---
title: Hughes 2013 — Sunscreen and Prevention of Skin Aging: A Randomized Trial
entity_type: Source
canonical_url: https://skinknowledgebase.com/sources/hughes-2013-sunscreen-skin-aging-rct
date_modified: 2026-05-09
date_reviewed: 2026-05-09
mcp_eligible: true
source_type: peer_reviewed
original_source_url: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23732711/
evidence_sources: []
product_fact_sources: []
---

# Hughes 2013 — Sunscreen and Prevention of Skin Aging: A Randomized Trial

## Quick Summary

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.

## What Studied

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.

## Main Findings

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.

## Why It Matters

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.

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