Tanning, Sunbeds and Solariums: The Bare Facts

In the 1970's tanning was considered healthy and attractive, while girls and boys were getting were lying in the scorching sun to get that ideal suntan.

Those people old enough to have been young in the 1970s are having their first cancers diagnosed and solar keratoses removed now. Their skin is irreversibly damaged.

Young people nowadays still think that a tanned person is healthier. However, they are much aware of the sun's dangers and are taking better care of their skin. They have alternated the suntans on the beach with the tanning salons and solariums, which have become very popular in the recent years.

There is a misconception that the tanning beds are much safer than the direct UV rays of the sun.

How safe are the tanning beds and solariums?

In reality, a tan is not a sign of good health but rather a sign that your skin is damaged and is trying to protect itself from the sun's UV rays.

Exposure to the radiation from sunlight or solarium both increase your risk of skin cancer and ages your skin. The tanning beds still contain UV radiation and and the tans you get through them are not safe. They can increase your risk of devloping cancer.

In 2009, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) moved ultra-violet emitting tanning beds to its highest cancer risk category and labelled them as ‘carcinogenic to humans’.

There are an estimated 3,000 cases of melanoma and other skin cancer cases diagnosed every year caused by the sunbeds

Tanning without burning can still cause skin damage, premature skin ageing and skin cancer. Each time you expose your skin to UV radiation, in the sun or in a solarium, you increase your risk of developing skin cancer.

People who use a solarium before the age of 35 have a 75 per cent greater risk of developing melanoma.

solariums may produce concentrated doses of UV radiation that can be up to three times the strength of the midday summer sun. Recent tests have shown that 15 per cent of tanning beds exceed the UV index of 36 with some emitting up to six times more UVA than the summer sun.

Tanning beds offer no protection against DNA damage, which occurs without burning. Under the Trade Practices Act (2001), the solarium operators are not allowed to advertise theirs services as 'safe'.

The UVA raditation used in the tanning beds and solariums penetrate the deepest layers of the skin and cause deterioration of the skin, premature aging, reduced collagen levels, blotchiness and pigmentation.

UVB radiation is the other part of radiation used in a solarium. It is even more dangerous than the UVA. It penetrates the uppermost layer of the skin and is the main cause of skin cancer.

The UVA and UVB radiations can also cause eye damage where the sight may be damaged, skin irritation, itchiness, dryness, skin damage and also cause changes in the body's immune system.

If you must tan your body a fake tanning method or spray tanning is a much better alternative.

However, be aware that spray tanning does not protect you from the sun, you still have to wear a sun protection.

Also, there are upto 40 ingredients in the spray tanning solution and many of them have never been tested. A spray tan lasts upto 10 days