Health

How Do Indoor Tanning Facilities Teach Sunburn Prevention?

The indoor tanning industry is at the forefront in educating people how to successfully avoid sunburn over the course of one’s life. In fact, studies of indoor tanners have shown consistently that indoor tanning customers, once they begin tanning in a professional salon, are up to 81 percent less likely to sunburn than they were before they started tanning.

Consider that sunburn incidence in the general population has been steadily increasing. Sunburn increased 9 percent from 1986-1996, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), and the sub-group most likely to burn was older men.

We believe that teaching people strictly to avoid the sun may be making them more likely to sunburn when they do go outside for summer activities – and everyone does go outdoors at some point.
Consider:

    1. Tanning is your body’s natural defense mechanism against sunburn. Indoor tanners have activated this defense against burning; non-tanners are more vulnerable when they inevitably do go outdoors.
    2. Indoor tanners are educated at professional tanning facilities how to avoid sunburn outdoors, how to use sunscreens appropriately and how to properly moisturize their skin.

When you also consider that the majority of people who sunburn are male, according to the AAD, and that 65-70 percent of indoor tanning customers are female, clearly, it is non-tanners who are doing most of the burning outdoors. In the war against sunburn, tanning salons are part of the solution. Those who abstain from sun exposure completely are more likely to sunburn when they inevitably do go outdoors, even if they attempt to wear sunscreen.

Why Indoor Tanning Is “Smart Tanning”

Indoor tanning, for individuals who can tan, is an intelligent way to minimize the risk of contracting sunburn while maximizing the enjoyment and benefit of having a tan. Again, we call this SMART TANNING because tanners are taught by trained tanning facility personnel how their skin type reacts to sunlight and how to avoid sunburn outdoors, as well as in a salon.

Tanning in a professional facility today minimizes risk because commercial tanning salons in the United States and in most Canadian provinces are regulated by the government. In the United States, exposure times for every tanning session are established by a schedule present on every piece of equipment that takes into account the tanner’s skin type and the intensity of the equipment to deliver a dosage of sunlight designed to minimize the risk of sunburn. The schedule, regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, also takes into account how long an individual has been tanning, increasing exposure times gradually to minimize the possibility of burning.

That kind of control is impossible 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.

Resources

Here are some websites you can go to for further information:

Smart Tan Certification

All of our tanning associates are smart tan certified. The smart tan certification is the benchmark for professional indoor tanning training. With the highest qualification standards in the industry, Smart Tan’s certification program is recognized nationwide and approved in all states that require training. The program is updated annually, and is internationally recognized as an excellent resource. Certification provides the knowledge that every tanning operator needs:

  • Tanning History
  • The Science of Tanning
  • Ultraviolet Light and Health
  • Skin Type Assessment
  • Minimizing the Health Risks of Tanning
  • Indoor Tanning Equipment
  • Tanning Law
  • Salon Professionalism

In an article for the Huffington Post, Christiane Northrup, MD, suggests boosting vitamin D levels to prevent breast cancer and even goes so far as to suggest tanning indoors to stimulate vitamin D production. Northrup says that, based on recent research linking higher vitamin D levels with decreased risk for breast cancer, it’s important for women to know their vitamin D level and take steps to boost vitamin D if they are deficient. She notes that it is difficult to get all the vitamin D needed from food sources, and suggests supplements and regular sun exposure—including visiting a tanning salon that offers UVB tanning rays.