Solarium tips Sunbed risk: what you need to know!Tanning salons advertise with "natural" and "organic" – is that tenable?? We answer 5 important questions about tanning beds& Tan. And give important tanning salon tips.
Light and warmth flatter body and soul, increase our vitality. In the dark season, a visit to the solarium is therefore all too tempting.
In addition, tanned skin is still a sign of beauty and fitness for nearly half of adults.
And so, in a Forsa survey, around 23 percent of women stated that they use a tanning bed at least occasionally to increase their attractiveness. Despite the dangers, from sunburn to skin cancer, of which skin experts warn again and again. But should you therefore strictly avoid the tanning bed?
We've got five important questions and answers, plus tanning tips on how you can reduce your risk.
1. Solarium tip: what speaks for a visit to the tanning bed?
In fact, UV rays can have health benefits. In small doses, they have a soothing effect on skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis – however, radiation should be carried out under medical supervision! In addition, many visitors describe a positive effect on their mood, they say they simply feel better.
However, researchers at the University of Massachusetts came to a completely different conclusion in this regard. They surveyed 74 women between the ages of 19 and 63 who said they had been to the solarium at least ten times in the past year and compared their data with the average population. Result: The test persons tended more frequently to psychological abnormalities. Thus, some of them struggled extremely with physical flaws, suffered from seasonal depression, and exhibited elevated stress levels, Reuters news agency reported.
"In people who go to the tanning bed regularly, we sometimes observe the effect that they want to get tanner and tanner and constantly feel that they don't have enough color," researcher Sherry Pogato, who led the study, told Reuters. This behavior is similar to a body dysmorphic disorder, in which people cannot accept their body as it is. While about one in ten people in the average population suffer from the condition, among tanning salon users it's more than half.
Above all, however, studio operators emphasize that the formation of vitamin D is stimulated in the solarium. Last year, the Robert Koch Institute pointed to a (slight) undersupply of this important bone vitamin in around 57 percent of Germans. UV-B radiation can counteract this deficit. However, in this regard, many experts rather recommend a daily walk of 15 to 20 minutes, during which at least the face and hands remain uncovered (see also the following text boxes).
Solariums apparently not suitable for the better supply of vitamin D
The European Commission and its Scientific Committee on Health, Environment and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) clarifies that the health risks, especially for skin cancer, far outweigh the benefits. Moderate stays are sufficient for the vitamin D formation in the sun, say experts of different fields unanimously. In winter, the vitamin D stored in summer is used by the body. The EU scientists see therefore no necessity to use Solarien for the Vitamin D formation.
The Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) had already published years ago a science-based "Recommendation on UV radiation and vitamin D", which was jointly supported by 19 other professional organizations. In it, "strong, non-medically controlled UV irradiation (sun or solarium) for the purpose of vitamin D formation, self-therapy of a vitamin D deficiency or tanning" is strongly discouraged.
2. Solarium tip: Is the tanning bed healthier than the natural sun??
The radiation used in solariums has a different composition than the UV spectrum of the sun, it is not healthier! Since the short-wave UV-B radiation was long regarded as a trigger for skin cancer, it was largely filtered out of the tubes. However, since it is mainly UV-B radiation that produces the long-lasting tan, the proportion of long-wave UV-A radiation with its rather poor tanning effect had to be increased. Therefore, the tan from the tube often looks "carrot-colored" and fake. Today it is known that UV-A radiation also promotes the development of skin cancer.
Accordingly, doctors from the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer have recently classified exposure to UV radiation as the highest cancer risk level. For example, anyone under the age of 30 who regularly visits a tanning bed increases their risk of skin cancer by 75 percent. Some tanning salon operators are now increasingly using sunlight-like, "natural" UV spectra for their devices. But this does not reduce the skin damage. Data of the working group dermatological prevention e. V. (ADP), new measurements show that the radiation intensity is too high in almost all of the devices examined. In this respect a sun bank titled with "bio" is a deception.
3. Solarium tip: Can I tan gently on a sunbed??
The ADP and other international commissions agree: artificial UV radiation increases the health risk. And: Occurred damages are not to be undone. Since many people already exceed their personal UV dose in the sun, the positive effect that could be achieved, for example, by a moderate use of the artificial sun, is rendered invalid.
Experts therefore advise: do not enjoy more than 50 sunbaths a year, solarium visits should be included in this number.
4. Are there quality checks for solariums?
The ADP deplores the frequent lack of skilled personnel. Result: The consultation over the individual dosage often comes too briefly, even humans with extremely sensitive skin land on the sun bank. Tip: Pay attention to the irradiation intensity! According to an EU directive, new devices may not exceed an intensity of 0.3 W/m2. Use only appropriately labeled devices (ask the staff if in doubt). And: Visit certified tanning salons, such as those with the BfS seal (German Federal Office for Radiation Protection).
5. Solarium tip: What else do I have to watch out for??
– Self-service studios with coin-operated machines should be off limits. – Do not use perfumes, cosmetics, sunscreens before use o. a. – Always wear protective glasses with 100 percent UV protection. – In these cases you should not go to the solarium at all: light skin, freckles, blond or red hair; many or. conspicuous pigmentation marks.
Info: Self-tanner instead of tanning bed
Achieved the tan from the tube for your beauty mostly by a colorless sugar (dihydroxyacetone). The substance reacts with proteins in the outer horny layer of the skin, and within a few hours brown pigments are formed. However, because the cells of the outer layer of skin are constantly renewed, the tan will disappear after about a week. Apart from that, according to "oko-Test" the application is not completely harmless. In a 2009 test, only 3 self-tanning products proved free of (potentially) harmful ingredients such as formaldehyde, polyethylene glycol or diethyl phthalate. Test winner: Lavera Sun sensitiv self-tanner, lotion (Laverana, natural goods store); Annemarie Borlind Sunless Bronze self-tanner (Borlind, health food store); AS Suncare Sun self-tanning milk (Schlecker). Keep self-tanner in a cool place. Use up quickly. Before body lotion or. Apply face cream, this can protect against streaks.