Facial Skin Analyzer Machine

One way to look at how much sun damage your face has received is by using the Facial Skin Analyzer.  At the events that my uncle holds, he brings this machine for people to see how much the sun affects their skin. The person walks up on one side and my uncle sits on the rear view side (shown below).  The person then sticks their head inside the machine so that his or her face is completely inside in analyzer (as shown in the side view). 

This is what it looks like inside the the Facial Skin Analyzer. The person's face is illuminated to show how deep the sun has affected his or her skin. It only take a few seconds to get the results; my uncle analyzes the person's face based on what lights up inside the Analyzer.

This is what it looks like to the person when he or she sticks his or her face into the Facial Skin Analyzer. The dark spots show where the skin has been affected by the sun. Most of the dark spots you see are freckles under the skin, similar to those that are on the surface of a person's skin. However, freckles indicate sun damage to your skin. The more freckles the more sun damage, which then leads to a higher risk of skin cancer. Freckles are only clumps of the pigment melanin, so they cannot on their own become cancerous since they lack a cellular structure. Although not necessary, surface freckles are able to be removed by chemical peel or other treatments, but they are not dangerous on their own. 

I have actually used this machine when I was around 10 years old, and I was already filled with brown spots. I looked in from the other side when my mom put her face in, and her face was even worse. This made sense as she is older, so she had more exposure to the sun. Because we live in Arizona, we are constantly out under the sun. It is extremely important to wear sunblock for this reason. 

As you can see in this girl's picture, she has been out in the sun without any kind of protection. When I go to a beach, a water park, or even walking around school, I cover up as much as possible. I'll wear sunglasses and a hat walking around school, and water shorts and a shirt when I go to the beach. I know as young adults we find it to be "uncool" to cover up - especially at places where people prefer to show skin, but I would rather be safe than sorry.