Your skin: it’s pretty important. Think of it as a fleshy suit of brilliance (weird), keeping all those insides together and protected. If you think about it, skin can be cool -- it’s the largest organ we practically have. Therefore, it’s a given to be nice to it, right? Well -- kind of nice to it. Sometimes.

Summer (for some) is just about over, so this article may be some terribly timed advice if you already soaked in the season. But don’t fret! The relationship the sun can have with your skin can be a healthy one -- if they don’t go out on too many dates, that is.

Let’s look at it this way: your skin is ready for a long-term commitment with the big ol’ sun. It’s ready to embrace those ultraviolet rays. This is great! Skin needs the sun to help create vitamin D, which is essential to bone health and even mood improvement. But we all know the truth to those rays, and melanin (pigment in the skin) is the concern. The pigment in your skin is the determinant of how well you can handle the sun for extended periods of time. The darker the pigment, the less damage to the skin elasticity and aging process.

Too bad it’s time to cut this date short. Watch this video, “How the sun sees you,” to understand why this relationship can be sneaky bad.

The video is an incredible representation of the damage sun can do to your skin on a daily basis. Soon, that damage can add up and result in a collection of harm that anyone can see.

Now watch how when sun damages, sun ages:

It’s all about the sunscreen. Our skin can go on all the long beach walks with the sun, as long as it uses some (SPF) protection. No skin wants to grow up too soon because of one fun summer day!