UV damage and sun care: deciphering mechanics of skin to develop next generation therapies

Some ultraviolet radiation (UV) is essential to the body as it stimulates the production of vitamin D, yet overexposure has deleterious consequences for the skin. UV induces structural and cellular changes across the different layers of skin tissue leading to mechanical and oxidative stress. Both are critical parameters that can help us better understand and assess dermatological photodamage. While there is a developing body of research to quantify biomarkers of oxidative stress in skin, our knowledge of the magnitude of mechanical stresses in skin has been limited until recently due to the scarcity of methods to quantify the stress state of the tissue. In this regard, what is really exciting is that thin-film characterization and image correlation techniques have recently been successful in measuring the stress state of the tissue both in vitro and in vivo. In the next decade, quantifying UV-induced damage and the efficacy of sunscreens in preventing and treating photodamage will become an increasing focus in skin science research. An improved understanding of the magnitude of skin stresses will help us to better understand skin damage and appearance processes, such as cracking and wrinkling, and measure with accuracy both short-term and long-term effects of treatments.