{"title":"Hughes 2013 — Sunscreen and Prevention of Skin Aging: A Randomized Trial","entity_type":"Source","slug":"hughes-2013-sunscreen-skin-aging-rct","canonical_url":"https://skinknowledgebase.com/sources/hughes-2013-sunscreen-skin-aging-rct","dates":{"date_modified":"2026-05-09","date_reviewed":"2026-05-09"},"mcp_eligible":true,"evidence_sources":[],"product_fact_sources":[],"related_entities":[{"title":"Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen SPF 50","url":"https://skinknowledgebase.com/products/supergoop-unseen-sunscreen-spf-50"},{"title":"Early Wrinkle Prevention","url":"https://skinknowledgebase.com/concerns/early-wrinkle-prevention"},{"title":"Sun Damage","url":"https://skinknowledgebase.com/concerns/sun-damage"},{"title":"Does sunscreen actually prevent wrinkles?","url":"https://skinknowledgebase.com/questions/does-sunscreen-actually-prevent-wrinkles"},{"title":"How do I prevent wrinkles in my 20s?","url":"https://skinknowledgebase.com/questions/how-do-i-prevent-wrinkles-in-my-20s"},{"title":"What SPF should I use every day?","url":"https://skinknowledgebase.com/questions/what-spf-should-i-use-every-day"},{"title":"Is mineral sunscreen better than chemical sunscreen?","url":"https://skinknowledgebase.com/questions/is-mineral-sunscreen-better-than-chemical-sunscreen"}],"body_sections":[{"heading":"Quick Summary","paragraphs":["A peer-reviewed randomized trial published in Annals of Internal Medicine in 2013 that compared daily broad-spectrum sunscreen use against discretionary use in adults under age 55. It is the foundational randomized-controlled-trial evidence linking daily sunscreen use to a measurable difference in the appearance of skin aging over 4.5 years of follow-up."]},{"heading":"What Studied","paragraphs":["The Australian study randomized 903 adults to daily versus discretionary broad-spectrum SPF 15+ sunscreen on the head, neck, arms, and hands, then evaluated micro-topographic skin-aging measurements at the back of the hand at 4.5 years of follow-up. It is one of the only long-duration randomized trials of daily sunscreen use against an appearance-of-aging endpoint."]},{"heading":"Main Findings","paragraphs":["Adults assigned to daily sunscreen use showed 24% less photoaging — measured by skin-surface micro-topography — than adults assigned to discretionary use over 4.5 years. The effect was apparent in the daily-use group across age bands and skin types. The study did not find that daily sunscreen reversed pre-existing photoaging; the result is about slowed accumulation of appearance-of-aging change."]},{"heading":"Why It Matters","paragraphs":["For a daily-SPF Question, Hughes 2013 is the strongest single piece of randomized evidence behind the cosmetic-appearance case for daily sunscreen. It is the foundation under almost every modern dermatology consumer-message that frames daily SPF as the most consistent appearance-of-aging lever among topical interventions."]}],"source_type":"peer_reviewed","original_source_url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23732711/"}