Time spent in the sun accumulating ultraviolet rays into the skin leads to problems later in life.
It's those accumulated effects that damage the skin's DNA and cell function. In addition to skin cancer, excessive sun exposure also causes pre-malignant actinic keratoses, wrinkles, dark and unsightly blotches, leathery skin and immune system suppression. An open-mesh baseball cap or open weave straw hat can be just as bad or worse. The sun is the main cause of skin cancer. Thanks to our love of a suntan and our outdoor-oriented lifestyles, skin cancer has become a significant and growing health problem.