Sunday, January 19, 2014

Tanning is bad for you

Throughout history and also nowadays, people perceive tanning in ambiguous way.
A tanned skin might suggest the person who wears it, is a peasant working in the field all day, or a high class person who can afford bathing in the sun while everybody else is working in the office under them neon lights.

Well, young western boys and girls certainly won't care for being mistaken for peasants. They just want to look good, and even if it can be argued differently, most people I know would agree that tanning does make you look better. And the underlying assumption here is that tanning doesn't turn your skin color into burning pink if you know what I mean…

The question we need to ask ourselves is what are the consequences of the exposure to the blistering sun? I'm afraid I don’t have good news for you.

It's no secret that adequate exposure to sun light creates Vitamin D, which mainly helps our body absorbing necessary calcium for our bones, but intentionally exposing our skin to the burning lights of the sun comes with a high price.

And I'm not only talking about cancer. Have you ever seen a surfer boy or a girl at the age of 40? I have to tell you their face is not a pleasant sight. Indeed, their tanned skin was a source for jealousy for many of their non-surfing friends over the years, but now their faces are wrinkled, with deep sun marks. Of course, when you surf you don't really care about anything else but that is for another post.

Tanning is like a double edge sword. Yes you will look better right after bathing in the sun, but a decade or two of accumulated exposure down the line will make your skin look scary…

As always, women (and some men) tend to overlook the long term damage and enjoy the short term benefit of looking good. And it is no different in this case.
I think that young age, together with women's uncontrolled desire to look good are to blame for throwing cautious at the wind.

In light of this burning light, you might turn to tanning beds or indoor tanning as they call it. Well, this is really pushing it. Lying in those sun beds exposes your body to deadly UV rays which significantly increase your chances for cancer.
Wake up women! It's time to draw the line. Yes to looking good – no to health damage.


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