Alexandra asks: I am just dying to find a good self tanner!! I don’t want to go tanning indoors, and I’ve used the Jergens stuff for about a month and I’m not getting the results I want. Are there any good products out there that won’t turn me into an orange?
The Right Brain understands tans:
It’s not surprising that the Jergens product isn’t giving you a great new tan. It has very low levels of DHA (the active ingredient that stains your skin) so you really won’t get a dark change in color. Neutrogena’s Micro Mist spray product contains more DHA so you might try that. (Read our previous posts to learn more about sunless tanning.)
Sunless-tan vs Indoor tan
While self tanning technology isn’t perfect, it is a good alternative to indoor tanning which exposes you to ultraviolet radiation that has been identified as a known carcinogen by the Department of Health and Human Services. To ensure that everyone understands the risks associated with tanning the US has passed a new law to explain the dangers.
The TAN Act
The new law is officially called the Tanning Accountability and Notification Act, or TAN Act for short. It directs the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make sure that the language and positioning of the warning labels used on tanning devices clearly communicate the risk of irreversible damage to the eyes and skin, including skin cancer.
Why you should care
According to Diane R. Baker, MD, FAAD, president of the American Academy of Dermatology, “The current labeling on tanning equipment inadequately explains the serious risks associated with indoor tanning.” This lack of information increases the risk for the estimated 30 million people (including 2.3 million teens) who tan indoors. While they are not all linked to tanning, over 1 million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the United States every year. The TAN Act should lead to measures that will dramatically reduce the risks associated with indoor tanning.
Considering the known dangers, some people wonder if indoor tanning should be illegal. In that sense, this issue is a bit like the anti-smoking campaign. Should the government protect us from things that are known to be dangerous even though they give us pleasure? Leave a comment and tell us what you think: Should tanning beds be illegal?
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I don’t think it should be illegal, but I do think if you get skin cancer while excessively tanning (or lung cancer while smoking!) that the insurance shouldn’t be responsible for people harming themselves. There probably should be some sort of law or salon requirement that you wear a SPF lotion and can only tan for so long, though.
Love your website, thanks!
I am a 15 year old girl and I love tanning beds. Indoor Tanning should not be illegal. If it was illegal that would be so stupid! It’s not like we hurt anyone when we tan! We do it for ourselves.
All you people who don’t like tanning beds, I have some advice for you: Don’t use them! It’s really that simple! If you don’t like it, don’t do it! Kay? See how easy that is?
If you can’t take that advice then you just need to go and mind your own buisness. Don’t try and throw your negative crap at us! We all know the risks, some of us choose to take them and others don’t. Just because your part of the group that doesn’t, that doesn’t mean you have to bother us!
Goshhhhhhh.
THAT IS THE MOST RIDICULOUS QUESTION; “SHOULD INDOOR TANNING BE ILLEGAL” i WOULD LEAVE THIS COUNTRY, NOT BECAUSE I AM A TANNING ADVOCATE, BUT SIMPLY BECAUSE THIS AUTHORITARIAN ATTITUDE IS DRIVING ME NUTS. FIRST, WE WANT TO CONTROL THE SMOKERS, NOW WE WANT TO CONTROL THOSE WHO ENJOY TANNING, WHAT ABOUT FAT PEOPLE? MEDICAL PEOPLE HAVE TO LIFT THEM WHEN THEY ARE SICK, FAT PEOPLE GENERALLY SMELL OFFENSIVE
I used to tan ALL the time! I tanned in high school, in junior high, ALL the time! I’m only 23 years old, and I know so many people who I graduated with who have gotten skin cancer, from avid indoor tanning. I’ve read books on the subject just to see for myself. 10 minutes in a tanning bed is equivalent to 3 hours in the sun. Humans are only required 10-30 minutes (depending on natural skin color) in the sun to get the recommended amount of vitamin D. And that’s all. So, if you are going in the sun for 10 minutes a day, for a whole week, that’s still only an hour and 10 minutes of natural sunlight a week. Tan for 10 minutes in a bed for one day….and you are already maxed out on your sunlight. Tanning companies try to advertise their “new” beds that block out the UVB rays. Well great. UVB rays are the rays that cause your skin to burn. UVA rays are the “aging” and cancer causing rays. So basically, they filter out the rays that cause you to burn, so you’ll tan longer, and more. Crazy. I believe it’s a personal opinion to tan or not, and I choose not to. I do feel more attractive when I tan, but I try to look at Dita Von Teese or Audry Hepburn, who are both very attractive woman, just as they are. Funny thing about our country is that we try to tan as much as we possibly can, as often as we can. You go to other countries, and they try to reverse all the sun damage they can. People pay thousand of dollars a year getting cosmetic surgery to reverse the effects of sun damage. The whole vitamin D deficiency things gets me. It’s supposed to help with osteoporosis?? We have millions of women in our country alone who suffer from osteoporosis. Then you look at Africa. They have about 250,000. That makes no sense. We tan as much as we possibly can, and they’re in natural sunlight. People who have more melanin in their skin can block out more sunlight. Asians are obviously more sensitive to sunlight. That goes WAY back in time..depending on where people are from. Naturally….if there is more sunlight…you are darker. African Americans have the least amount of people suffering from skin cancer. Our skin is an organ. It is designed to protect our bodies from foreign entities. Our skin naturally produces more melanin when in sunlight, to protect us from UVA rays. So, people who keep tanning, and getting darker…are only making their skin work harder to try and protect them. I’m honestly afraid that i’ll tan to be more attractive, POSSIBLY get skin cancer, and have scars all over my body. Google “sun damage” “skin cancer” “skin cancer scars”, ect. It’s scary. I bet everyone in this world can name AT LEAST one person they know who have been diagnosed with skin cancer or who has passed away from it. But vitamin D deaths? Never heard of anyone.
Hello Everyone,
We wouldnt have these problems if you were tanning properly !!! when i grew i burnt all the time in the sun !!! indoor tanning i never burn!!! the problem is ppl dont understand tht if yes mayb e if you abused or overexposed yourself to uv then possibly u could have problems but if its controlled there should be no problem and tanning is one of the best ways to recieve vitamin d!! everything is hear say on hear and no facts really!! so like all things like smoking or alcohol or the pollution in the air can all create problems but is any of it illegal??? no and one thing smoking lung cancer, gum cancer, tongue cancer but yet its still legal? and that makes sense to you right?? if someone chooses to tan then they should be able there shouldnt be any law on it its tht persons choice!!!!
and indoor tanning now compared to what it was years ago has improved dramatically !
This is the best blog I’ve come across on this subject. There are some really smart people on here with exception to the Mori person. How silly for someone to be promoting sun exposure (radiation), let alone tanning. The World Health Organization concluded that tanning booths definately “are” causing melanoma, especially in young women.
That’s right Mori, this is a fact concluded by one of the most credible organizations in the world and you are responsible for encouraging cancer causing radiation for health. Did you know UVR is listed on the government carcinogen list as a definate cancer causer, right along with tobacco?
It wasn’t that long ago that the tobacco industry’s doctors and scientists were saying cigarettes didn’t cause cancer. I remember people who really believed those so-called experts and kept right on smoking to keep their weight under control.
The Skin Cancer Foundation stated: “The latest figures confirm that skin cancer, the world’s most common cancer, is truly an epidemic. There are more new cases annually than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung, and colon. While skin cancer, particularly nonmelanoma skin cancer, is usually very treatable when caught early, it should not be taken lightly. Skin cancers have a high rate of recurrence, and anyone who has had one runs an increased risk of developing another skin cancer, including melanoma. Additionally, people who have had nonmelanoma skin cancer have twice the risk of developing other malignancies, such as lung, colon, and breast cancers. Melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer, may metastasize (spread) to distant tissues or organs, and can be life-threatening, if not detected and treated quickly.”
Every hour in the U.S. someone dies of melanoma and is a particularly cruel form of cancer. U.V.R. is also cumulative. Your skin never forgets. And most people have already had way too much sun exposure.
Dr. Michael F. Holick has been promoting vitamin D through sun and tanning bed exposure for years in the media, like Reader’s Digest, while actively promoting himself. He is selling books like “The UV Advantage” and is also being paid by the tanning industry. He posed in a tanning bed posted on USA Today. This guy is one of the top experts vitamin D enthusiasts are relying on.
This is not different than the dangers of cigarettes and the government should ban tanning solons from anyone under 20, at least. This is a no brainer: Get your vitamin D from diet and supplements!
I am very offended by Mori’s sizism. Health cannot be gauged by simply looking at a person you don’t even know. Healthy bodies can be any size as long as you are eating healthy and getting exercise you are healthy, I think people should take care of themselves for their health, not to lose weight as the main goal. I think it is objectifying and hateful to women as women naturally have more body fat than men to be fertile. I love the beauty brains because they are not sizist, and they are not biased and promote critical thinking.
http://www.haescommunity.org/
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