@theskinbiologylab: 🧬 DID YOU KNOW 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝? ☀️ That peeling skin isn’t simply your skin “burning off”. When ultraviolet (UV) radiation reaches your skin, it can damage the DNA inside your skin cells, particularly keratinocytes in the epidermis. If the damage is severe enough, those cells can trigger a process called apoptosis which is a form of programmed cell death that allows the body to safely remove cells that are too damaged to keep functioning normally. At the same time, your immune system responds to the UV damage by triggering inflammation. This is what contributes to the familiar redness, warmth, swelling and soreness of sunburn 🔥 As the damaged keratinocytes die, they eventually lose their attachment to neighbouring cells and are shed from the outer layers of the epidermis. And that’s when you see the familiar peeling 👀 Underneath those damaged cells are living layers of your epidermis that have been protected from the worst of the exposure. So when your sunburn starts peeling, your body isn’t just “getting rid of burnt skin”…. It’s removing cells that have suffered UV-induced damage 🧬 But here’s the important part: Peeling doesn’t mean the sunburn wasn’t harmful. UV radiation can cause DNA damage long before you see the skin peel and repeated UV exposure without protection, can contribute to premature skin ageing and increase the risk of skin cancer. Your skin isn’t just sitting there taking the damage; it’s constantly detecting, repairing, replacing and shedding cells to protect you. Your skin is alive. And it’s constantly working 🔬🧬 #DidYouKnow #sunburn #skinscience #humanbiology #apoptosis

🧬 The Skin Biology Lab

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Region: GB

Friday 28 August 2026 17:00:00 GMT