Sun exposure doesn't just cause wrinkles — it can cause skin cancers that require surgery and may permanently change your face.

Different kinds of skin cancer are caused by different kinds of sun exposure: melanoma by childhood sunburns, BCC by weekend sunbathing, and SCC by years of daily sun exposure.

Too much sun, especially getting sunburned often or spending a lot of time in the sun over the years, raises your chance of getting a common type of skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma, especially if you have light skin and burn easily.

UV radiation from the sun or artificial sources can harm your skin by causing sunburn, aging it faster, weakening your skin’s defenses, and even leading to skin cancer because it reaches deep into your skin.

Ultraviolet radiation exposure induces melanin production as a protective response, but this process simultaneously causes cumulative DNA damage in skin cells, leading to photoaging and increased risk of skin cancer.

Spending lots of time in the sun on vacations or weekends is more likely to cause BCC than being outside during daily routines like walking to work.