It’s a widely spread misconception that having a so-called ‘base tan’ offers protection against the harmful rays of the sun. There is absolutely no such thing as a healthy tan from the sun or tanning bed. As a matter of fact, tanning itself is a result of damaging the skin.
The darkening is caused by the skin’s result to damage at the cellular level and DNA damage that affect melanocytes and keratinocytes. This cell damage itself and the proliferation of damaged cells increase the dual risks of skin cancer and photoaging. Photoaging is not deadly, but it is undesirable, being the premature wrinkling and sagging of the skin, and the appearance of age spots.
While some people understand that tanning itself is dangerous, they may still believe that tanning indoors, at a salon in a tanning bed is safer. This also is not true. The UV lamps used in tanning beds are as dangerous, if not more so, than the rays of the sun. Their association with skin cancer development has been documented and confirmed scientifically.
If people insist on darkening their skin for aesthetic reasons, they should make use of widely available cosmetic self-tanning creams. These use an ingredient called dihydroxyacetone (DHA) rather than UV light to darken the skin.
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