For years, dermatologists have tried to spread the word that tanning beds are actually worse for your skin than the natural sun. New research backs up this warning. A recent study showed that the risk of skin cancer jumps by 75 percent when people start using tanning beds before age 30 and that using tanning beds caused about a 20 percent increased relative risk of developing melanoma, the deadliest kind of skin cancer. This is because the sun contains UVA and UVB while tanning beds contain mostly UVA.

UVA is a form of ultraviolet light that penetrates deeply in the skin leading to brown spots, wrinkles and skin cancer. (See: Top 5 Causes of Skin Aging.) It penetrates more deeply into the skin than UVB. Unfortunately, UVA rays do not cause immediate redness like UVB rays, therefore, the person exposed to UVA does not have a visible sign that the damage is occurring. UVB rays are also harmful; however, your skin needs them to make Vitamin D. (UVA does not aid in synthesizing Vitamin D.) 

For years, sunscreen did not contain UVA blockers -- it only had UVB blocking agents. Many felt that UVB-only sunscreens were dangerous because they gave people a false sense of security which encouraged them to spend more time in the sun without protection from UVA. This may be one of the reasons that the incidence of skin cancer is rising. Luckily, many sunscreens now contain both UVA and UVB coverage.

The bottom line:
If you must tan, use natural sun and do not go to tanning beds. When exposed to natural sunlight, the redness that occurs from UVB exposure tells you when it is time to go inside. Most tanning beds emit UVA rays only, so they do not produce a warning signal. This lack of redness leads many to falsely believe that tanning beds are safer than natural sun, but they simply aren't.

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Dr. Baumann is author of the best-selling book, " The Skin Type Solution." To learn more about her revolutionary skin typing system, visit her Web site, SkinTypeSolutions.com. 

All of Dr. Baumann's recommended skin care products are available online, and a portion of proceeds goes to The Dermatology Foundation.

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