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Tanning-There's More to a Tan Than Meets the Eye | by Dawn Lang
The lazy days of summer tempt us with its warm sunshine, clear blue skies and cool swimming pools. The rise of the sun tan has prompted many of us to venture out into the hot sun in search of that bronzed body. I remember my mother never missed the opportunity to lay out in the sun during the summer months. She always commented on how “a tan makes us look healthier and younger.” I think all of us believed that until incidents of skin cancer made us think otherwise.
Long before sun-tan lotions were invented (before the Industrial Revolution) bronzed bodies belonged to manual laborers. To be brown in those days was a symbol of low social class. Pale, porcelain skin was in vogue, mainly because rich people stayed indoors. As machines began to appear, however, the working classes left the fields for the factories. As they turned a whiter shade of pale, the rich turned progressively browner. Sporting a sun tan meant you had money and could afford a leisurely outdoor life.
By the early 1920’s, heliotherapy was all the rage. Daily exposure to sunlight was touted as a cure for everything from acne to tuberculosis. It wasn’t until Coco Chanel returned from the Mediterranean with a deep golden tan that bronzed skin became a truly desirable item. By the 30’s, the sun-tan stood for health, wealth and style. Before long, skimpy swimwear appeared with slim shoulder straps, which could be lowered to keep an even tan. In the 40’s, sun-tan lotion hit the market. At that time, it was designed to assist with the basting and roasting-not to protect from the sun. Within ten years, the bikini had arrived on the scene allowing womens’ bodies close to total exposure. The 60’s introduced the sun lamp and brought the Tenerife tan to your living room-even in the middle of winter.
Throughout the 70’s and 80’s, the fashion press promoted the sun-tan as something to make you look and feel healthier and younger, in the face of a growing body of scientific evidence that it not only leads to deeper-etched wrinkles, but reduces life expectancy too. Increasing awareness of the link between exposure to the sun and skin cancer crept in slowly, aided by growing concern over damage to the ozone layer.
Today, beaches are as busy as ever. Although people are generally more careful, brown is still beautiful in most peoples’ minds. Pale skin has yet to make a real comeback. The irony is that sales of fake tanning products are booming.
THE FACTS
• A tan is not a sign of wealth. A tan is a sign that the skin has been damaged by ultraviolet radiation. When cells are damaged by the sun melanin rushes to the surface to provide protection against the next exposure. As you slowly build up a “protective tan” your skin is darkening in response to damage on top of damage.
•By the year 2001, 1 in every 90 people in the US will get malignant melanoma – the most dangerous kind of skin cancer. If the melanoma spreads or grows downward, rather than horizontally, the cancer will invade the lymph glands.
•There is strong evidence that melanomas occur on sun-damaged skin. People are particularly at risk when they have sudden short bursts of sunlight on holidays or in places where the sun is very strong.
•Two-thirds of sun damage is done before you reach your 15th birthday.
•More women than men get melanomas. This form of cancer occurs mainly in the 40-60 year age group but it can strike at any age.
•If detected early, skin cancer has a 99% cure rate.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
1. Stay out of the sun between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. when it is at its strongest.
2.If you are not sure if it’s safe, do the shadow test to make an on-the-spot UV estimate. Just look at your shadow; if you can’t see it at all (high noon), dangerous UV rays are reaching you. If your shadow is shorter than you are, you’re in high-UV territory. If your shadow extends way out beyond you, you’re somewhat safer from UVB rays, although UVA rays remain in effect all day, every day.
3.Wear clothes made from tightly woven fabric and a hat, which shades the face, neck and ears.
4. Buy a sunscreen which offers protection from both UVA and UVB rays. Use at least SPF15. Don’t be fooled by SPF30. It does not give you double the protection of SPF15; it gives you only 3% more protection.
5. Throw away last year’s sun screen, as sun screen properties can change with time, especially in extreme heat.
6. Wear protective sunglasses, as UV rays can cause cataracts and damage to the retina.
7. Use lip balm of SPF15 for your lips to protect the vulnerable skin from cancers.
8. Sun protection is very important for babies, children and teenagers. Babies fewer than six months of age are too young for sun screen and should simply be kept out of direct sunlight as much as possible.
9. Avoid tanning beds. They carry all the risks of natural sunlight.
10. Use sunless tanning products from department or drug stores to achieve the ”bronzed” look. •
Dawn Lang is a wellness and lifestyle consultant, exercise therapist, and owner of Prescriptive Fitness. She has a Master of Arts Degree in Health and Wellness Management and over ten years of experience as a Certified Fitness Instructor, Personal Trainer and CPR Instructor. She consults clients about health cost containment methods, health risk appraisals, claims audit analysis and behavior change/modification. Dawn can be reached at: jlang@in.net
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The lazy days of summer tempt us with its warm sunshine, clear blue skies and cool swimming pools. The rise of the sun tan has prompted many of us to venture out into the hot sun in search of that bronzed body. I remember my mother never missed the opportunity to lay out in the sun during the summer months. She always commented on how “a tan makes us look healthier and younger.” I think all of us believed that until incidents of skin cancer made us think otherwise.
Long before sun-tan lotions were invented (before the Industrial Revolution) bronzed bodies belonged to manual laborers. To be brown in those days was a symbol of low social class. Pale, porcelain skin was in vogue, mainly because rich people stayed indoors. As machines began to appear, however, the working classes left the fields for the factories. As they turned a whiter shade of pale, the rich turned progressively browner. Sporting a sun tan meant you had money and could afford a leisurely outdoor life.
By the early 1920’s, heliotherapy was all the rage. Daily exposure to sunlight was touted as a cure for everything from acne to tuberculosis. It wasn’t until Coco Chanel returned from the Mediterranean with a deep golden tan that bronzed skin became a truly desirable item. By the 30’s, the sun-tan stood for health, wealth and style. Before long, skimpy swimwear appeared with slim shoulder straps, which could be lowered to keep an even tan. In the 40’s, sun-tan lotion hit the market. At that time, it was designed to assist with the basting and roasting-not to protect from the sun. Within ten years, the bikini had arrived on the scene allowing womens’ bodies close to total exposure. The 60’s introduced the sun lamp and brought the Tenerife tan to your living room-even in the middle of winter.
Throughout the 70’s and 80’s, the fashion press promoted the sun-tan as something to make you look and feel healthier and younger, in the face of a growing body of scientific evidence that it not only leads to deeper-etched wrinkles, but reduces life expectancy too. Increasing awareness of the link between exposure to the sun and skin cancer crept in slowly, aided by growing concern over damage to the ozone layer.
Today, beaches are as busy as ever. Although people are generally more careful, brown is still beautiful in most peoples’ minds. Pale skin has yet to make a real comeback. The irony is that sales of fake tanning products are booming.
THE FACTS
• A tan is not a sign of wealth. A tan is a sign that the skin has been damaged by ultraviolet radiation. When cells are damaged by the sun melanin rushes to the surface to provide protection against the next exposure. As you slowly build up a “protective tan” your skin is darkening in response to damage on top of damage.
•By the year 2001, 1 in every 90 people in the US will get malignant melanoma – the most dangerous kind of skin cancer. If the melanoma spreads or grows downward, rather than horizontally, the cancer will invade the lymph glands.
•There is strong evidence that melanomas occur on sun-damaged skin. People are particularly at risk when they have sudden short bursts of sunlight on holidays or in places where the sun is very strong.
•Two-thirds of sun damage is done before you reach your 15th birthday.
•More women than men get melanomas. This form of cancer occurs mainly in the 40-60 year age group but it can strike at any age.
•If detected early, skin cancer has a 99% cure rate.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
1. Stay out of the sun between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. when it is at its strongest.
2.If you are not sure if it’s safe, do the shadow test to make an on-the-spot UV estimate. Just look at your shadow; if you can’t see it at all (high noon), dangerous UV rays are reaching you. If your shadow is shorter than you are, you’re in high-UV territory. If your shadow extends way out beyond you, you’re somewhat safer from UVB rays, although UVA rays remain in effect all day, every day.
3.Wear clothes made from tightly woven fabric and a hat, which shades the face, neck and ears.
4. Buy a sunscreen which offers protection from both UVA and UVB rays. Use at least SPF15. Don’t be fooled by SPF30. It does not give you double the protection of SPF15; it gives you only 3% more protection.
5. Throw away last year’s sun screen, as sun screen properties can change with time, especially in extreme heat.
6. Wear protective sunglasses, as UV rays can cause cataracts and damage to the retina.
7. Use lip balm of SPF15 for your lips to protect the vulnerable skin from cancers.
8. Sun protection is very important for babies, children and teenagers. Babies fewer than six months of age are too young for sun screen and should simply be kept out of direct sunlight as much as possible.
9. Avoid tanning beds. They carry all the risks of natural sunlight.
10. Use sunless tanning products from department or drug stores to achieve the ”bronzed” look. •
Dawn Lang is a wellness and lifestyle consultant, exercise therapist, and owner of Prescriptive Fitness. She has a Master of Arts Degree in Health and Wellness Management and over ten years of experience as a Certified Fitness Instructor, Personal Trainer and CPR Instructor. She consults clients about health cost containment methods, health risk appraisals, claims audit analysis and behavior change/modification. Dawn can be reached at: jlang@in.net
Join the FREE Fitness Club Now for Weight loss, Strength and Fat Burning Workouts!
BACK TO ARTICLES