Myths About Tanning
Now that summer’s almost over, how many of you have great tans? As it turns out, a tan is simply a sign that your skin is damaged. Want to avoid old-looking skin with wrinkles, liver spots, scaly patches and a mottled, uneven tone? Avoid sun exposure. A base tan wont help you either. Even Dilbert knows that.
To many people, a suntan is little more than an attractive “healthy glow,” but the harm it does is anything but healthy. The tanned color on the skin’s surface is actually a sign of damage and is the body’s way of trying to shield the skin from additional harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays.
“A tan is not protective. If you have a tan, you have injured your skin – you have sun damage,†said Jeffery Peterson, MD, assistant professor of dermatology at Washington University School of Medicine.
Many people quote the health benefits of sun exposure, namely absorbtion of vitamin D. According to WebMD, a light-skinned person at the beach should get all the vitamin D they need in about 5 minutes.