Tanning Beds: all links so far

tanning beds

• A nice mention from Jack LaLanne (new!)

• Costly radiation: tanning beds—unnatural UVA exposure

• Tanning Beds—Just Don’t!

• Tanning Beds Q & A

Also see

• Sunless Tanning: all links so far

A nice mention from Jack LaLanne

It’s kind of funny, I wouldn’t have known about this mention in Jack’s book had it not been for a personal trainer friend of mine who sent me these photos. I appreciate the quote(s) and for giving me credit in what I’m sure is a wonderful book by Jack Lalanne, Live Young Forever. In the section where he mentions Timeless Skin, he was discussing tanning beds. How he found my book in his researching information about the ills of this type of sunless tanning I’ll probably never know. But he did, which is great! I do have a lot to say (all negative) about tanning beds.

As you probably heard in the news, Jack passed away in January 2013 at the age of 96. I remember watching his workout show on TV as a kid. It was the only thing of its kind back then and Jack himself was truly one of a kind. Amazingly (for the times) The Jack LaLanne Show ran from 1951-1985. I was watching it in the 60s.

Thank you again for including me in your book, Mr. Lalanne. You were (and still are) an inspiration to many during your long and healthy life!

For more information, see:

• Tanning Beds—Just Don’t!
• Costly radiation: tanning beds—unnatural UVA exposure
• Books: all links so far

Tanning Beds Q & A

Please don't use tanning beds!

Which is worse, lying out in the sun without sunscreen or using a full spectrum (UVA/UVB) sunscreen in a tanning salon?

One of the “benefits” of sun exposure vs. tanning bed exposure is you will get a sunburn if you stay in the sun too long. Sun rays emit a lot more UVB (the rays that tan and burn the skin) than a tanning bed does. In fact, this is one of the selling points at a tanning salon—there is less of the UVB radiation, so your skin won’t burn. But burning is your body’s natural warning mechanism, telling you to get out of the sun! Whenever you’ve gotten sunburned, it is doubtful you went out for more sun immediately afterwards. More than likely, you protected your sunburned skin and avoided further exposure until the burn went away. With tanning beds you don’t burn, so you could conceivably stay in them much longer and create much more damage than if you were in the sun.

The answer to this question, although I wouldn’t recommend either scenario, is to stay out of the tanning beds under any circumstance. Why? Tanning beds are worse than sun exposure. You get accelerated UV damage, and no matter how you slice it, tanning beds should be avoided at all costs.

You may be going to a tanning salon to get a “base tan” before a vacation, or to get some color in the winter when you feel like you look too “white.” You may be trying to avoid getting a sunburn while on vacation, but if you get color from the beds, in theory protecting your skin, doesn’t that mean you’ll be prone to spending more time outside in the sun—perhaps even unprotected? In theory, this preparation mentality is understandable; in practice, it just means more sun damage—first from the tanning bed, and then from more exposure than you would normally be able to tolerate from the sun.

Obviously, I am not trying to sugarcoat the truth of going to a tanning bed. It is dangerous and will have long-term and long-lasting effects. Any pleasure you get from the change in your skin’s color is far outweighed by the fact you are damaging otherwise healthy cells. If you want to age faster and create an environment for cancer in your skin, go to a tanning bed as often as you can. Why wait? You could cause all kinds of damage sooner rather than later.

For more information, see:

• Tanning Beds—Just Don’t!
• Costly radiation: tanning beds—unnatural UVA exposure
• Do sunless tanning creams really work?

AGING MACHINES: Don't use them!!!

Costly radiation: tanning beds—unnatural UVA exposure

Tanning beds, or as I call them, “cancer beds,” are like a microwave is to a conventional oven in terms of sunlight. They emit accelerated and irregular UV radiation, amounting to abnormal UV exposure. The sun puts out ultraviolet light in a particular intensity and proportion. Tanning beds rearrange how these light rays are being emitted. And who really knows what the effects are on the human body? Do you want to be a guinea pig in an experiment involving ultraviolet radiation?

Many people are using tanning beds thinking they are safe. Unknowing tanning salon members are usually told the beds don’t emit UVB radiation, and that their skin won’t burn and they can tan “safely” without any worries. Wrong! Although people who use a tanning bed will be getting less UVB than if they were in the sun, they are still receiving more UVA (2 to 3 times more) than from natural sunlight.

While UVA doesn’t cause as many exterior signs of damage, it does cause tremendous damage you cannot see. As you may know, UVA causes long-term damage, such as premature aging through damaging collagen and elastin fibers. UVA can also damage DNA, causing possible skin cancer risks in the future. There are several articles on this blog about the different affects of the UV rays, one is listed below with a link.

Another negative to predominantly UVA exposure is you have virtually no warning signs of overexposure. Personally, I think any exposure to the radiation from a tanning bed is too much. When overexposed to UVB, your skin will turn pink, then burn and feel painful. You won’t have these warning signs with overexposure to UVA. Later in life you may notice a rapid increase in lines and wrinkles along with overly flaccid (loose) skin. You may have cancerous or precancerous lesions making their presence known. But by then, of course, it’s too late to undo the damage done from time spent in a tanning salon.

So keep in mind that when you get this kind of unnatural UV exposure, you will essentially have no warning signal if you’ve received too much radiation. Unfortunately, some people feel impervious to these consequences. Even though they know tanning beds are bad for them, they continue to use them anyway—even if it’s just once in a while—truly throwing caution to the wind.

Fortunately, more and more information is being accumulated about the dangerous effects of this unnatural type of UV exposure. I have yet to read an article on tanning beds that gives them the stamp of approval. The only place you can find encouragement to use these radiation beds is in the brochures handed out by the tanning salons themselves. Don’t be fooled; these beds are dangerous—in the short-term and definitely in the irreversibly damaging long run.

For more information, see:

• Sun Protection: UV spelled out
• A nice mention from Jack LaLanne Jack quoted me in his book!
• Tanning Beds: all links so far

Tanning Beds—Just Don’t!

This could not be more TRUE!

Telling you that tanning beds are harmful is like saying that smoking is not good for you. Aren’t the health risks obvious? If you still think going to a tanning bed really isn’t all that bad, please hear this: Tanning beds cause damage to your skin, but more specifically it can damage the molecular structure of your cells. Translation: Going to the tanning salon can increase your risk of melanoma (the deadliest form of skin cancer). But, like smoking, I’m sure hearing that isn’t enough to keep you from these cancer beds.

Your argument may be that the owner or employees at your tanning salon say that no matter what you may hear, tanning is actually a safe thing to do. What a surprise that someone selling you a service is going to do what they can to promote that service. It is doubtful, because you want to believe tanning is safe, that you will do any more investigating than that. And that is where you are making a big mistake. All you have to do is ask a doctor—a dermatologist—to hear how dangerous these tanning salons really are. Make no mistake about it: Tanning beds are hazardous to your health.

Here is another point to stress: There is no safe tan. If you are getting UV exposure, no matter how you are receiving it, it is causing the potential for skin cancer. The American Cancer Society’s “Fry now, pay later” dictum says it all. And although you aren’t literally getting a sunburn when you go to a tanning salon, you are causing damage from the inside out. That is the inherent danger of these beds. You receive a lot of damage that you don’t immediately see.

The primary reason you don't see the damage is these beds use mostly UVA radiation. UVA is the longest ultraviolet ray and goes deep beneath the skin’s surface. UVB radiation is the shorter ray and is the one that gives you a tan or even a sunburn. You may not think of a tan equating to damage, but that is exactly what it is. The color changes you see in your skin after using a tanning bed or just regular sun exposure are your skin’s response to danger. The color of a tan is a sign the skin has been damaged. Of course, getting that tan color is the whole point of getting sun, because we intellectually equate a tan with healthy-looking skin. If you changed your paradigm about what a tan means from something sought after to a possible health risk, maybe this would keep you out of the tanning salon.

There are many articles on the dangers of tanning, whether in a tanning bed or just out in the sun. CLICK HERE to read a good article: Dying to be darker and check the web for more information on the evils of tanning beds.

For more information, see:

• Imitation Sun aka tanning beds—Costly UV
• Skin Cancer ABCs
• My Skin Cancer Story: Please read this!
• Melanoma—the deadliest skin cancer