... in response to commercial break............., posted by colman on Apr 11, 2003Colman,
You've only hit on part of the story. Certainly melanin,ie, skin pigmentation does provide some protection against the sun and wrinkling of the skin caused by UV rays. The darker the better. However, it is not just a factor of latitude of exposure, but also altitude, and amount of time one is exposed to the UV rays of the sun.
For each 1000'in altitude there is a 4% increase in UV exposure. So if a lady lives in Bogota or Quito and is described as "tan" the effect of UV rays on her skin can be quite negative over time if she spends a lot of time outdoors in the sunshine without any protection.
I would agree that a pale blonde blue eyed Russian living in Miami beach is going to have her skin age fast IF she spends a lot of time in the sun.