Are Tanning Salons Safe?

Many people looking for a tanned look choose the tanning salon option rather than natural tanning because they believe is is more convenient and safer than lying in the sun all day.

But tanning in a tanning salon are not without risk.

Studies indicate that even when sunbathing we do get a small level of skin protection by the secretion of melanin. Natural sun light also causes a thickening process at the skin level.

Such “defenses” against radiation are absent from the body reaction to the UVA rays used in tanning salons. Scientists even point out that the chances to get skin cancer are 5% higher for people who use tanning salons just once a month, and the risk increases with more frequent exposures. Here are some things you should check with tanning salons if you still decide to use their services.

Tanning salons that do not have usage instructions and goggles to protect your eyes from the radiation should be definitely avoided. Maybe they cost just $3 for a ten-minute session, but your health deserves better. In some tanning salons, a towel is used as a means to protect the eyes from the action of the ultraviolets but this is not adequate protection.

Burning is no longer the most serious side effect we should fear from ultraviolets exposure: there are more conspicuous problems to be considered, and our ignorance will surely not make them disappear. You have to protect not just skin, but the eyes and overall body structure as such.

Even though the risks of tanning salons have been widely talked about, their services are still preferred to outdoor sun tanning during the summer months. More than two million Americans pay for tanning every day particularly during winter. On the other hand, figures indicate an alarming rate of melanoma, the most devastating form of cancer that can affect the human body. Just in the United States one million people develop some form of skin cancer, and the highest incidence has been reported in the areas with intenser ultraviolet exposure.

So maybe tanning salons are more convenient but they are definetly not safer than natural tanning.