This is what really happens to your skin when you get badly sunburned on holiday

IT’S that time of year again, when everyone is getting ready to jet off on their summer holidays… and thousands of Brits will come back with a red raw sunburn.

But do you know what actually happens to your body when the sun’s rays do their damage? As well as the sheer agony, and total embarrassment, a bad sunburn actually changes the body’s DNA.

And it’s those changes that can cause cells in the body to grow out of control, which causes skin cancer.

A sunburn is the body’s reaction to UV rays and how bad people react very much depends on how dark their skin naturally is.

Dark skin contains more melanin that helps to absorb the sun’s rays, which is why fair skinned people burn much easier.

When skin is exposed to the sun for too long and it burns, it has damaged the molecules in the skin.

This causes the blood vessels in your skin to dilate and cells to become inflamed, which is why skin becomes red and painful.

When sunburn is bad enough, the body will then try to get rid of the damaged cells and they start to peel away.

But the new cells underneath that replace the shedding skin could also be damaged by the UV rays – causing long term changes to the DNA.

According to Cancer Research UK, this is the most dangerous type of damage as it can turn into skin cancer.

They said: “Too much UV radiation from the sun or sunbeds can damage the genetic material (the DNA) in your skin cells.

“If enough DNA damage builds up over time, it can cause cells to start growing out of control, which can lead to skin cancer.

“Your body has ways of repairing most of the damage.

“But it is not perfect – some damaged DNA can be left behind.”

Getting sunburn once every two years is all it takes to triple the risk of melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer.

While putting after sun on your body can help soothe the pain and limit the amount you peel, it can’t reverse any of the actual damage the sun has made.

According to Cancer Research UK, melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers don’t just spread across the skin – they can also go to other parts of your body.

A spokesperson said: “As well as growing across the surface of the skin, tumours can sometimes grow down through the layers of skin.

“If the tumour grows through the wall of a blood or lymph vessel, cancer cells can break off and spread to other parts of the body.

“This is why skin cancer is usually easier to treat successfully when it is caught at an early stage.”

Not only do sun-damaged cells increase your risk of skin cancer, they also make the skin age quicker.

According to skin experts at Bio Elements, UV damage is responsible for 90 per cent of visible age signs, like wrinkles, that appear on your face.