| 'High-speed, no-risk tanning' is just one of many enticing claims made by indoor tanning salons. In reality, there is no such thing as a 'safe' tan unless it comes from a bottle. Read on to find out why Tanning beds use UVA light to trigger the production of melanin, the pigment that gives us that characteristic bronzed look. But the amount of UVA streaming through skin from tanning lamps is many, many times higher than you get outdoors. As dermatologists learn more about the effect of different wavelengths of light on our skin, it's now understood that UVA rays are the ones responsible for premature ageing. There are bigger concerns, too. According to Professor John Hawk, a consultant dermatologist at St. Thomas's Hospital, skin cancers can take 20 years to develop and the tanning or sunbed industry is still relatively young. 'There are already cases of early skin cancer in people who have frequently used sunbeds,' he says, and predicts that in the next few years we will see a substantial increase in skin cancers and ageing in people who regularly tan indoors. Short-term risks
Interestingly, not all problems linked with sunbeds are long-term. In one study, almost half the subjects who tanned indoors developed Polymorphic Light Eruption, an itchy, red, bumpy rash. And if you're taking certain drugs, like the commonly prescribed antibiotic tetracycline, your skin may be ultra-vulnerable to sunlight. What's more, sunbeds don't even give you a 'head start' on a holiday tan, as many people think. After a month of 20- to 30-minute sessions, three times a week, the average skin only develops a protective tan equal to an SPF2 to SPF3. The reason? UVA rays take much longer to activate the melanocytes that produce pigment, or colour in the skin, than UVB rays, which you pick up outdoors. Sun-kissed solutions
So what's the answer? The good news is that today's self-tanners now deliver can't-tell-it-from-real results ultra-fast, without the 'biscuit-y' smell of yesterday's tanning products.
For the very best of the new-generation tanners for face and body, see iVillage's report on 10 new ways to tan. |
