Although general society perceives a golden tan to be "healthy," health professionals would disagree, identifying a tan with skin damage. Despite warnings from health professionals to avoid overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, the use of tanning beds to achieve the coveted golden glow is on the rise. However, with long-term overexposure to UV rays (also categorized as UVA and UVB) skin problems will develop.
Wrinkles
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation causes premature aging of the skin, giving it a wrinkled, leathery appearance. Elastosis, the natural aging destruction of the elastic tissue within the skin, is accelerated with overexposure to UV radiation causing premature lines and wrinkles.
Skin Allergies
Those who use tanning beds on a regular basis can develop an allergic reaction when tanning. This reaction usually develops in the form of a rash or bumps on the skin.
Skin Discoloration
Undergoing UVA and UVB light exposure from tanning beds leads to age spots (solar lentigines), sun spots, liver spots, poikiloderma (reddish--brown areas of discoloration) and melasma (mottled brownish areas). This discoloration of the skin is due to the UV radiation damaging the melanocytes, the cells in the epidermis that produce melanin pigment.
Actinic Keratoses
Overexposure to UV radiation from tanning beds may cause pre-cancerous lesions that are dry, scaly, rough-textured patches that form on the outermost layer of the skin. The color of the lesions are on a spectrum ranging from a skin-toned shade to reddish brown and can grow up to the size of a quarter. "Actinic" is a Greek word "aktis" meaning radiant energy producing chemical change causing the skin to become hard and calloused, "keratoses."
Skin Cancer
Long term exposure to UV radiation found in tanning beds can lead to skin cancer---the abnormal growth of skin cells. There are three types of skin cancer ranging from the least to the most serious, Basal Cell Carcinoma, Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Melanoma. In response to the increased use of tanning beds and the exponential rise in skin cancer, The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has ranked UV tanning beds to its highest level of cancer risk category, which is "Carcinogenic to Humans."
