cells to the skin. Melanin production doesn’t begin until later on. The study found that daily exposure to UV radiation and UV light disrupts the production of melanin; leaving the skin exposed and vulnerable to damage.
