As summer inches its way closer and students start anticipating sunny beaches, skin tanning steadily makes its appearance all over.
“I love visiting the beach or the pool during the summer and getting that golden, brown tanned skin,” said Cristine Smith, a regular beach attendant.
There are mainly two forms of tanning that people can do; tanning in the sun, and getting a spray tan at the salon.
Sun tanning is most prevalent in the summertime due to access to activities outdoors. However, a common misconception is that the sun’s heat is connected to how likely someone is to tan. The reason that skin tans is because of the ultraviolet rays radiating from the sun. The UV radiation damages the skin tissue in the form of a sunburn and triggers the epidermis to start the process of tanning.
“I hate tanning because I always get a bad sunburn and I don’t want my skin to look bad in the future,” said Lainey Lugo, a senior. As the skin is exposed, melanin is transferred from melanocytes to keratinocytes. Melanocytes are cells that have the role of producing melanin while keratinocytes are cells that are a part of the epidermis that produce keratin. According to Skin Cancer Foundation, an organization that proactively advocates sun protection and skin cancer treatment, they exclaim that tanning is Enot a healthy practice and it is not worth risks of UV-induced DNA damage or premature aging.
“I am not usually outside a lot and I don’t want to get skin cancer so, I prefer to get a spray tan at a salon,” said Gracie Kaufman, a senior.
Tanning beds pose serious health risks due to the concentration of UV radiation they apply to the skin.