Pills that contain an antioxident called lycopene, the substance that makes tomatoes red, which help fight cancer and heart disease, can also reduce damage to the skin from ultra-violet rays and keep it looking young and healthy.

Infrared A, can penetrate the deepest layers of the skin and it is known to play a role in skin cancer.

Dr Nick Lowe, a consultant dermatologist at London's Cranley Clinic, says: "There's no conclusive link between infrared A exposure and skin cancer as there is with UVA and UVB rays, but there is emerging evidence that they may be involved in some way when combined with UVB."

Dr Lowe adds: "We've known since the Seventies from research on animals that infrared rays, and heat in particular, produce changes in the skin, including increasing the size of blood vessels and permanently affecting the elasticity of tissues."

In the past years, dietary supplements, once a niche area of the beauty business, have taken off. Today, alongside anti-aging lotions and serums are glossy bottles of capsules and pills.

Some brands advocate the power of the naturally occurring protein collagen to help the skin produce more of its own to support the structure and firmness.

Anything that helps maintain collagen levels in the skin will keep it looking younger as natural levels of collagen start to fall during mid-30s. Less collagen means skin that sags and wrinkles.

Professor Jean Krutmann of the Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, in Dusseldorf, a world authority on infrared A says "Infrared A damages the skin deep down by interfering with enzymes that maintain healthy skin renewal."

"This means more collagen is broken down than is replenished, resulting in premature ageing of the skin and loss of elasticity."

To protect yourself from the harmful rays, Dr. Lowe advises to take lycopene, an antioxidant found in tomatoes and red fruit, and co-enzyme Q10 supplements, and wear UVA/ UVB sun protection cream. "Sun protection clothing is also effective, but often overlooked," he says.