Best Way to Protect Skin From Sun Damage
Most of us know that too much sun is bad for our skin, yet sunburn remains common and the visible effects of years of sun exposure, from fine lines to uneven pigmentation, continue to be one of the most frequent skin concerns people raise with dermatologists. Working out the best way to protect skin from sun damage means separating what is genuinely proven, what is promising but still developing, and what is simply marketing noise.
This article breaks down the evidence behind effective sun protection, common misconceptions worth clearing up, and where newer research, including studies on red and near-infrared light, currently stands.
Myth: A Base Tan Protects Against Further Sun Damage
This is one of the most persistent misconceptions around sun safety. A tan is, in itself, a sign of skin cell damage. When skin is exposed to UV radiation, it produces extra melanin as a defensive response, which is what causes the visible darkening. There is no safe or healthy way to get a tan, and a tan offers only marginal protection, nowhere near the level provided by a proper sunscreen.
Myth: Sunscreen Alone Is Enough
Sunscreen is essential, but it has never been designed to work in isolation. Cancer Research UK is explicit on this point, noting that sunscreen does not give complete protection from the sun and should always be used together with shade, clothing, and UV-protective sunglasses, applied generously and reapplied regularly throughout the day.
This is partly a practical issue: most people apply far less sunscreen than was used in the testing that established a product's SPF rating, which means real-world protection is often lower than the number on the bottle would suggest. Layering sunscreen with physical protection closes that gap.
Myth: Cloudy Days Don't Require Sun Protection
UV radiation passes through cloud cover, and a significant proportion of UV rays still reach the skin on overcast days. The NHS notes that in the UK, the sun's UV rays are often strong enough to cause damage between mid-March and mid-October, regardless of how sunny it looks outside. Checking the UV index, rather than relying on visible sunshine, is the more reliable way to judge daily risk.
What Actually Works: The Established Basics
With the myths out of the way, here is what the evidence consistently supports as the foundation of effective sun protection.
Broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 should be applied generously to all exposed skin and reapplied every two hours, or immediately after swimming or sweating. Cancer Research UK specifically recommends a minimum SPF of 30 with a 4 or 5 star UVA rating, with the star rating indicating the proportion of UVA protection relative to the SPF value.
Seeking shade during peak UV hours, generally between 11am and 3pm in the UK during the summer months, significantly reduces overall exposure.
Wearing protective clothing, including long sleeves and a wide-brimmed hat, provides a physical barrier that does not wear off in the way sunscreen can.
UV-protective sunglasses guard the delicate skin around the eyes as well as the eyes themselves, an area often overlooked in sun protection routines.
Why UV Damage Happens at a Cellular Level
To understand why these steps matter, it helps to know what UV radiation actually does once it reaches the skin. UVB rays primarily affect the outer layer of skin and are the main driver of sunburn, while UVA rays travel deeper into the dermis, where they accelerate the breakdown of collagen and elastin, the structural proteins responsible for skin's firmness.
Both wavelengths generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) within skin cells. These unstable molecules damage cellular DNA, proteins, and structural fibres. UV exposure also activates matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a family of enzymes that break down collagen, which is one of the central mechanisms behind premature skin ageing caused by sun exposure rather than the natural passage of time.
Skin has its own built-in defence systems, including antioxidant pathways that help neutralise some of this oxidative stress, but repeated or intense UV exposure can overwhelm these natural defences, which is why cumulative sun exposure has a compounding effect over the years.
Where Red and Near-Infrared Light Research Currently Stands
A growing area of scientific interest looks at whether red and near-infrared light, the wavelengths used in photobiomodulation devices, might play a supporting role in how skin handles and recovers from UV exposure. This research deserves a fair and precise summary, because the evidence base, while genuinely interesting, is still developing.
The most relevant human study is a small controlled clinical trial conducted by Barolet and Boucher, published in the peer-reviewed journal Lasers in Surgery and Medicine. Volunteers had areas of thigh skin treated with 660nm pulsed LED light before controlled UV exposure.
The results showed that pretreatment with LED light reduced the skin's UV-induced redness response in the majority of participants, an effect the researchers attributed to a dose-dependent cellular resistance mechanism, alongside a reduction in post-inflammatory pigmentation.
This study carries genuine scientific weight because it was conducted on human skin under controlled conditions, rather than relying solely on laboratory or animal models. However, it remains a small pilot study (fifteen healthy participants and two with an additional light-sensitivity condition), conducted on thigh skin rather than the face, and measuring redness as an indirect marker of UV stress rather than a direct measure of cellular damage.
A separate, related body of research has examined how red light affects collagen metabolism more broadly. Work published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology found that pulsed 660nm LED light increased levels of procollagen and reduced activity of MMP-1, the enzyme most responsible for the kind of collagen breakdown UV exposure accelerates, with measurable clinical improvements observed in parallel testing.
While this research focused on general skin ageing rather than direct post-sun recovery, the mechanism it describes, more collagen synthesis and less degradation, is directly relevant to how skin might better withstand and recover from UV-related stress.
Supporting mechanistic evidence also comes from animal research. A 2024 study published in Current Issues in Molecular Biology examined hairless mice treated with 630nm red LED light before UV-B exposure, and found that pretreated skin showed improved collagen and elastin fibre quality, increased expression of the barrier protein Claudin-1, and changes in oxidative stress markers compared with untreated, UV-exposed skin.
This kind of animal study helps explain the biological plausibility behind the human pilot data, but it cannot be treated as proof of an effect in human skin or in any specific consumer device.
Being Clear About What This Means in Practice
It would be easy to overstate this emerging research, so it is worth being direct: none of the studies above show that red or near-infrared light therapy can replace sunscreen, that any LED device offers a measurable SPF-equivalent benefit, or that pilot study or animal model results will reliably translate to every device and every protocol.
What this research does suggest is a plausible, evolving picture of how skin cells respond to light exposure and oxidative stress, including how they might be supported in resisting and repairing some of the effects associated with UV exposure. This is valuable scientific context, not a marketing shortcut, and it should be treated accordingly.
Bringing It Together: A Layered Routine
The best way to protect skin from sun damage is not found in any single step, but in a consistent, layered routine. Daily broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher, applied generously and reapplied regularly, remains the essential foundation. Physical protection, including shade, clothing, and sunglasses, fills the gaps that sunscreen alone cannot cover.
From there, supporting overall skin health through a considered skincare routine adds further resilience. Maysama's Green Rooibos Pressed Serum is formulated with Aspalathin, an antioxidant studied for its role in supporting skin against everyday oxidative stress, designed to be used as part of, never instead of, your daily sun protection routine.
Those curious about the broader science of red and near-infrared light can read more in Maysama's overview of pulsed light therapy and its cellular effects.
Maysama's AURA LED Light Therapy Face Mask uses red (630nm) and near-infrared (810nm and 850nm) wavelengths through its Intelligent Micro-pulsing Technology as part of a broader skin health and rejuvenation routine.
It is not designed or marketed as a sunscreen replacement, and should never be used as a substitute for SPF or other established sun protection measures. However, it might help reduce the UV damage caused by the sun when used in combination with proper sunscreen.
The Takeaway
Effective sun protection comes down to consistency over complexity. Broad-spectrum sunscreen, sensible physical barriers, and good daily habits remain firmly at the centre of any genuinely protective routine.
Emerging science around red and near-infrared light offers a fascinating glimpse into how skin cells respond to UV stress, and it may, over time, become a useful complementary part of skin health routines as the research matures.
For now, it sits alongside, not in place of, the fundamentals that decades of dermatological research continue to support.
To browse Maysama's range of LED devices designed to support healthy, resilient-looking skin, visit the Maysama beauty devices collection
