Please don't tan!

Mar 8, 2013

Emily W.

I keep seeing threads here talking about tanning and I really feel like I should share my experiences as a cautionary tale. Tanning raises your risk of skin cancer exponentially. With all of the advances in spray tans and lotions, there is no excuse to use UV rays to tan.

Even from just sun exposure, you are at risk. Please let my story be a warning... I've had skin cancer twice from cell damage due to sunburns. Every month I have to get a full body X-ray to make sure I don't have any metastatic tumors in my body. Every mole has to be checked every month by my dermatologist; I have four hypertrophic scars (so far) from skin biopsies and the resulting stitches. I had basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. If I had had melanoma, I would have had to go into chemotherapy to prevent it from spreading. Please don't put yourself through this, it isn't worth it! If you really want a "golden glow", use a lotion or mystic tan. You will save yourself from a lifetime of suffering--even if you get extremely lucky and never get cancer your skin will age prematurely and isn't that another beauty battle you'd rather avoid?

I really think that people don't know what they are risking when they bake in the sun or a tanning bed. They think that only old people get skin cancer or that skin cancer isn't serious because it starts on the outside of the body. Take it from me, it isn't just "cut off the mole and you're done". It completely changes how you have to live your life.

Thanks for reading. <3

Mar 8, 2013

Larissa D.

Exactly I'm fair skinned and proud :D.

Mar 8, 2013

Larissa D.

And congrats om beating cancer :)

Mar 8, 2013

Hazel G.

My ex boyfriends mum got skin cancer on her face, they caught it quick so it didn't spread or anything but now she has a big scar on her cheek. She still goes on sun beds!! no offence to the woman (okay all offence intended) but she's a freakin' idiot!

Mar 8, 2013

Hazel G.

My ex boyfriends mum got skin cancer on her face, they caught it quick so it didn't spread or anything but now she has a big scar on her cheek. She still goes on sun beds!! no offence to the woman (okay all offence intended) but she's a freakin' idiot!

Mar 8, 2013

Stephanie M.

Tanning is a personal choice. You can't just tell people not to tan. If they want to, they will.

Mar 8, 2013

Savannah D.

In the end, I fear that because if all the tanning, there is a point at which those who did tan profusely will look twice their age at a time when those who took care if their skin will look as if they won the battle against age. Sad that they look do bad, the people who tanned will then result to lasers and other rejuvenation techniques to "look young again". I wonder if they will even look natural after that. Tanning is so damaging. If you want encouragement, just tell yourself, "When I am 50, I will look 50. Not like I'm 65." Just wait.

Mar 8, 2013

Amanda Nicole G.

I went thru a very similar situation, and I should point out to most people... Skin cancer/cancerous cells are very much determined on your skin and eye color, very few African Americans or others with brown eyes or olive complexions get cancer. The majority of people at risk are those with green, blue, and light colored eyes- with pale, light, pink undertone, skin. That being said- it's not that people with darker complexions can't get it- it's just not as common- and most of people who get skin cancer also get it on the left side of their body.. Why? From driving, and putting their arm out the window. That's why it's so imperative to use a moisturizer&makeup with sun screen in it, anything above 30 SPF isn't really needed. This is because in 2011 the FDA have been doing studies of high SPF sunscreens (50+), and they have concluded that people who use higher SPFs trust the product too much by leaving it on too long and staying in the sun for long periods of time without reapplying it. High SPF sunscreens are also potentially hazardous because the massive amounts of sun blocking chemicals when are absorbed into skin can cause disruptions with your hormones and have been linked to tissue damage. And there are a lot of things in popular sunscreens that can do as much damage as not wearing them. So just keep that in mind when using sunscreens too!! Although, all of that being said I have to say that the reason people have such negative effects due to tanning beds are what bed they're using, the time they're in there, how often they go, and what bulbs are in their beds- because ten mins a day of you've rays is healthy and needed for your skin to be healthy! So instead of going every day which is really not getting you more tan because your skin needs a day in between to heal anyways, but you should never go in the 20 min beds with the minimal lighting they have to use, try forking up the money and going into a bed that is 10-12 mins long with bronzing bulbs(these will tan your skin instead of burn them & the color payoff is a true tan unlike the popular orange color) and only go twice a week (less or more, up to you)- that will give you a healthy bronzed look without doing a lot of cell damage to your skin. You can even use a low SPF before tanning if you're extremely fair which will help you build a tan not just completely burn/fry your skin.
My main reason for posting this is because yes, I went thru a very similar experience with cancerous skin cells- but that does not keep me cooped up inside only using self tanner and never going into the sun, or tanning. instead I've educated myself about both sides of the spectrum , and encourage all of you to do the same & protect yourself in such ways to try to prevent these things from happening.

Mar 8, 2013

Camelia A.

Thank you so miuch for our post! It is spring break and I want to be tan considering I live in Florida and am 5 minutes from the beach. But I will be extra careful:)

Mar 9, 2013

Kathryn L.

@Emily W. I need to link you on my arm at work and have you tell your story to my clients! Maybe that will get it through their heads! I find it unbelievable how many people still continue to tan even though they know all the harms it can cause. Thank you for sharing :)

Mar 10, 2013

Emily W.

Thanks for all the comments guys. I know for a lot of people just hearing aabout skin cancer is such an abstract, unrelatable thing that they don't really understand what it means for their health. I hope that by sharing the very real consequences of skin cancer (even the "non-lethal" carcinomas), someone will think differently aabout needlessly exposing themselves.

@Amanda Nicole: Yes it true that skin cancer occurs less frequently in darker complected individuals, but it is still a risk and really not an excuse to not protect their skin. I haven't seen the studies aabout tissue damage from high SPF, but it is an interesting point. It is also true that your body needs sunlight to process calcium and vitamin D, but the average person gets the needed exposure from UV rays in the environment (even their own house, or a cloudy day) and do not need to go to a tanning bed.
For anyone looking for more information aabout skin cancer and how to protect their skin and stay healthy all year long, the Skin Cancer Association is a wonderful resource. http://www.skincancer.org/

Mar 10, 2013

Amanda Nicole G.

Emily, I deff agree with you 100%, and my points are not to be arguements, more just saying from the other side of things. I'm also really sorry that you had to go thru that- I know how hard it is, how differently it makes you live your life, and how deep it effects you.
The reason I posted all of this was to shine a light on the other side of the spectrum because it's not healthy to live your life in fear either, and knowledge is power after all we should all educate ourselves on this. I know that when it happened to me, my doctor told me that I couldn't really have prevented it, it was going to happen no matter how much my parents tried to lather me up with sunscreen and whatnot, because it was a freckle/mole that I'd had my whole life- and one day just changed colors and shape, which can happen without ever going into the sun. I'm not advicating tanning beds, but I'm not putting them down either- I think there is a right and wrong for everything, and most things are okay in moderation. I also do know how my situation effected my everyday life and how I was more aware of things that I shouldn't have been, rather than experiencing life and I feel at a young age that I went through this I was worried aabout something that in reality I didn't have control over- it wasn't like I baked in the sun under baby oil for hours, or went in tanning bed everyday, or didn't use sunscreen, and it happened to me, so it can happen to anyone if that's what's supposed to happen...but of course taking preventative measures is the right thing, I did all of those too but yet; it still happened to me. I am trying to point out that you can be over-doing it as well, and really doing more harm than good. Another thing my doctor told me was, the reason for most skin cancers is because of consistant/too many sunburns in their life & how many before the age of 25 is the most important...not if they go in the sun a lot, and that having a little bit of sun/color is healthy because if you stay super white/pasty you're more susceptible to burn, and burning leads to the destruction of skin cells and cancerous cells. Lasly, given everything I had dealt with, with my skin- when I went to a dermatologist for my keratosis palaris she suggested I be in the sun more (with protection of course) because the sun has many healing benefits as well. I needed to dry out the skin on my body from producing too much keratin, which is what's in your skin to make it soft. It works the same way as those with acne, and the UV treatments they have at the dermatologist. So I guess I just want to say that the sun isn't all bad, but you should know your body and if you're more prone to this (with all light features) then take cautionary measures. Reapply sunscreen every two hours, avoid the sun between 12-3 when it's the hottest, know that you CAN STILL burn thru clothing or hats, and get your body fully checked out every year for any changes in moles/freckles/skin whatsoever (and if you don't get fully naked- it's not a fully body check, because the places where your clothes cover you are still at risk too).

Mar 10, 2013

Amanda Nicole G.

Another thing I do want to say is that during a family vacation to mexico a few years ago (we went in the middle of febuary so it wasn't like this was the summer sun down their either) a family member of mine got a spray tan to look good/not be so white during the vacation...She used sunscreen constantly but because she was so fair skinned, (blond hair, blue eyes, some freckles) her skin wasn't prepared to be in sun as hott as down there; and she still burned! Now because of the spray tan she couldn't tell when her skin was getting too red/burnt, and wasn't in the sun for long hours or during peak times. And of course by the end of the vacation she was definitly burnt, so sometimes spray tans/fake tans can be bad for extremely pale people and she would've had better luck building a base color/tan in a tanning bed for five mins two days a week for 3 weeks prior to the trip. Everyone's skin is different though, and this is just a personal experience story so it's not like it will happen to you- but it is something to take in consideration when you can look soo brown from a bottle but can still burn just as bad because you can't see what effects are happening to your skin- if that makes sense?

Mar 11, 2013

Stephanie G.

Tanning beds are NEVER okay. My best friend died at 19 from skin cancer. She was not pale but olive toned. Skin cancer is no joke and 19 year olds have no business being dead.

Mar 11, 2013

Stephanie G.

Also, base tanning is an absolute myth. Any time you tan or burn you are doing irreversible damage to your skin and putting yourself at risk for premature aging and skin cancer. I have done hours of research on this subject. Tanning beds look like coffins for a reason.

Mar 11, 2013

Emily W.

Stephanie G. I agree with you, base tanning has been proven as a myth and is dangerous twice over: damage from that tan, and feeling over protected/skimping on sun protection from false security.

I am so sorry about your friend. That kind of preventable death is exactly what I was trying to caution people about. :/

Mar 11, 2013

Amanda Nicole G.

Stephanie, I'm extremely sorry for your loss, that's a horrible, tragic thing; and you're right- she did not deserve that; no one does. That being said, I feel that you are implicating that I'm advocating tanning, or tanning beds- and that's not the case, nor is it what I said.

A tan is the result of the body producing more melanin. Melanocytes are the cells that are responsible for producing this pigment. These are stimulated by the pituitary glad through your optic nerve which sends signals to your hormones and melatonin which flow through your bloodstream, to your skin to produce the melanin to come out in your skin- causing a darker complexion, or a "tan". This is how your body knows its sunny outside, and it is your bodys way of protecting itself by absorbing the dangerous UV rays safely. (that's why wearing sunglasses can help prevent sunburn- interesting, right?). Although any tan can be dertermined as damage, every single person has some degree of damage, it's unavoidable. Different genetic backgrounds will produce more melanin than others to the same degree of exposure. Many people will burn easily and rarely ever tan. Some will rarely ever burn and have a very deep skin tone. Some individuals are just higher on the Fitzpatrick scale (higher numbers burn less frequently and tan more easily) than others who would be constantly red from any amount of exposure.
An interesting fact is that people with black skin have the SAME number of melanocytes as someone with very white, pale skin. Again, Interesting, right?
There are also some very positive things from being in the sun, and most of the "risks" from getting a safe tan like that are very low. The body is able to cope with the damage, killing off tumors before they spread and replacing damaged cells. Small amounts of sun, while wearing sun screen, within safe limits are very beneficial. And no, you're both unfortunately wrong when it comes to the "base-tan", having your skin exposed to the sun (in safe means- wearing sunscreen & only being in the sun for short periods of time) prior to going on a vacation or being exposed to extreme amounts of sun is very helpful to prevent burning- which is what is so damaging to your skin. I am not trying to agree with either one of you so I do think it's best to agree to disagree. Because of my experience, and what I've heard from my countless doctors in my personal experience, (my dermatologist, child dermatologist/child plastic surgeon, my esthetician, etc) that even though this is a very controversial topic, the sun has a lot of very important qualities like: studies have been proven & doctors have subscribed patients to sunbathing and nutrician to heal terminal breast cancer, sunlight is really good for certain skin conditions like acne, karatosis pilaris, excema and fungal infections, sun light lowers blood pressure and cholesterol and helps improve blood flow as well as helps build your immune system.
Lastly, our generation has been taught to fear the sun and has been flooded with paranoia about the sun; but we all forget that the sun has been around a lot longer than ALL of us, and so many of our ancient (and present) cultures used the sun to heal many illnesses; it's called heliotherapy. Sun light spurs your body to produce Vitamin D, so if you don't have that it can cause a Vitamin D deficieny, (as well as many sunscreens can aid this with blocking your skin completely from recieving any Vitamin D) which causes more deadly cancers than skin cancer alone.

Here's a great website for looking into healing properties and positive things that can come from sun exposure. :)
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5999/10-Healing-Benefits-of-the-Sun.html

Mar 11, 2013

Stephanie G.

I trust my sources, which include a surgeon, several dermatologists, and an oncologist (a doctor who specializes in cancer treatment).

Mar 12, 2013

Emily W.

I also believe my doctors and trusted peer-reviewed scientific journals, which all say that heliotherapy and "base-tanning" is bunk. No offence Amanda Nicole, but I think that we just agree to disagree. I would link to specific publications that back up my posts, but I gain access to them from my university and it can be expensive to access them from a non-institutional-affliated computer (up to $50 an article, unfortunately) so it likely wouldn't do any good for the average Beautylish reader.

Mar 12, 2013

Stephanie G.

To go along with that Emily-- tanning is a billion dollar industry. There is a lot of deceiving information out there that is distributed by the tanning industry. Of course they are going to say tanning is beneficial. The truth is that scientific peer reviewed journals are infinitely more reliable.

Jun 6, 2013

Emily W.

So I posted this thread a few months ago, but now that it is summertime (at least in the northern hemisphere) I feel like it would serve my original intent to bring it back from the abyss. I see a lot of people, especially teens, saying that "you only live once so be tan!". Hopefully by sharing this again some folks can have their eyes opened about the consequences of that attitude. If you play with fire, you're going to get burnt. Maybe not through injury or death, but certainly through deterioration of physical appearance. Hopefully this will help deter some of the myths and indifference being propagated on the forums.

Aug 1, 2013

Jeana V.

Um Kim Kardashian uses beds to help her psorisis. And I use beds to stop depression and anxiety. Trust me when I say this MODERATION is the key. That means you start out 3-6 min and only go 2-3 times a week. I am dark haired/brown eyed with an olive green undertone to my skin and I have my limits, just like Kim. And it was her younger sister KHLOE who is fair with pink undertones and green eyes that had melonoma not her darker olive sister Kourtney or her olive skinned mom. Also, having a comprimised immune system and taking certain meds and using certain skin products will increase your risk for skin cancer.

Aug 2, 2013

Jeana V.

Also don't use the cheapest level 1-2 beds that go 20 min maximum. Those have more burning rays. Go for level 3 or higher. And ALWAYS USE LOTION!!