Table of contents:
- What is thattanning?
- is indoor tanning really safe?
- Effect tanning for the health of the body
- How to tan the skin safely?
What is that tanning ?
Tanning is a procedure that is performed to make the skin darker in color.
Most people do tanning with the aim of beauty, but there are also those who want to make the skin more resistant to it sunburn. This procedure makes use of radiation from UV light.
Tanning the easiest and at no cost is simply to bask in the sun. However, many people are worried about the repercussions that will happen after even if they have used sunscreen.
This is because the sun emits UVB rays which can thicken the epidermal tissue of the skin, causing the structure of the human skin to burn . UVB can also increase your risk of melanoma, a dangerous type of skin cancer.
Hence, many people turn to indoor tanning offered by a beauty salon or clinic. Tanning in the room using a tool named tanning bed which is in the form of a bed and is equipped with a cover.
Tanning bed works by releasing UV radiation. Unlike sunlight, the UV rays radiated on this tool are UVA rays. UVA rays do not burn the skin like UVB rays, so their use is considered safer.
is indoor tanning really safe?
Although the risk will be exposed sunburn smaller, but UVA rays have their own dangers. The reason is, UVA rays can penetrate deeper into the skin tissue when compared to UVB rays.
Indeed, in plain view, UVA rays do not appear to have side effects, but UVA rays can damage tissues and blood vessels in the skin if used too often.
What's more the effect tanning especially those indoors will not appear immediately after treatment. As a result you have to do this treatment repeatedly.
The power of the UVA rays used on tanning bed can be 12 times stronger than UVA rays produced from the sun.
People who do too often indoor tanning had a 2.5 times greater risk of squamous cell cancer later in life, and 1.5 times greater for basal cell cancer.
Symptoms of skin damage are not visible in the near future, but can only appear after many years.
In addition, regardless of type, excess UV exposure will also cause the skin to experience symptoms such as:
- appear brown spots,
- appear fine wrinkles and other signs of aging sooner than it should be due to UVA rays which damage the skin tissue to the inside,
- appear boils, pimples, or rough skin rashes, and
- burning of the skin or sunburn , which is caused by high exposure to UVB rays.
Effect tanning for the health of the body
Not only does it damage the skin, the effects of UVA rays can also affect the immune system. This is because UV radiation is absorbed by the skin to the molecular level and triggers changes in the molecules and cells that play a role in the immune system.
More severe skin health problems can occur after undergoing it tanning over the years, including:
- Non-melanoma skin cancer: This cancer can occur in parts squamous , cells that form the middle to the outer layer of the skin, as well as in the basal area, cells that produce new skin cells. Of the two, basal cell cancer is the most common but easy to treat because it does not usually spread to other parts of the body and grows very slowly. While cancer is occurring in parts squamous a little more dangerous because it can spread to other parts of the body, but the growth tends to be slow and can be removed surgically.
- Melanoma: this type of cancer is rare but the most dangerous type of skin cancer. Melanoma cancer can be shaped like a mole or freckles at first. However, melanoma has an irregular shape and the color is also uneven, sometimes itching occurs in melanoma. Treatment as soon as possible increases the chance of recovery because melanoma cancer develops rapidly and can spread to other parts of the body.
How to tan the skin safely?
However, if you want a tanner skin tone, natural sunlight is much better than that tanning bed at the salon. Avoid basking in the sun without using sunblock or suncreen .
Don't forget that these products have to be re-applied to the skin every 1-2 hours (depending on the SPF), and after every swim. Also limit the sunbathing time so it's not too long.
To reduce the effect tanning which is harmful to health, you can try sunless tanning , which does not involve UVA or UVB rays.
Sunless tanning these are usually products that can darken the skin tone. They come in the form of lotions, creams and sprays that are applied to the skin to create an after-effects tanning .
The basic ingredients are dyes and dihydroxyacetone (DHA). When applied to the skin, DHA will react with dead skin cells on the surface of the skin and temporarily darken the skin tone. Sunless tanning this will usually last for several days.
Whichever method you choose later, you should first consult a dermatologist to get the best solution.
Good tanning indoors or outdoors can pose a risk of skin cancer, so you still have to be careful and consider all the side effects.