What you didn't know about tanning

Facts about Tanning

Tanning has been a hit for quite some time now. People, especially women, cannot wait for the summer to begin, in order to catch some valuable sun, invoking an interesting phenomenon of our body's skin, making it turn bronze, being more aesthetically attractive and fitting better with certain kinds of garments. Namely, people tan for fashion, most of the time. However, they are often unaware of the dangers tanning, or some other parts of the process carry with them. Therefore, read on to find out what tanning is actually all about.

We tan in order for our skin to protect itself against the harmful, ultraviolet rays our sun emits. Once the rays reach the outer layer of our skin, it triggers the production of a darker pigment called melanin, located in the pigment cells which are also found in this skin layer. Nevertheless, before our body manages to protect us by turning darker and absorbing the ultraviolet rays before they reach any other parts of our organism, our skin gets burnt and inflamed. This process is the most dangerous one when it comes to sun exposure and tanning. For every sunburn we experience as children directly increases our chance of developing skin melanoma while sunburn at an older age makes us more prone to developing skin cancer. Therefore, tanning is dangerous and you should not take the process lightly, regardless of the fashion theories behind it.

Means of Precaution

We have to bear in mind that not all of us have the same type of skin. Basically, some of us have skin which is more likely to get burnt by the sun than the skin of some other people. This being said, some people should never tan and all people should be careful while going out in the sun. People, who have skin problems like psoriasis, should stay out of the sun. The same goes for people who are undergoing chemotherapy or are on antibiotics. Also, people with skin type one and two, people with skin cancer or a melanoma, as well as those who have a history of these malignant diseases in his/her family, all should avoid excessive sun since they can regret it later.

All in all, try to tan in the spring, avoiding excessive exposure to sun during the summer months. Whenever you do go out during these periods, make sure you drink plenty of water, have an adequate sunscreen on, not stay in the sun for too long, especially when in water since this amplifies the damage sun does to your skin and protect yourself with adequate clothes. Finally, sun makes your skin age faster, so, if you want to avoid this unpleasant side-effect, make sure you expose your body to sun in moderation.