I wish tanning bed where never invented! My Mom bought one 5 years ago and since then she has had 14 cancer spots removed. Her doctor told her that if she keeps tanning in the bed that the cancer will evetually spread bad to where they won't be able to remove it. Makes me sad! Be careful!
Exactly my point. There is no problem with sun exposure as long as you wear sun block that has an SPF of at least 35 (before I became allergic I wore 50). And there are plenty of people who get skin cancer and don't even go to the docs until its too late, because most of the time it just looks like moles. Even in the lab we are required to wear safty goggles that block out UV rays when working with DNA samples. That is on top of a shield that removes 99% of the rays to begin with. We also never put our hands in the light unless we have protective gloves on. I mean... if scientists aren't doing it, why would anyone else? When did looking "pretty" override health?
In band there was a big joke that tanning fries your ovaries... I tan so easily anyway- I have an olive-ish complexion and I can wear SPF 45 and still tan really darkly if I'm outside for more than an hour. I think tanning outside is better anyway.. it might take longer but I can read and nap and wake up feeling good. Tanning in a tanning bed is probably safer for darker complexioned people (especially people with dark hair) but if you're pale then it's just stupid. I've only gotten one sunburn in my entire life and that was on Cape Cod because I bodysurfed too much and then fell asleep on my stomach for a few hours so then the backs of my legs and my arse was burned on a 10 hour car ride from the Cape to Virginia. Ick.
The only difference between tanning beds and natural sun is the rate at which you burn (supposedly). In natural light there are UVA and UVB rays, UVB rays are the ones which cause sun burns. In tanning beds, there are less UVB rays than in natural light. HOWEVER, it is the UVA rays that make you tan, and actually penetrate deeper into the skin than the UVB. These have been proven to be linked directly to malignant melanoma. So your risk of burn may be less in a tanning bed (unless there are new bulbs), but your risk of cancer may be increased.
I don't think that they are safe in the least bit. I'm not stupid or delusional. I still go to them because I find it to be extremely relaxing and it helps clear my skin up (nothing in the last 24 years has been able to do) and it helps me greatly with my depression. Pretty much its my body and if I want to kill it then cool.
I still think that if you are careful and use SPF protection according to your skin type and don't overdo it, they are safe enough.
