Tanning Under Lights

February 2007
ISBN: 978-0-662-49975-6
Cat. No.: H128-1/07-505
HC Pub: 4596

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If you think going to a tanning salon is a safe way to tan, THINK AGAIN!

By learning the facts about tanning now, you can protect yourself from skin cancer later in life.

There is no safe way to tan. A tan from the sun's rays or under lights in a tanning salon will damage your skin.

Do you know what a tan is?

It's when melanin (a substance inside your skin) turns dark. This happens when your skin is exposed to ultraviolet (UV) rays. Two kinds of UV rays can cause tanning: UVA and UVB. When your skin turns darker, it is telling you that damage has been done.

People at tanning salons may tell you their lights are safe. The fact is, their lights may give off five times as much UVA as the sun. Did you know that UV exposure is linked to skin cancer and is responsible for sunburn, eye damage and premature skin aging?

UV rays from tanning lamps have the same effects as UV from the sun!

Safety Tips

• Try to find other ways to look tanned. You can apply a cream that will colour your skin and give you the appearance of a tan.
  
  
• Feel good about your real skin colour.
  
  
• Getting a tan under the lights BEFORE you go south in the winter will NOT protect your skin in the tropics. Use a broad spectrum sunscreen with at least SPF 15 when you travel south.
  
  
• If you still want to use tanning lights, always protect your eyes by wearing goggles (eye protectors) that must be available from the salon.
  
  
• Try to convince your teenagers not to use tanning salons.

FOR MORE INFORMATION,
contact the Consumer and Clinical Radiation Protection Bureau of Health Canada at 613-954-6699.

www.healthcanada.gc.ca/ccrpb