Tanning Facts

In fact, it’s much like calling exercise "damage to your muscles.” When you exercise, you are actually tearing tiny muscle fibers in your body. At first glance, when examined at the micro-level, this tearing could be called "damage.” But this damage on the micro-level is your body’s natural way of building stronger muscle tissue on the macro-level. So to call exercise "damaging” to muscles would be misleading. The same can be said of sun exposure: your body is designed to repair any damage to the skin caused by ultraviolet light exposure. Developing a tan is your body’s natural way of protecting against the dangers of sunburn and further exposure.

It is the professional indoor tanning industry’s position that sunburn prevention is a more effective message than total abstinence, which ultimately encourages abuse. We believe ours is a responsible, honest approach to the issue.

Q: What is a base tan?
A: A tan is the body’s natural protection against sunburn. Your skin is designed to tan as a natural body function.

Each year, millions of Americans visit professional indoor tanning facilities in the spring, prior to sun-filled vacations or outdoor summertime activities, to establish what tanners know as a "base tan.” Doing so enables vacationers to gradually increase their exposure to ultraviolet light without burning.

Q: Is moderate exposure to the sun or ultraviolet (UV) light good for your health?
A: Absolutely. There is a growing body of well-conducted, validated scientific research demonstrating that the production of the activated form of vitamin D is one of the most effective ways the body controls abnormal cell growth. Moderate exposure to sunlight is the only way for the body to manufacture the vitamin D necessary for producing activated vitamin D.

Q: How much vitamin D do you need?
A: A 1997 report by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine recommends 200 IU/day of vitamin D for women aged 50 years or younger, 400 IU/day for those aged 51-70 and 600 IU/day for those older than 70 (1) years. However, leading experts believe these recommendations are inadequate for protecting the public’s health. According to these experts, the country faces an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency. New science strongly supports changing the current recommendation to 1000 IU/day for adults.

Q: Why is indoor tanning more responsible than outdoor tanning?
A: Indoor tanning, for individuals who can develop a tan, is a smart way to minimize the risk of contracting sunburn while maximizing the enjoyment and benefit of having a tan. In a professional indoor tanning facility, trained personnel teach tanners how their particular skin type reacts to sunlight and how to avoid sunburn—both outdoors as well as in the salon.

Tanning in a professional facility today minimizes the risk of overexposure to UV light. In the United States, exposure times for tanning sessions are derived from a schedule displayed on every piece of tanning equipment. By taking into account the tanner’s skin type and the intensity of the equipment, this schedule helps to deliver a dosage of UV light that is designed to minimize the risk of sunburn. The schedule also takes into account how long an individual has been tanning, increasing exposure times gradually to minimize the possibility of burning. This kind of control is impossible outdoors, where variables including seasonality, time of day, weather conditions, reflective surfaces and altitude all make sunburn prevention more difficult.

*Information taken from www.theita.com