Tanning beds ignite heated debate

Around this time of year, the tanning salon business is heating up. Summer break is knocking on the door and college students want to get that bronze tone before they hit the beaches.
When considering whether to go to the tanning bed or not, both the advantages and disadvantages swirl through one’s head.
With the use of a tanning bed, you can usually look “bronzer” in about 15 minutes. This is compared to laying on the beach for hours with the sun’s rays beating down on you. Products made especially for the tanning bed can help give one a deep tan, and most of them contain moisturizers.
“The main reason people go to the tanning bed is because it makes them look more attractive,” Holly Owings, an employee of a local tanning salon, said. “It is very relaxing. It’s great!”
Customers of the tanning salon have mentioned to Owings that going to the tanning salon every so often aids with certain skin conditions. Apparently, the radiation emitted from the tanning bed dries out the skin.
“For some people, it helps clear up acne by drying out their pores,” Owings said.
However, tanning beds contain ultraviolet radiation, so all of the hazards of the sun are present.
“Tanning beds are dangerous,” Amanda O’Donnell, a frequent tanning bed user said. “When I get older I will have wrinkles, premature aged skin and there is also a connection to cancer. Honestly, the only thing really good about them is that they’re clean. But that’s not saying much.”
Ultraviolet radiation is emitted from the tubular bulbs in the machine surrounding the person who lies inside the clamshell-like tanning bed. The UV rays from the tanning bed penetrate deeper than those of the sun.
Tanning beds are known to have a link to skin cancer. Even moderate tanning can cause skin cancer, including melanoma, the deadliest form. Melanoma accounts for approximately four percent of skin cancers. It starts in the pigment-producing cells that are in the skin’s outer layer, the epidermis. They are usually brown or black mole-like growths.
Premature aging is another side effect. The more moisture lost from the epidermis, the more there is a decrease in the skin’s elasticity, causing wrinkles to form.
Students should research the topic more thoroughly if they are considering using a tanning bed or lying in the sun. There are pros and cons to just about everything and tanning salons are no exception.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 2 2004. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry