Read the Truth About Tanning Booths

It’s the beginning of summer, and you’ve been working hard. You haven’t had time to spend hours in the sunlight getting the tan your friends will envy. The nearby salon just invested in a tanning booth. It will take only a few sessions to achieve the glow you usually spend weeks working to get. Is it worth it?

Tanning booths allow people to enter them and stand while tanning. Handles are available so people can rest their arms above their heads and tan along their sides. Because tanners are standing, they don’t have to worry about the tan’s evenness being affected by the pressure of their bodies against the bed’s surface.

In addition, people who prefer tanning booths argue that they tan faster. Many people, however, are more sensitive to ultraviolet rays. These people may face a significantly higher risk of sunburns, rashes, and skin irritation because of using tanning booths.

Tanning booths use more powerful lights than tanning beds. Most tanning beds use lights with about 100 watts of power, while tanning booth lights provide about 160 watts. Ultraviolet rays (responsible for tanning, but also for skin cancer) from tanning beds are twice as powerful as natural sunlight. Tanning booths expose people to ultraviolet rays three times more damaging than sun exposure.

Many people argue that tanning booths are a more hygienic route to that perfect skin glow.
Is this really the case, though? These methods of tanning are, in fact, no more sanitary than tanning beds, as long as the beds are cleaned properly between individual uses.

People who use tanning booths also risk an increased likelihood of developing skin cancer. The increased intensity of ultraviolet rays thins skin faster and makes it more susceptible to damage. The latest research indicates that women who use tanning beds more than once a month have a risk of malignant melanoma more than 50 percent higher than women who do not.

Malignant melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer. People who visit tanning salons also risk developing nonmelanoma skin cancers as well. Although more easily treated, these cancers can cause serious damage, scarring, and even death if not treated properly.

If you are seriously considering starting a tanning regimen, and have decided that you must visit a tanning booth, protect yourself. Wear eye protection and sunscreen while tanning. Check your skin for changes at least monthly. Finally, seriously consider that you are exposing yourself to a much higher risk of skin cancer.