How to Tan Without Getting Cancer

Tanning is the process of exposing the skin to ultraviolet radiation from natural sunlight or artificial sources. Both means of getting a tan – while lying inside a tanning bed or at the beachside, pose only one damaging effect which is skin cancer.

Approximately 90% of all skin cancers come from UV exposure. Overexposure may lead to malignant melanoma, which is the deadliest form of skin cancer, other conditions and complications result to eye damage, immune system changes, cataracts, wrinkles and premature aging of the skin.

There are options that most medical experts advise. Self-tanners in the market that comes in gels and creams can be used as alternative. The shower and airbrush tan are currently the kind of products most tan enthusiasts use. You can get that golden complexion you like without burning from bulbs in tanning beds.

For those who are always outdoors, sunscreen use is strongly advised. Sunscreen help prevent harmful rays from penetrating the skin. Choose and use the right SPF (Sun Protection Factor) for your skin type and conditions may lower your risk of skin cancer; however sunscreens do not help in healing or undoing the damage that has already been done to your skin.

Solar radiation has become damaging yet it can’t take away the clinical importance of Vitamin D for our body’s bone health and other physiological processes. Therefore, moderate exposure to sunlight is needed. Taking 5 to 10 minutes for two to three times a week is enough. Put on sunscreen with a minimum spf of 15.