WHY IS INDOOR TANNING
"SMART TANNING?"
Indoor tanning, for those who can develop a tan, is the sensible way to minimize the risk of sunburn while maximizing the enjoyment and benefit of having a tan. We call this “smart tanning” because tanners are taught by trained tanning facility personnel on how their skin type reacts to sunlight, as well as how to avoid getting a sunburn both outdoors and in a salon.
Tanning in a professional facility minimizes risk because indoor tanning is government regulated in the United States and Canada. In the United States, exposure times for every tanning session are established by a schedule present on every piece of equipment. Exposure times take into account both the tanner’s skin type and the intensity of the equipment, this then delivers a dosage of sunlight designed to minimize the risk of sunburn. The schedule, as regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada, also takes into account how long an individual has been tanning, and gradually increases exposure times in order to minimize the possibility of burning.
This kind of control is impossible when tanning outdoors, where variables including seasonality, time of day, weather conditions, reflective surfaces and altitude all make outdoor tanning a random act and sunburn prevention more difficult. You can learn more about benefits of tanning at www.tanningtruth.com.
TANNING IS A NATURAL PROCESS TO YOUR BODY - NOT "DAMAGE"
Tanning is your body’s natural protection against sunburn—it is what your body is designed to do. Many have referred to this process as “damage” to your skin, but calling a tan “damage” is a dangerous oversimplification. Here are some reasons why:
Saying tanning is damaging to your skin is lik saying exercising is damaging to your muscles. When you exercise you are actually tearing tiny muscle fibers in your body. To some, that could be called “damage.” However, that “damage” is your body’s natural way of building stronger muscle tissue. Therefore, to call exercise “damaging” to muscles would be terribly deceiving. The same idea can be applied to sun exposure: Your body is designed to repair any damage to the skin caused by ultraviolet light exposure. Developing a tan is the body’s natural way to protect against the dangers of sunburn and further exposure.
To say that any ultraviolet light exposure causes skin damage is an oversimplification. This would be similar to saying that since water causes drowning, humans should avoid water. Yes, water does cause drowning, but our bodies also need water; we would die without it. Similarly, we need sun exposure; we would die without it.
It is the professional indoor tanning industry’s position that sunburn prevention is a more effective message than sun avoidance, which ultimately encourages abuse. It is a responsible, honest approach to the issue.