There are so many discussions about how damaging and dangerous it is to tan under the sun too long as it will cause skin cancer. It is surprising why people tend to focus on the phrase, “dangerous under the sun too long” than the real message of the sentence.
It’s not actually the duration of “being under the sun” that’s dangerous but, the consequence of too much UV exposure that’s causing the concern. You can stay under the sun for hours but if the sun is hiding behind the cloud that should not be too much of a problem.
People who understand the statement incorrectly will use incorrect remedies to solve it.
If one perceives the problem to be mainly about the length of time spent under the sun then, people will just use tanning accelerators to speed up the tan and be out of the sun faster but, is this really safe?
….Here’s an analogy;
A father told his son not to drink a glass of beer because he was driving. So instead of a glass of beer, the son drank a shot of vodka thinking that a jigger is much smaller than a glass.
What do tanning accelerators do?
Tanning accelerators make your skin more sensitive to light thereby making your skin produce more melanin for a faster tan.
This will surely make your tanning session shorter but, is it safer?
Consider this for a while, making your skin more sensitive to sunlight means that your skin will burn faster.
In a reverse analogy, it means that you’ve turned on the heat of the sun to fry your skin faster. Is it wise to turn up the heat that is already dangerous so you can get out of the oven faster? That doesn’t sound very good.
Tanning accelerators make your skin more vulnerable to the damaging effects of UV rays. They put you at greater risk of getting sunburn and skin cancer.
….So what happened to the son who drank a shot of vodka?
He was too drank to even get to his car.
Advertising Misdirection
Tanning accelerator companies tell their market that their product solves the problem of over exposure to UV rays by misdirection.
The simplest rebuttal is that the danger of tanning has nothing to do with the length of time spent under the sun. It is all about the amount of UV rays that your skin is being subjected to.
The use of tanning accelerator subjects your skin to more UV rays than it normally allowed itself to. This makes tanning accelerators even more dangerous. Using tanning accelerators will put everyone closer to getting skin cancer.
Tanning accelerators are the antitheses of sun screens. It’s like boarding a racket ship and tanning closer to the sun.
Tanning accelerators can’t even get an approval of their psoralen and tyrosine ingredients from the FDA.
Unsuspecting Victims
Most of the people who get lured into the false advertisement of tanning accelerators are teens.
Not only do teens tend to be too fast and furious in their decision making, they want everything quick as fast foods and want everything to the extreme.
They are the prime market for tanning accelerators but, they are also the age group that has more to lose. Teens have very tender and sensitive skin. Increasing the amount of UV skin absorption will put them at greater risk than that of adults.
Controlled UV Exposure
The only way to make tanning safer is to control the amount of UV exposure.
Getting your tan directly from the sun won’t give you any amount of control over the UV rays being emitted. You can only guess that it’s safe but can’t really tell.
Tanning accelerators get you in a worse situation because they facilitate a quick burn. Who knows; with a tanning accelerator, 5 minutes under the sun might already put you in the danger zone. Who can tell?
Tanning Salons
On the other hand, tanning beds are like mini suns that have a thermostat. The release of UV rays can be controlled. That’s what makes tanning salons safer options.
And, if you get your tan from a reputable tanning salon like Sun Tan City, you find comfort in knowing that a tanning professional is supervising your UV exposure.
Skin experts at tanning salons study your skin type to determine how much UV rays are needed to get the tan you like, how much UV rays is safe and what tanning procedure will best suit you.
You can be rest assured that they will even deny a degree of tanning that will be unsafe for you and provide you with a milder, safer tanning option.
Once this is determined, the tanning beds are set to give you just the right dose. Everything is regulated and nothing is left to chance.
Rule out tanning accelerators in your tanning options. Control and precision are still the keys to safety. Never engage in any tanning alternatives that can’t promise you both.