tone before Prom. What can you do about it?!

You've probably seen this viral video in all the dark corners of the web this week, showing

what the sun has done to seemingly beautiful skin. It's shocking, but let's add a little

context to this random "scientific" video. Ultraviolet light damages all human skin,

dark, fair, and all the colors in-between; the reason we even HAVE skin color is an evolutionary

response to sunlight damaging human skin.

First, what you're seeing in this video is the reflection of UV light. Ultraviolet light

works the same as any other light. It's either absorbed or reflected -- darker colors absorb

more than lighter. What the camera is showing us, is where the skin is absorbing or reflecting

more UV light. The dark spots are where the UV light isn't bouncing back at the camera.

UV light is part of the light spectrum, and though it's just outside the visible spectrum

for humans, if aliens were to show up tomorrow, they might see us the way this camera does!

Some of those freckles, blemishes and spots revealed by the camera are pockets there because

the skin is under attack.

When UV light hits the skin it can be reflected by our outermost layer of skin, the stratum

corneum. It that doesn't catch the radiation, the rays hit the inner layer of skin, the

epidermis where it encounters that melanin packaged within melanosomes. When skin is

exposed to the ultraviolet rays in sunlight, it darkens, or tans. All skin regardless of

color, tans. More melanin scatters more of the damaging UV rays. Melanin in the skin

is produced by melanocytes located in the epidermis. And it comes in the form of two

pigments the brown eumelanin and a yellow and red phaeomelanin! Dark-skinned humans

produce melanin all the time, while lighter-skinned people produce it as needed.The melanin is

evolution's way of scattering the rays of UV light before they can harm your DNA, since

we no longer have dark body hair to protect us.

If our skin didn't do this, the UV radiation would get through, corrupt our DNA, and cause

cancer before we could reach breeding age. There were probably human ancestors that didn't

tan -- and thus they weren't able to pass on their genes as efficiently. Sunburns are

radiation burns from overexposure to ultraviolet radiation. It turns red because your body

is trying to heal the damage and sending blood to the area. The burn isn't going to protect

you from anything, neither will a tan, really. In the end, ALL sun exposure results in UV

light impacting your skin. It is never ending. If it's cloudy, there's UV. When it's snowy

the UV can reflect off the snow and cause even MORE problems. When you're in a pool

or ocean? Yep. UV.

Light-skinned people are most susceptible to skin cancers because they have to make

up for not having the melanin in the first place. Darker skinned people scatter more

of the UV rays naturally, and therefore have significantly lower incidences of skin cancer,

according to the CDC[a]. Obviously, you can use sunscreen, which contains organic and

inorganic chemicals to block the UV rays that cause cancers. Some of the molecules absorb

the rays and release the energy as heat. However, a new study from the American Chemical Society

found an overabundance of sunscreen in the oceans frequented by beachgoers. The titanium

dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles in the creams and lotions were reacting with UV rays

and creating hydrogen peroxide toxins that kill algae and phytoplankton -- the lifebloods

of ocean ecosystems. It's a lose-lose. Though it's better to wear it to protect yourself.

Maybe we should just go to a movie.

In the end, this viral video does NOT show us where people will be getting cancer. It's

revealing bits of our skin's protective layer which absorb or reflect light. It's stuff

we don't normally see, but it's always there.

How does it make you feel to know every moment you spend in sunlight is hurting your body?

Warm up the comments with your own sunshiney opinions and thanks for stopping by DNews.

Enjoy the rest of the summer, and subscribe for more videos seven days a week!