The Truth Behind Tanning

It’s that time of year again when people go to the tanning beds or lay outside in the sun in hopes of turning their body a golden brown “tan” color.  But few of these people know the real dangers to tanning.

Tanning is caused by exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV) that you get from the sun or in tanning beds.  The UV radiation comes from directly from the sun.  Most of the UV radiation is blocked form the ozone.  But the few rays that get through are very dangerous to the body.  The ultraviolet radiation that your body gets from tanning could cause skin cancer, permeate aging to your skin, eye damage, or sunburns.

Skin cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal skin cells.  The main cause is overexposure to the sun, which is where ultraviolet radiation comes from.  A procedure to preventing skin cancer is easy: wear sunscreen when you’re outside.  You can still get a tan even when wearing sunscreen.  This way your skin is protected from most of the UV rays.

When you tan, you’re potentially causing permanent aging to your skin.  In other words, tanning accelerates the aging of your skin.  You will look ten years older then you actually are if you don’t take precaution when tanning.

Tanning can also cause damage to your eyes.  It’s important not to look directly into the sun when tanning.  You should put something over your eyes if you plan on tanning for a long period of time.

Sunburns are also a result of tanning or overexposure to the sun.  Sunburns may seem harmless, but in reality they aren’t.  Sunburns can cause damage to your skin tissue if your burns are serious.

If you are a person who tans, make sure you know about the dangerous, and take caution.  The results of tanning can be very dangerous.  So make sure you wear sunscreen, and reapply it as much as possible.  The dangers of tanning could be life threatening if precautions aren’t taken.