Window Cleaning, The Sun & Working Inside

Interesting articles for window cleaners about how sun can effect your skin even whilst working inside...

Sunshine causes wrinkles through a window: Previous research has shown that basking in direct sunlight and shunning the sunscreen leads to wrinkles, but for those who thought their skin was safe while driving or sitting in a conservatory, here's an eye-opener. A study by a team of University College Hospital, Besancon, in France has revealed that the damage caused by sun coming through glass can be so dramatic that, over time, the side of the face exposed to the rays can end up looking up to seven years older than the other. A few hours sitting in a car during April results in skin damage, and even during autumn months the damage is far worse than previously realised, it has been found.

Glass does block out the sun's UVB rays, but about 50 per cent of UVA rays, associated with burning and ageing, do get through. The team demonstrated that a woman office worker or regular driver will age more quickly on the side where the skin faces the sun and heat - even through glass. "Participants showed significantly more clinical signs of facial ageing on one side of their face due to driving or working close to windows over many years," the Daily Mail quoted researchers as saying. Another study, by skin experts at Boots, found even a few hours sitting in a car in April resulted in skin damage linked to ageing.

Trevor McMillan and Sarah Allinson of the Lancaster University have shown that low dose UVA, equivalent to a British autumn day, causes up to a 50-fold increase in the expression of certain genes involved in photoageing - premature ageing of the skin from exposure to UV radiation. Professor John Hawk, an Emeritus Professor of dermatological photobiology and UVA expert, said: "We believe up to 90 per cent of the visible signs of ageing are due to the sun's ultraviolet radiation and more than 95 per cent of these are known to be UVA rays. "What's needed is a step-change in awareness of the damaging effects all year round, not just during summer holiday season."

Reading this article could open all those people’s eyes, who were under the impression that they are safe sitting in their cars or conservatories, whilst being exposed to direct sunlight, as the negative effect on the skin would be equivalent to basking under direct sunrays. A team of researchers of University College Hospital, Besancon, in France has outlined that the damage, which is caused by sun sieving through glass could be of serious level, since a person could end up looking many years older than his real age.

It has been found by this study that sitting for few hours in a car during the month of April results in grave level skin damage, and also, when autumn months start, sitting under direct sunlight sieved via glass could make one look older, which is something that people were unaware of. It is true that glass blocks the UVB rays of the sun, but at the same time, almost 50% of UVA rays that are related to burning of skin or ageing cannot be locked by it, as found by the study. The team illustrated that a woman sitting on the window side, who is exposed to sun rays, is likely to age faster than other women who are not exposed to sun rays.



They have concluded that UVA in sun rays, which can make lines worse and cause wrinkles, are able to penetrate glass and damage skin even while we are indoors. The team from the University College Hospital, Besançon, found that workers who sit near windows can look ten years older than those who don't. They also claimed that the side of the worker's face which has been facing the window, pictured left, would have aged more than the other side. The research - which also revealed that eight out of ten women don't think about protecting their face from UVA rays unless they are on holiday - was backed by Boots, who are introducing UVA sun protection into a line of their No7 moisturisers.