Despite misconceptions about a safe tanning, a new study had categorically confirmed that there is no such thing as a safe tan.
The study, conducted by GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) and published in the journal Nature Communications, found for the first time that ‘tanning’ (UV-induced melanin formation), commonly thought to protect the skin to some degree from skin cancer, directly increases the risk of melanoma formation.
The study managed for the first time to completely separate the effects of UVA and UVB damage to the skin using a unique UV light system.
They found that UV induction of melanin, as a melanoma-causing agent, works when skin is exposed only to UVA and not UVB radiation.[quote]This finding is especially relevant to the use of sun beds, as sun beds emit up to 12 times more UVA light than the sun. Melanin plus UVA is known to cause photo-oxidation, a suspected mechanism for the formation of melanoma.[/quote]