As long as we know that even a reduced level of exposure to ultraviolet rays could prove harmful to the body, there is serious concern about the safety of sunless tanning salons. The tricky issue with the lamps and tanning equipment used in sunless tanning salons is the intensity of the radiation that is directed at the user. The skin is actually absorbing much larger amounts of radiation than when simply enjoying the outdoors on a sunny day.
An incorrect assumption many users make is that only UVA rays are used in sunless tanning salons. Well, that’s really far from the truth, as there are also small amounts of UVB that get produced and this small percentage contributes to plenty of skin cancer cases.
Getting sunburns is no longer the nastiest side effect we should fear from exposure to ultraviolet rays. There are more dramatic problems to be considered, and our lack of knowledge will surely not make them vanish into thin air. You have to shield not just your skin, but your eyes and your overall body system as such.
Statistics indicate that the skin has a defensive reaction to the ultraviolet rays of the sun through the secretion of melanin. Moreover, natural sunlight causes the skin to become thick. Such “defenses” against radiation are missing from the body’s reaction to the UVA rays used in sunless tanning salons. Scientists report that the odds of getting skin cancer are 5% higher for people who use sunless tanning salons only once in a while, and the risk gets higher with more frequent exposure.
Sunless tanning salons that do not have step by step indications on how to use the equipment and goggles to protect your eyes from the radiation could be a threat to your health. Maybe they offer cheap services, but your health deserves better. In some sunless tanning salons, a towel is used as the only eye protection from the impact of the ultraviolets. This can be very dangerous.
Even though the dangers of sunless tanning salons have been widely talked about, their services are still more popular than outdoor sun tanning even during the summer months. More than two million Americans choose to go tanning every day particularly during winter. At the same time, studies show an alarming rate of melanoma, the most serious form of cancer that can affect the human body. In the United States alone, one million people develop some form of skin cancer, and the highest rate has been reported in the regions with more intense ultraviolet exposure.