Are Tanning Beds Safe? The Truth from Dr. Karen Nern
David Perez, MS-3
Georgetown University School of Medicine
If you have ever used or considered using a tanning bed, that’s enough exposure! It’s time to close that door for good!
Like sunlight, tanning beds give off ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Your body produces melanin, the pigment that affects skin color, to help protect against the damage that UVR has on DNA.¹ Tanning beds can produce 10 to 15 times more UVR than the sun.²Using a tanning bed just once increases the risk of melanoma—the deadliest form of skin cancer—by 20%, and each additional session per year raises the risk by 1.8%.³ Because of these dangers, many countries have restricted or banned tanning beds.⁴ Board-certified dermatologist Dr. Nern warns, "There’s no such thing as a safe tan from a tanning bed.
Tanning beds can cause different types of skin cancer. Melanoma is responsible for over 80% of skin cancer deaths.⁶ It develops from the cells that produce melanin and can affect all skin tones. Using tanning beds before age 20 increases your risk of melanoma by 47%.⁷ Other common skin cancers, basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), form in the outer layer of the skin.⁸ Indoor tanning raises the risk of BCC by 24% and SCC by 58%.
Not only do tanning beds increase your risk of developing skin cancer, but they can also cause burns, loss of consciousness and eye damage, all of which can require hospital treatment. In addition to these consequences, tanning beds also cause premature skin aging, including the development of wrinkles, fine lines, sagging skin, and age spots. ⁹
If you would like the “bronzed look” without the risk of skin cancer, Dr. Nern advises opting for self-tanning products, which come in various forms including sprays, mousses, and lotions. Self tanning products contain a compound that reacts with the top layer of your skin to create a temporary tan.¹⁰ In addition to being convenient to use, they offer different colors in order to suit different skin complexions. Self-tanning products also allow greater control over the tanning process. The product can be reapplied several times to gradually develop color for a more natural look. They make it possible to avoid unwanted patches of discoloration or tan lines that normally result from excessive sun exposure.
So, next time you think about tanning, we hope you reflect on your skin's well-being and choose
the safe and equally effective alternative – your future self and loved ones will thank you!
References
1 Brenner, M., & Hearing, V. J. (2008). The protective role of melanin against UV damage in
human skin. Photochemistry and photobiology, 84(3), 539–549. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-
1097.2007.00226.x
2
International Agency for Research on Cancer Working Group on artificial ultraviolet (UV) light
and skin cancer (2007). The association of use of sunbeds with cutaneous malignant melanoma
and other skin cancers: A systematic review. International journal of cancer, 120(5), 1116–1122.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.22453
3 Le Clair, M. Z., & Cockburn, M. G. (2016). Tanning bed use and melanoma: Establishing risk
and improving prevention interventions. Preventive medicine reports, 3, 139–144.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2015.11.016
4 Mathes, S., Lindwedel, K. S., Nilsen, L. T., Kaiser, I., Pfahlberg, A. B., & Gefeller, O. (2023).
Global Tanning Bed Advertising: A Comparison of Legal Regulations on Three Continents.
Cancers, 15(17), 4362. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15174362
5 Davis, L. E., Shalin, S. C., & Tackett, A. J. (2019). Current state of melanoma diagnosis and
treatment. Cancer biology & therapy, 20(11), 1366–1379.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15384047.2019.1640032
6 Saginala, K., Barsouk, A., Aluru, J. S., Rawla, P., & Barsouk, A. (2021). Epidemiology of
Melanoma. Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 9(4), 63.
https://doi.org/10.3390/medsci9040063
7 10 surprising facts about indoor tanning. American Academy of Dermatology. (2023, April 26).
https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/skin-cancer/surprising-facts-about-indoortanning#:~:text=Indoor%20tanning%20can%20increase%20the,basal%20cell%20carcinoma%2
0by%2024%25.&text=Using%20tanning%20beds%20before%20age,risk%20increases%20with
%20each%20use
8 Griffin, L. L., Ali, F. R., & Lear, J. T. (2016). Non-melanoma skin cancer. Clinical medicine
(London, England), 16(1), 62–65. https://doi.org/10.7861/clinmedicine.16-1-62
9 Amaro-Ortiz, A., Yan, B., & D'Orazio, J. A. (2014). Ultraviolet radiation, aging and the skin:
prevention of damage by topical cAMP manipulation. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 19(5),
6202–6219. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules19056202
10 Garone, M., Howard, J., & Fabrikant, J. (2015). A review of common tanning methods. The
Journal of clinical and aesthetic dermatology, 8(2), 43–47
