Skin Cancer From Tanning Booths

Statistics about tanning beds and skin cancer can be frightening so why not try the spray tanning booths that have no health risks

Here’s the good news - the new sunless way means you cannot get cancer from tanning booths like you can from tanning beds. That’s because spray tanning booths spray you with a safe dye that has no side effects. However, the statistics about tanning beds and skin cancer might make your toes curl!

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, the new sunless tanning booths pose no health risks. That’s because they spray with DHA which is a colorless chemical that interacts with the skin to produce a brown change. Since the top layer of skin is dead and constantly being shed away, your spray tan will only last 5-7 days.

DHA is not absorbed through the skin into body, and it has no known toxicity. It was actually discovered by accident in Germany back in the 1920s. It has been used in cosmetic preparations for over 25 years, and is just making its way onto the tanning scene.

Tanning beds on the other hand replicated the rays of the sun. The rays received in a tanning bed will be UVA, UVB or both. Today the biggest concern is skin cancer. Studies have proven a direct link between skin cancer and tanning beds, so they may not be any safer than tanning under the sun.

The bulbs in tanning beds and tanning lamps emit 40% less UVB rays than the sun, so you are less likely to burn in a tanning bed. Because you aren’t burning, you tend to think you’re not doing any damage to the skin. But that’s not true. You may not get a burn but you are damaging the deeper layers of skin and that’s why the increase in melanoma.

There are two types of UV rays, UVB which causes sunburn, and UVA which penetrates into the deeper skin layers, and is directly responsible for skin cancer.

We have all aware of the dangers of UVB rays, but not everyone is aware of the dangers of UVA rays.

Studies have shown that both tanning beds and the sun can be hazardous to your health, and both can cause skin cancer. Both the sun and tanning beds release high levels of UV rays. With over one million Americans visiting a tanning salon each day, health care professional expect a large increase in skin cancer.

An article by the Skin Cancer Foundation stated that it only takes ten indoor sessions to develop precancerous DNA damage. The American Journal of Medicine says that people with blue or green eyes, blonde or red hair, and fair skin are at the greatest risk for skin cancer. Yet no precautions are taken.

Skin cancer can take 10 years to show itself, so because of the delayed consequences, we tend to think it won’t happen to us. By the time a problem occurs, it’s years later and too late.

So be smart, and take care of your skin by taking the appropriate precautions. Use sunscreen and tan in moderation. Have a Safe Tanning Season!

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