Sun Tanning Vs Tanning Beds

As summer is quickly coming to an end you may be trying to soak up the last of the rays and enjoy the sun while you can. While a little sun can be good for you, too much can do lots of harm to your skin. Natural sunlight is healthy in moderation so long as you use sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or more, but unfortunately more and more people are turning to tanning beds to get an all over tan.

Though once deemed safe in moderation, more recent studies on self tanning through tanning beds has now been moved to the highest risk category in relation to human cancers by the World Health Organization. While they previously considered tanning beds as possibly carginogenic; they consider tanning beds are in the same category as cigarettes, arsenic and plutonium. Indoor tanning increases your risk of skin cancer, skin aging and eye damage significantly. Unfortunately, tanning is a billion dollar industry that is not very well regulated. 

In fact, the World Health Organization is now calling for the tanning bed industry to have stricter rules when it comes to regulation as well as allowing for laws to prohibit anyone under the age of 18 from using a tanning bed. Young people are especially susceptible to skin cancers from frequent use of tanning beds. Individuals who use them before the age of 30 have a 75% greater chance of developing skin cancer. 

Although the sun&undefined;s rays can cause a variety of different skin cancers as well as extensive skin damage, it is not as bad as tanning beds. If you are a sun worshiper, then try to catch some rays the natural way and make sure to only do it in moderation while using a sunscreen .