A tan is your bodies response to UV light. Your skin darkens because of an increase in the production of a compound called melanin. This is produced to prevent further UV damage. Melanin absorbs the ulight in the UV range and thereby protects the skin. Though some immediate tanning may take place the whole process of tanning takes place over 5-7 days. However just because you have a nice tan doesn't mean that your skin is protected from harmful UV rays.

There is a general belief that a well tanned body is a healthy body. This is incorrect. It actually means that you have been exposed to harmful UV rays in the past and if proper steps are not taken this could lead to amongst other things skin burning and skin cancer.

A very bothersome fact is that now days not only are people trying to get tanned in the Sun but a large number of tanning parlours and home tanning equipment are available which expose people to dangerous levels of UV rays.

The following pages choose to explain certain facts about tanning, its history, ways of prevention, and its harmful effects.

         

   

©Copyright 1998 Elizabeth Beckett, Holly Bernitt, and Vishwa Chandra.