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The ABC's of Sunscreen
By Mary Elise Chavez
Posted July 2006

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The obsession with being tan is no secret. Take a visit to any beach around the world and you'll see thousands of people baking their glistening, baby-oiled skin in the hot summer heat. While I'm quite perplexed at the fact that people willingly bake themselves like bacon come summertime, it's a worldwide trend. For some reason, you can tell people the insanely dangerous facts about tanning and give them alternatives, yet they'll roll their eyes and continue sizzling on their personal frying pan.

Over the last year, the indoor tanning industry has taken an aggressive stand, claiming that not only is indoor tanning harmless, but that it is actually healthy. Tanning is an acquired darkening of the skin in response to ultraviolet radiation. The exact mechanism is unknown, though researchers have been able to induce tanning by applying fragments of DNA to animal and human skin. Not all people are capable of developing a tan in response to UV radiation exposure: Very fair-skinned people simply burn and freckle. In those who can tan, the brown pigment melanin is produced and distributed in the superficial portion of the skin (the epidermis) in the days following exposure. The development of this pigment minimally protects the skin against further damage from UV radiation.
This rather minor protection is cited to support the suggestion that a tan is healthy; that is not the case. In fact, the important point is that damage to the DNA must have been produced to create a tan in the first place.

The wisdom of indoor tanning for cosmetic purposes has been repeatedly questioned by organized medicine. This criticism reached a peak in December, 1994, when the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a resolution calling for a ban on the sale and use of tanning equipment for non-medical purposes, i.e., cosmetic. However, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which regulates the sale and marketing (but not the use) of indoor tanning equipment, declined to institute such a ban. The FTC did not accept the AMA's position, and in fact moved in the other direction, prohibiting the industry from marketing indoor tanning for any purpose other than cosmetic. It cannot make health claims. The tanning industry has requested a change in this regulation and is actively seeking the ability to market the "health benefits" of indoor tanning. The case for such benefits is very weak, while the case for the risks of indoor tanning is very strong.

These days there's no need to crisp up your beautiful skin inside a tanning bed. With lotions such as Jergen's "Natural Glow" Moisturizer (a daily-use formula that gradually darkens the skin with continued use), spray tanning options (think Mystic), and the more expensive, airbrush tan; you can get that healthy glow without setting yourself up for cancer risks, wrinkles, and brown spots. These methods are rapidly gaining popularity because they work!

Last thought: In a poll of 500 men, 84% of them thought a woman's natural skin color and tone was the most beautiful. So ladies, stop roasting yourselves crispy, why not swap the tanning oils with an illuminating lotion to let your skin glow like it was meant to! Think you can't be beautiful without the tan? Beauties Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, & Marilyn Monroe had gorgeous porcelain skin and men fell at their feet, and it certainly wasn't because their skin wasn't dark enough.

Resources:
American Cancer Society
The Skin Cancer Foundation

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