Do you like bathing in the sun? Going out and getting a nice tan? Of course mostly everyone likes going out into the warm sun, but going out without sunscreen is a bit risky. Tanning is one of the main causes of our countries skin cancer epidemic. People should learn the many risks and dangers of being over exposed by ultra violet rays. Tanning is a process in which people’s skin gets darker or tanner by ultra violet lights. Tanned skin is the natural defense mechanism for protecting the skin against the sun’s rays (“40”). There are four types of tanning.
The types of tanning may vary; there is sun tanning, bed tanning, spray tanning, and the use of tanning pills. Unlike the others, tanning pills do not require a lot of UV light. These ways of getting tan causes serious damage to people and their skin. The UV light was created in the 1900s. It was an accidental mistake and the two scientist found out the light somehow tanned the skin (“Learn”). There are three UV lights. The three bulbs starting with Ultra Violet A, Ultra Violet B, and Ultra Violet C which is the deadliest bulb.
The trend of tanning had started in the 1920s by Coco Channel and the way to get a fake tan was soon created. During WWII, the first tanning spray product came out (“History’). Then, in the 1970s tanning beds came out (“Learn”). When the first tanning bed came out people did not see the many risks it came with. The biggest risk was being more prone to skin cancer. Melanoma, the most common type of skin cancer, was mostly found in people who tan or have had a high sun exposure. Photo carcinogenesis, the creation of cancer cells by light, is another risk in being exposed to a UV light.
Not only does it damage the skin, it also damages the eyes. The powerful rays from the UV light will damage the eyes if not protected (“Harmful”). Though it causes risks to the body, it also causes Tanorexia. Tanorexia is an obsessive desire to maintain a suntan (“40”). Even though the tanning bed came out as a beneficial product, it can be just as risky as the sun’s rays. Sun tanning was the first original type of tanning. The suns powerful rays would burn or sunburn the skin. In some cases, people would see changes in their skin collagen. Erythema, which is the reddening of the skin, will also appear on the skin.
Actinic or solar keratosis happens when the skin has had very long term exposure to sunlight. When exposed for too long, the skin may burn and peel off. This causes stinging pain and a lot more symptoms to come. The skin will feel hot and maybe even blister (“The risk”). There are other methods in getting a tan that does not require sun or UV rays, but still come with risks. Spray tanning did not come out until the 1920s (“History’). The risk of spray tanning was not noticed much at all. That was until they found out that inhaling dihydroxyacetone, DHA, was dangerous (“History’).
DHA is an isomer of glyceraldehyde. It restricts the production of vitamin D in the body. Thus, it leads to further illnesses. Spray tanning chemicals can cause potential genetic alterations. It may damage your DNA or skin color permanently (“spray’). There are more types of sunless tanners than just spray tanning. In the late 1980s tanning pills came out. These tanning pills are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration and not legally sold in the United States. Tanning pills contain canthaxanthin, which is a pigment found in carrots. Canthaxanthin would turn the skin an orange or brownish color.
They also contain carotenoids, this is a wide arrange pigment of reds and yellows. The tanning pills don’t accurately tan the skin. These pills could potentially cause kidney or eye damage (“Tanning”). All these types of tanning cause serious damage and have statistics to follow. Everyone spends fifty to eighty percent of their lifetime in the sun during their childhood. Eighty percent of the sun exposure is accidentally. Though 7. 8 million women tan, most of them have a pale skin tone. Internationally, eleven European countries have completely banned tanning for people under the age of eighteen.
Also two other countries have completely banned it for the many risks it causes. The cancerous affect is usually found in women ages sixteen to twenty-nine (“Indoor”). This has been one of the main epidemics in the United States today. Though there are a lot of risks caused by tanning, we can do many things to prevent it. Hopefully by now, people will know the risks before going outside without being protected from the sun. A Dermatologist is a great doctor to see yearly to check if one is in the sun a lot. The sun does not discriminate from age to race. Everyone can be affected by the sun and ultraviolet rays.