Tan-fastic, or not?
Healthy alternatives to indoor tanning
By Marlyn Fink and Michelle Sauer
E-mail
Print- Share on Facebook
-
Seed Newsvine
- Text size:
Sunscreen should be worn year-round, not just in the summer.
Millions of young women flood into tanning salons every year, forking out a lot of money for what they think is the perfect tan.
This summer, women everywhere should make it their goal to obtain a tan the healthy way: by avoiding fake-baking and trying some of these alternative options for getting a safe and true summer hue.
After this long Wisconsin winter everyone is practically screaming for sunlight. Thus encompassing oneself in a tanning bed may seem like the right thing to do right now. It is considered fast, easy and has instantaneous results.
However, many doctors say that tanning beds age the skin prematurely, produce brown patches, broken blood vessels and create a leathery look to the skin. With the proper sunscreen, attire and activity any day in the sunny outdoors can be the recipe for beautiful, natural and glowing skin. Activities can range from a game of softball to working in the yard or a lying in a hammock.
There is no better feeling than the warmth of a July sunshine beating down as you lounge by the lakefront. In fact, a healthy dose of sun is vital to our body’s everyday needs. A lot of doctors agree that small quantities of sunshine produce Vitamin D, which regulates our calcium and metabolism.
However, wandering out into the summer sun means applying the proper amount of sunscreen. Sunscreen should be worn year-round, not just in the summer.
Another common contradiction is that wearing sunscreen will not give you that bronze glow that everyone craves. In reality, the Sun Protection Factor (or SPF) in sunscreen is only protecting the skin from the ultraviolet rays of the sun (the ones which cause our skin to burn).
Sunscreen comes in an array of protection levels and types. If you want to be protected from a burn but still desire a radiant glow, a lower SPF is the way to go. Just be sure that you reapply every couple of hours and avoid any sunscreen below 20.
A common complaint by tanning bed visitors is the threat of a horrendous burn or tan lines. However, what many do not know is that both of these sun-tanning faux-pas can be easily overcome. Clothing options, especially for women, are endless. A tube top can be worn to avoid strap lines. Likewise, a strapless swimming suit can be sported to get all over color. Being clothing-conscious is the key to escape from tan-line woes.
There is no doubt that everyone looks and feels better when the weather is warmer and the sun brings out that glow in our skin, but before you go climbing into a tanning bed, remember that your skin is your skin for the rest of your life. Take care of it, and consider ditching the beds for the real deal. Just don’t forget your sunscreen.
> Comments
DJMDE on May 05, 2008 at 10:16 AM:
"There is no doubt that everyone looks and feels better when the weather is warmer and the sun brings out that glow in our skin, but before you go climbing into a tanning bed, remember that your skin is your skin for the rest of your life. Take care of it, and consider ditching the beds for the real deal. Just don’t forget your sunscreen."
I am curious I've tanned all my life and people still ask me how I stay so young looking. You can imagine how your article confuses me? I've even been carded over 40 years old in night clubs. I would NEVER wear sunscreen. It's full of chemicals and extremely bad for your skin!!! Is there an SPF company backing your story or buying ads on your page? If you don't want leathery skin or brown spots wear a hat outside it won't go into your blood vessels with chemicals like most sunscreens will! Eat lots of berries and use lotion with caffeine in it to help repair DNA damage. Add Curcumin to your daily diet. OK so you get my point... you won't make money off of my solutions so you won't see them headlined anywhere but on natural health websites! Almost 50 and loving life. I'm on ZERO prescription drugs to.
kendra on Jun 25, 2008 at 04:11 PM:
i would appreciate ayone who has some answears for me, i have recently started tanning, i have gone 3 times so far, the first time i did 6 min and it didnt really show, as i knew it would, after the second tan there was a noticable difference and i was happy until i woke up in the morning and saw broken blood vesels on my stomach, is this a result of tanning because by the third one it was on my legs? plz let me know if you have any answears! thanks
kendra on Jun 25, 2008 at 04:11 PM:
i would appreciate ayone who has some answears for me, i have recently started tanning, i have gone 3 times so far, the first time i did 6 min and it didnt really show, as i knew it would, after the second tan there was a noticable difference and i was happy until i woke up in the morning and saw broken blood vesels on my stomach, is this a result of tanning because by the third one it was on my legs? plz let me know if you have any answears! thanks
UV-ray damage on Jun 25, 2008 at 05:35 PM:
yeah, what happens during UV exposure is that sun raises the bloods temperature, brining it towards the skins surface. When the skin appears tan, it shows where the blood has created scarring... in essence, a tan is like one big scar, where the blood clotted and "scabbed" so to say.
Broken blood vessels occur from overexposure to UV rays because the blood is put in a vulnerable position. Tanning beds amplify the effects of the sun, which is why melanoma and skin cancer are higher risks with indoor tanning versus outdoor.
Advice? Don't go to the tanning bed. It's like when people ask about how to avoid getting pregnant, the best option? Abstinence.
> Post a Comment