By Holly Bull
We’ve all seen them, the ones with the perfectly bronzed skin, but what we may not realize is that all of the beautifully tanned skin is damaged skin. Although the tan may look pretty, it is certainly not healthy.
Everyone knows what a tan looks like, but what exactly is a tan? When a person is exposed to UV light, the skin produces melanin (pigment). Melanin helps to absorb the radiation as a means of protecting the skin from being damaged. The reason most people do not develop a tan in just one day is because it takes time to produce the melanin.
When people burn, what happens is their skin is being damaged by the UV radiation. Their bodies react to this by sending extra blood to the damaged area to help it heal. That is why sunburns are red.
There are three forms of ultraviolet light:
UVA: causes tanning
UVB: cause damage a.k.a. sunburn
UVC: filtered out by atmosphere
One of the main appeals of a tanning bed is that the bulbs give off UVA light.
Some people are under the impression that if they tan indoors, they will not burn or get skin cancer. This is simply not the case. Although the UVB rays can burn the outer layer of the skin, the UVA rays can better penetrate the skin, which can weaken the skin’s inner connective tissue. This thins the skin, making it less able to heal itself and increases the susceptibility of damage from the sun.
The Skin Cancer Foundation found that in one Swedish study, “women 18-to-30 years old who visited tanning parlors 10 times or more a year had seven times greater incidence of melanoma than women who did not use tanning salons.” With the unlimited tanning packages many salons offer, women can visit the tanning bed daily. Not only does this up the risk for cancer, but it also accelerates skin aging.
On the other hand, there are some benefits to indoor tanning. According to Amy Magon, a former Electric Beach tanning salon employee, you get “good color, fast,” and “no tan lines.” She does recommend using indoor tanning lotions to help prevent burning and keep the skin moisturized.
Although there are benefits to indoor tanning, and people can limit their exposure time, people need to examine the toll it may take on their bodies in the long run. Is it worth the price? A safe alternative to indoor tanning is spray-on tanning.
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