If you use a tanning bed to get bronzed, you may want to consider a safer alternative.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer has found that regularly using tanning beds before age 30 can increase your chance of skin cancer by 75 percent, causing them to label tanning beds as dangerous as arsenic and cigarettes.
"Ten minutes in an indoor tanning salon is like being out in the sun—in terms of the amount of damage—for eight hours," says Lancaster dermatologist Bruce Brod, MD.
Even if you don't use tanning beds, you're not out of the woods. No matter the source, ultraviolet radiation isn't safe, and any tan is a sign of damage to the skin, Dr. Brod says.
So, if you can't sit out in the sun or use a tanning bed, what can you do?
Dr. Brod says sunless tanning products are a good way to go. The products have improved significantly over the years and give a more natural color. They also come in a variety of forms, including lotions, pads, and spray-on.
Often, indoor tanning is marketed to the very people it harms most.
"Young people are told they need to have a tan before an event like prom," Dr. Brod says.
The Pennsylvania Academy of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery and the Pennsylvania Medical Society have been leading a charge to enact legislation to regulate tanning facilities. The bill has been introduced several years in a row but recently was voted out of the state Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee. It has been sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
In addition to skin cancer, UV radiation overexposure can weaken the immune system, making you more prone to:
- Infections
- Autoimmune disorders like lupus
- Eye damage
- Other cancers
It also can cause premature aging of the skin, like wrinkling, freckling, uneven pigmentation, thinning, poor healing, and easy bruising.