There is no such thing as a safe tan from the sun or sun lamps. ALL tanning other than from a self-tanner is a problem. Actually, any and all unprotected sun exposure is damaging to skin. Most of us think sun damage occurs from baking in the sun and getting a deep, dark tan. That is only part of the picture. Sun damage begins the moment you walk out of the house, anytime during the day, whether it is sunny or cloudy (at least 40% to 50% of the sun’s rays penetrate cloud cover). It may take 20 minutes for some of us to get burned, an hour or two for some of us to start tanning, but the damage associated with wrinkling and skin cancer begins the moment your skin is exposed to daylight. It is the repeated sun exposure, just several minutes a day, 365 days a year, even when sitting near a sunny window (UVA radiation comes through windows), that adds up to a great deal of damage, both aesthetically and physically.
Turning any shade that is darker than your own natural skin color from the sun, whether you have very light or very dark skin or use a sunscreen, is the skin’s defensive response to sun damage. It may look nice, but it isn’t nice for the skin. Melanocytes are skin cells that contain the brown-colored protein called melanin. These brown skin cells determine a person’s natural skin tone. Surprisingly, the difference between the lightest skin color and the darkest is only a very small amount of melanin. With exposure to sun, the melanocytes produce more melanin, and tanned skin is the result. But here’s another shock: Despite the fact that tanning is a protective response, it isn’t all that helpful. By some estimates, a tan provides an SPF of only about 2. Sorry, there just isn’t any way a tan of any kind can be considered healthy. As one dermatologist described it, a tan is the same as a callus on your foot. Yes, it protects the foot, but who wants that kind of protection and why would you continue doing what caused the callus in the first place?
The yellow and red melanin found in light-skinned people provides the least amount of sun protection while the brown melanin found in darker skin tones provides the most sun protection, which is why darker skin tones are less susceptable to skin cancers. But because melanin isn’t a very reliable sunscreen overall, both dark – and light-skinned people need protection from UV rays because any tanning or burning causes skin damage to one degree or another. Those with darker skin color will still suffer negative effects from sun exposure. Ashen skin color, mottled skin, wrinkles, and even skin cancer can happen to those with dark skin. Skin cancer is less likely, but the risk of skin damage and wrinkling is certain.
(Sources: Pigment Cell and Melanoma Research, October 2008, pages 509-516; Dermatologic Surgery, April 2008, pages 460-474; Photochemistry and Photobiology, March-April 2008, pages 528-536; Free Radical Biology and Medicine, March 2008, pages 990-1000; Skin Research and Technology, November 2007, pages 360-368; Pigment Cell Research, August 2006, pages 303-314; and Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin, December 2005, pages 2302-2307.)