Be Careful When Toasting In Indoor Tanning Beds
Since autumn is in full swing and winter is coming, it'll be impossible for those living outside zones with year-round warm climates to get an outdoor tan without going on vacation for the next several months. As a result, you might be considering the possibility of going to an indoor tanning salon to give your skin some color.
If you do, it's necessary to be careful. Although it's entirely possible that you can have a perfectly safe and successful experience in an indoor tanning salon if your visits are in moderation, it's also an inherently dangerous process no matter what. By using a tanning bed, you deliberately expose yourself at close range to heat and radiation from UVA and UVB rays.
Both forms of radiation damage the skin, and in excessive amounts, exposure to them greatly increases the likelihood of contracting the following skin cancers: squamous cell carcinoma, ocular cancers and melanoma, the deadliest form of the disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), risks are higher for the young. Those tanning indoors who are 35 or younger have a 75 percent greater risk of suffering from melanoma than older individuals. As a result, 31 U.S. states limit use of the process by children and teens - the New York Times reported that California was the most recent to do so, banning it outright for those under 18.
While plenty of tanning salons are open about the risks involved, others will denigrate the seriousness of such concerns and make exaggerated or false claims.
Some unscrupulous salons will claim that their methods are safer than outdoor tanning. This is false - the CDC states that both are dangerous to some extent. Others will say that it helps build up vitamin D, and although this may be true, vitamin D only promotes bone health - it does nothing to compensate for damaged skin.
Do you ever go to indoor tanning salons?
