Tanning

There is no such thing as safe tanning in the sun or in a tanning bed. Tanning is a manifestation of skin damage. The activation of melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color, is the skin’s way of protecting itself against UV. If your skin changes color, the DNA in your skin cells have been damaged.

There are 2 types of tans:

Immediate Tan

In this type of tan, you develop color right away, which lasts for a few hours or days.

This is due to existing melanin in your skin, which gets redistributed upon exposure to UVB and UVA rays.

Melanin is a protective pigment that absorbs UV, and therefore provides some SPF protection. You can read more about melanin in the Hyperpigmentation Guide.

This tan does little to increase your protection against UV or sunburn.

Delayed Tan

This tan develops a few days after sun exposure and can continue for 2 weeks. In this case, your skin actually makes new melanin.

This tan provides some protection against UV and sunburn. But it’s not enough to fully protect skin from UV induced free radicals. You still need to wear sunscreen.

When this kind of tan happens, your skin has already experienced UV-induced DNA damage.

Sunburn

A sunburn is a response to extreme UV exposure and is mostly due to UVB rays.

While a sunburn will eventually heal, the skin cells don’t. They become damaged, and your risk for skin cancer increases.

The redness of a sunburn is due to inflammation and dilated blood vessels. It reaches it maximum redness about 8-12 hours after sun exposure.

Peeling after a sunburn is the skin’s way of clearing out whole layers of damaged skin cells. If your skin has peeled, it has been badly damaged (beyond repair). Peeling is a sign that the skin cells have committed cell suicide (apoptosis).

Tanning Beds

Going to a tanning salon is the absolute worst thing you can do to your skin. Tanning beds use UVA light, at 12 times the dosage of sun!

DON’T USE TANNING BEDS

Remember that UVA is the longer wavelength ray that travels deeper into skin (the dermis) and damages collagen and elastin.

While UVB rays do most of the burning when you’re in the sun, UVA rays from a tanning bed can burn skin, too. (There’s no UVB to burn you first.)

Don’t go to a tanning salon unless you want to prematurely age your skin.