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The most beautiful skin is skin that you feel comfortable in. For many people, tanning is a part of feeling comfortable and beautiful in their skin. However, there is no “safe” way to tan, as outdoor tanning and UV tanning booths both expose the skin to harmful ultraviolet radiation. This radiation exposure can give the appearance of bronzed skin but also lead to harmful changes, increasing the risk of skin cancer. “Even using an indoor tanning bed just once significantly increases a person’s lifetime chance of developing melanoma,” says Dr. Melanie Pickett, a board-certified dermatologist at Sanova Dermatology. “A tan is a sign of injury to the skin, so unfortunately there is no such thing as a ‘healthy’ tan from the sun or a UV tanning booth.”
ultraviolet radiation accelerates the development of wrinkles and other signs of skin aging. Therefore, minimizing excessive sun exposure and eliminating the use of UV tanning booths is an important step in taking the best care of your skin. Beware of products marketing themselves as “tanning injections” and “tanning pills” as well. Tanning injections work by stimulating a hormone in the body that increases the pigment, or color, in the skin. These products are not approved or regulated by the FDA for sunless tanning and have been linked to harmful side effects including the development of atypical moles and even skin cancer. Tanning pills typically consist of food additives in amounts many times larger than the doses that have been deemed safe for consumption. These products additionally have not been approved by the FDA and have been associated with serious side effects including organ damage.
It is important to avoid tanning and as well as unsafe tanning products for the reasons mentioned above, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on getting a “glow” this summer. In fact, there are a variety of ways to get the appearance of a tan while staying healthy.