Our Life

With summer nearly here, we are all looking to buff up our bodies in preparation for those long, golden days ahead. But a lot of hype exists around the subject of tanning. The multi-billion dollar tanning industry would have us believe that a tan radiates good health and vitality. But is that really the case?

Truth–there is no such thing as a “safe” tan.

Tanning technology has come a long way from smothering your skin in baby oil or Vaseline and holding a foil covered board up to reflect the sun. Or orange-stained palms caused by smearing copious amounts of Coppertone self-tan lotion all over. Just a glimpse at the local tanning websites shows that we are spoilt for choice when it comes to tanning aids. On the sunbed front, do we want to stand up and tan? Or should we rather lie down? Should we have a tan sprayed on professionally? Or is it better if we do it ourselves with lotions? Even easier, what about popping a few tanning tablets?

Yes, our choices are plentiful. But what is all of this doing to our skin? And is there really a way of tanning safely?

The sun’s rays

All of the hype begins with the suns rays. We hear terms like “UV damage” spoken of quite often. We know UV rays are dangerous. But why? And how do they affect our skin?

UV rays react with a chemical in the skin called melanin. When the UV rays penetrate the skin, melanin is produced as the body’s defence mechanism. Melanin protects the skin. The lighter the skin, the less melanin it contains. As it is produced, it moves up to the outer layers of the skin causing the browning we see as a tan. The redness and inflammation that we associate with sunburn is what happens when UV exposure is more than the melanin can protect against. By the time that the skin changes colour, damage has already been done.