The effect of exposure to UV rays is terrible, explains SunSense ambassador and TV presenter Ms. Carrie Bickmore, who recently had her face screened for sun damage and was horrified to note the results.

''Before you get it done, you think it will be fine", she says. ''The average [UV rating] is 60 or 66 [100 being best and 0 being worst]. I was 42 . which means I have a lot of sun damage and haven't looked after my skin".

Carrie's skin showed a lot of pigmentation all over, which implied that her skin has been majorly damaged by UV rays and that too into the deep layers of her skin, explained biochemist Dr. Kerryn Grieve.

In her explanation, the doctor clearly marked all the patches over Carrie's skin to explain the damage that she has suffered over her skin. The lighter patch that Carrie has on her forehead is from the fringe in childhood and also she has a little freckling underneath the lip, the reports of the screening revealed.

Fortunately, the screening has not detected any risks of skin cancer to Carrie but yes, some elements of genetics have been noticed.

UV damage is really terrible, thus, people must get their skin checked more regularly, enabling them to make a concerted effort to protect it.