Though so many people are of the belief that tanning beds only afford us healthy rays, this could not be farther from the truth. In addition, many people are of the mindset that when tanning in these beds that the beds actually give your body a good tanning base; a base they claim will protect you when exposed to the sun from sun burning at any level. Again, this could not be farther from the truth. It was the tanning salon industry that created these myths and used them over and over again in their marketing strategies. They further profess that tanning machines only use UVA rays that they claim to be safe while the UVB rays of the sun are the real culprits when it comes to any form of sun tanning. False, yet again.
Well, truth be known that these facts are incorrect. Definitive research has proven now that it is both types of rays, UVA and UVB rays that can and do cause skin cancers and that the supposed ‘safe’ UVA rays of sun tanning beds have been directly linked to melanoma cancer. Regardless of all these harmful facts and statistics, there are still well over 30 million people who still go tanning every single year. The scary fact about this 30 million number is the fact that 70 percent of those people are young women.
With all the facts we have available to us today about sunbeds specifically, and tanning in general, you would think that people would want to be more careful and do whatever it takes to avoid the formation of skin cancer cells resulting from their sun tanning habits. If you are one of the millions of people who absolutely MUST tan, then at minimal, be practical and do away with your “safe” sun bed tanning theories and beliefs. Here are some very serious facts about sun tanning beds.
- The risk of melanoma actually increases nearly 75 percent when people use tanning beds before they reach the age of 35;
- The International Agency for Research on Cancer has now rated indoor tanning devices in the highest cancer risk category;
- Sun tanning with sunbeds can be very addictive. It has been proven that the UV radiation can have a serious effect on people causing them to feel dependent upon it and people can actually experience withdrawals as well; and
Yes, everybody loves sun tanning and everybody loves a deep dark tan. In a world where youthful looks and anti-aging have become so important, tanning has definitely found its way to the top of that very category. People tend to feel and believe that with a tan they have a younger, healthier look. Though this may be true, the under surface effects of sun tanning are remarkably critical to your long term health and to your long term looks as well. If you are a sun tan lover, take whatever precautions are necessary for the benefit of your health and your skin while working on perfecting that perfect summertime tan.
Paula Ryan is the creator of Spa tanning tablets. She has a PhD in nutritional sciences and is now studying food supplements further.
She lives in the south of England with her husband, daughter, and 2 cats. In her spare time she most enjoys, being a Mum, learning, cooking, keeping fit, and holidays abroad.
