There is no such thing as a stupid question, and when you are learning about something new, ask away! You’re bound to have many questions, and you will never know the answers until you ask.
There is a lot to learn about tanning, so I have compiled a list of questions that you might be asking, along with answers!
Top 8 Beginner Tanning Questions:
- How does tanning work?
- Does tanning hurt?
- Will tanning make me more beautiful?
- Sun tanning vs. Tanning beds vs. Spray Tanning
- Which tanning method is safest?
- Does tanning provide Vitamin D?
- Will tanning give me freckles?
- Will tanning give me cancer?
How does tanning work?
- Tanning is not simply going from a pasty white to a beautiful bronze. Your skin is full of melanocytes which produce pigment, or melanin, giving your skin its color. When you are exposed to UV rays, these melanocytes, in turn, produce more pigment as the radiation is absorbed in order to protect you from the damaging UV rays. There’s a lot going on in your skin while you’re turning bronze!
[Back to Top] Does tanning hurt?
- Tanning should not hurt if it’s being done properly! If you are hurting, you are either not adequately protected from UV rays, or you are having a reaction to a chemical in the tanning lotion or spray tan chemical.If you find yourself in pain in a tanning bed, check to see if the lotion you are using contains a tingle ingredient, because many people do not like the feeling it gives them, while others might rave about how good it feels!
[Back to Top] Will tanning make me more beautiful (than I already am)?
- No. Well, this question is a bit controversial given the societal pressures we face to “look our best.” Self-loathing is a bad, and rather pointless thing, so before you take on the hobby of tanning, learn to love the skin you’re in. You wouldn’t want your self confidence all wrapped up in a tan, do you? Tans fade, and true beauty is natural anyway. Tanning is like an accent or a decoration- it’s not the main event.
[Back to Top] Sun tanning vs. Tanning beds vs. Spray tanning: What’s the difference?
- Sun Tanning – Sun tanning is where you lay out in the sun for a couple of minutes to hours to absorb some UV rays to catch a tan, commonly at the beach or in a private backyard. This is the best method to do with friends and is a great excuse to get out and be social!
- Tanning Beds – Tanning beds are coffin-shaped (not as scary as it sounds!) beds that you lay enclosed in while UV rays surround you, interacting with specially-designed tanning lotion to get you a tan in much shorter sessions than laying out in the sun. This method can take a few tanning sessions to show up, but many see results after the first session. Use a good tanning lotion! If you’re unsure, we have a review of the best tanning bed tanning lotions as well as information about tanning bed goggles.
- Spray Tanning – For spray tanning, you step into a booth in your skivvies or birthday suit while a professional spray tan technician uses an airbrush to basically spray paint on you the tan you wish to have. Rather than using UV rays to produce melanin pigment for color, spray tanning uses a different method: Dihydroxyacetone, or DHA. DHA is a chemical that changes the color of dead skin cells located within the epidermis. The results of using DHA can take several hours, so most spray tans also contain a dye so that you can see immediate results.
- [Back to Top]
Which tanning method is safest?
- It depends on what you define as safe. Each method has its downfalls. If it’s up to me, I’d say any form of sunless tanning is the safest, such as a spray tan. You are not being exposed to harmful UV rays that can cause skin damage, or worse; the big C.However, if you are going the DHA chemical route, many argue that this is even more unsafe, causing the production of free radicals in the body; however according to www.skincancer.org, there is no evidence supporting the notion that DHA is unsafe when used as directed as the DHA concentration in tanning products is not high enough.
- [Back to Top]
Does tanning provide Vitamin D?
- The only tanning that can provide you with adequate amounts of vitamin D is suntanning. Yes, tanning beds do use UV rays, but the UV rays that help your body to produce vitamin D are UVB rays, and tanning beds use approximately 95% UVA rays for tanning purposes. If your goal is to get some of that good ol’ sunshine vitamin, stick with sunshine! They say that just 10-15 minutes three days a week in the sun, with your face, arms, back or legs exposed without sunscreen, will give you a perfect dose of vitamin D.
[Back to Top] Will tanning give me freckles?
- Yes, tanning can give you freckles which is one of the reasons that it is so important to wear the appropriate protection for your method of tanning. Tanning can even make existing freckles appear worse, and make hidden or light freckles much more obvious. While the UV rays are interacting with your skin pigment, the rays do not ignore the already-darker spots.
[Back to Top] Will tanning give me cancer?
- It’s hard to say whether or not it will give you cancer, but it certainly can give you skin cancer. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, and this is definitely true when it comes to tanning. When it comes to the sun, take what you need and leave the rest for later! Sunshine will always be there and moderation is key.
[Back to Top]
So now that I have answered some basic tanning questions, I hope I touched on any topics that you had questions about. There is a lot to know about the art of tanning!