I live in the north...not too much sunshine this time of year. What are your thoughts on tanning beds to get that much needed sun?
Thanks!

i love the tanning bed! i live in ireland and even when the sun does come out here, its too cold to enjoy. i go for 10 minutes 1x a week. its the only sun i get unless i leave the country.

I live in the north too, up here in Canada but I wouldn't use a tanning bed ever... done a bunch of googling just to confirm my thoughts on the harmful effects of using a tanning bed...

A study conducted in Sweden helps to prove that tanning beds are a major factor in the development of malignant melanoma.The data concluded that the people who used tanning beds more than 10 times a year were seven times more likely to develop malignant melanoma than those who did not use tanning beds as often. The study also concluded that melanoma risks are increased by 300% for those using tanning beds occasionally, and that the risks increase by 800% for those who use tanning beds more than 10 times a year.

To get Vitamin D from sunlight this time of year I make sure that I walk outside for atleast a half-hour per day... much healthier because you are also getting your much needed excercise and this helps ease the winter blues too. Even on a cloudy day, you will still get the important benefits of the sun.

Cheers,

"Tanning" your skin via natural sunlight or a tanning bed is not safe. The act of tanning your skin is DNA damage.

"the best protection from a burn is a tan."

i get a moderate amount of sun in the summer time, barely any colour. and in the winter if i get the saddies i will visit a tanning salon. 5 minutes in a stand up bed (do NOT go in a laydown bed, you can easily get tinnia versicolor, a skin bacteria). i barely get any colour at all from going for that long, even once a week which is more than i usually go, if at all. i cover my face as well to avoid any possible wrinkling (and proper eye protection of course).

we do need sunlight in our lives, it isn't the enemy. too much is not terrific but none is terrible for us too. everything in moderation. i wonder how LONG the people tanned in that study mentioned by ferg. probably way longer than 5 minutes once in a while.

Isn't "full spectrum" light therapy an alternative?

UVB is sunlight is what creates Vitamin D. You only need 15 to 20 min a day of exposure to get enough Vitamin D. I don't think that such a short term exposure will harm you even in a tanning bed.

Yes, it will.

The matrix metalloproteinases that break down skin collagen will stay elevated with only 5 minutes of exposure every other day in the fair skin types (takes another 5 minutes for each succesive phototype).

UVA tanning beds are especially bad, because the action spectrum for skin sagging peaks in the UVA range.

I always protect my face, neck, and hands. Chest, too, if I am wearing a revealing top. I don't use sunscreen on my legs, though.

Personal opinion: You're probably better off just bathing outside....in what sun there is.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

well, the fact is we do not know whether it is good or bad,

so not knowing

is that the same as bad?

Then, next the question is,

" Do I care if it is "possibly" bad for me?"

you might not, you might be young and the damage, if any, might not do anything at all.

but if you care for your skin, long term, if you do..

you might want to think about your fresh skin now and how much you like it.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/26/2007 01:43AM by coconutcream.