Easy Tanning

The custom of tanning is highly popular among western societies. Recent studies from several sources have come up with reasons to discourage the practice of tanning as it runs the risk of the person getting cancer. This is because the tanning method actively damages the DNA of the individual and causes mutations to occur in the cells of the individual. Besides this risk, tanning also leads to a blocking of the body’s natural anti depressants and thus runs the increased risk of getting cancer.

Several myths are propagated in support of the case for tanning and these myths have done much groundwork leading to the continuation of tanning under artificial conditions.

One of the common myths prevalent is the belief that tanning is healthy because it protects the body from sunburn. This is totally baseless observation by the pro tanning lobby. The myth relies on the idea that the tan is the body's natural way of preventing UV rays from penetrating into the skin and thus reduces the risk of getting skin cancer.
This is not the actual fact as the tan over a white skin acts as much of a sunscreen as an SPF4 strength sunscreen. Even to protect skin under normal conditions in the sun, one is recommended the use of an SPF 15 sunscreen strength. Thus this weak protection of tanning, equivalent only to SPF 4 strength, is too weak to help.

Also, it is necessary to know that sunburn is a long term effect and that it does not immediately surface on the skin. So the belief that if the skin feels cool immediately after a dip in the sea, it will not sunburn is again a false belief. This is a false belief considering the fact that sunburn is a continuing process and a cumulative process that ultimately surfaces as the effect of sunburn.

Thus the idea that staying out in the sun for a longer time when under water is not as harmful as being on the beach for the same amount of time, is totally mythical. Sun bathing, for longer hours even with breaks in between, will not stop the sunburn from taking place as water is not an agent that can prevent the harmful effects of sunburn.

Read Bust Tanning Myths And Have a Safe Tan- Part 2