We did it when we were young. But we didn’t know any better. Humans know more now and I, for one, wouldn’t dream of doing it today. I’m talking about tanning.
Even though I’m notoriously sun shy, I still wouldn’t tan even if I had the resilient hide of a hippo. Sure, we need sunshine (or vitamin D anyway) to survive but that doesn’t make laying under hot beams of light a better idea. Yet, there’s Gen Z, ages 14-29 right now, sizzling in the sun until they brown and crisp like rotisserie chickens. I live in a beach town so I can confirm a Star story about this generation’s* love for tanning and dismissal of sun science.
TikTok Says It’s Okay – What’s the Problem?
The reasons young folks are taking to tans are superficial and heavily influenced by, well, influencers:
- A tan makes you look better in pictures.
- It’s slimming.
- It reminds you of summer.
- Sunscreen is a myth devised by big pharma.
In horror, I watched an Instagram video of a woman who claims we’ll look back one day and realize sunscreen was the cause of skin cancer, not a preventive measure. (Thousands share this view.) Others mix common household ingredients in their kitchens and claim they’re just as effective as major sunscreen brands. Who knew baking soda blocked UVA and UVB rays? Well, it doesn’t. I make my own DIY shower spray but that’s as far as I’m willing to go as a home product replicator. Sunscreens are tested and approved by scientists, you know, like Dr. Fauci. People with credentials and experience and wisdom. It’s become cool to dismiss science in place of a gut feeling.
Those of us who tanned in our younger years are now seeing its long-term effects. Dark patches on the skin. Furrowed wrinkles. Some of that stuff comes with aging but a lot of it comes from too much time in the sun. When I started having issues with my sensitive skin in my late twenties and early thirties, a dermatologist taught me about sunscreen. She showed me how much to apply –a lot more than you think –and the prevailing wisdom back then was it would last all day. We now know that isn’t true. Reapplication is a must.
A Tan is the Skin’s Cry for Help
The skin doesn’t darken because it wants your eyes to pop in photos. It’s sending out pigment to protect the body from an assault. Tan skin isn’t healthier, it’s in crisis mode, trying to fend off an invader. The sun is breaking down collagen and damaging DNA. Just check out the sun damage on lower layers of my face even though I’ve been a shade person for decades. Once the damage is done, it’s permanent.
So, what’s going to happen to these young tanmaxxers when they get older? First, let’s hope they get older. Our dear friend Kent died last year after a brief battle against melanoma. I don’t know his sunshine history and skin cancer can absolutely develop apart from sun tanning. But it’s the major risk factor. So why increase the odds?
When I feel my legs look a little pasty, I use a self-tanning lotion to give them colour. Like diseased lungs on cigarette packs, maybe showing your fave Gen Z THESE PHOTOS will change their minds. They prove the stark difference between the skin of twin sisters at age 61. One tanned, one didn’t. The future might seem like it’s a long way off for these young tanning fans but it will come. For their sakes, I hope it doesn’t come with a bunch of health problems that could have been easily prevented.
*A huge generalization to be sure but statistically, they’re most likely to bake to get tanned.
Many years ago, I had one of those ultraviolet photos taken. I was shocked to see what was really happening underneath my skin even though I have never been a sun worshipper. I just can’t tolerate the intense heat on my body. But, like many people who are my age, we just didn’t know any better in the seventies and eighties. As far as I can remember, sunscreen wasn’t really a thing back then.
Lisa, you nailed it when you said, “it’s become cool to dismiss science.” Unfortunately, too many people think their youtube videos are more important and informative than our scientists.
Great blog, Lisa. Thanks.
You’re right that sunscreen wasn’t a thing back then. Sun tanning lotion sure was! Let’s take the sun and make it bake us even more!! I can still smell Coppertone when I think about it. It had an SPF factor of 2. Thanks, Claire.
Sunblock is the work of Big Pharma???
You think you’ve heard every conspiracy theory, but then a new one comes along!
I had the same childhood as you did — everybody tanned, and a deep tan was seen as healthy.
But you know what adults do? They change their minds when they get new and better information.
Exactly, Dan. Yeah, there’s a whole bunch out there claiming sunblock is the cause of melanoma. They’re not scientists, they’re trolling for clicks. Welcome to the new world order.
As an esthetician and someone who works with skin all day, every day, I am horrified at the young kids decisions these days. My own 16 year old has actively been working on her tan all summer, much to my dismay. I always say, “do you want to be hot when you’re young or hot when you’re old?” I even took away her products that are supposed to help with her acne because of the potential risks to mix them with UV exposure. Yup, she’d rather have pimples and a tan then have clear, porcelain skin. You can lead them to water, but you can’t make them drink!
Oh no, Rachael, but that just shows the power of the will of teenagers! You can only do what you can. Hopefully, she’ll come around.
I tried to tan with baby oil. Never worked – just burn, peel, fade. I gave up. Then I developed rosacea. I looked like Rudolph most of the time with flaming red cheeks. I wonder what my skin would look like in one of those photos. Lots of medications can make you sensitive to the sunlight, for example, some for treating my rosacea. Wishing those tan-maxxers the best of luck & I sure hope they won’t need it later in life.
Oh baby oil! Yes, that was our go-to as well. I use a product that reacts to the sun that way. Honestly, if I could go out in a completely sun-repellent body suit, including a hood, I would!
Some light switch within me flipped just a few years ago – I think it was when I started paying big money for painful laser treatments and a chemical peel – just how careless it was not to wear sunscreen. My big issue was how the lotion made my skin break out. Then I started using baby and child sunscreen: gentle but also high SPF. before better brands for adults became available. In summary, it took ’til my 50s to come to my senses (where my face is concerned). I’ve only just learned to put it on 20 minutes before going out, then reapply within an hour or so. Expensive? Yes. So are the products I’ve bought or processes undergone to try to reduce some of the damage. And skin cancer? What would we pay NOT to get it? As for the so-called influencers who are ruining so many lives, what’s the old saying? “Too soon old, too late smart.” Beauty is skin deep, but stupid goes right to the bone. We never think we’ll get old, and not taking care of our body’s largest organ (yes, the skin) can sure help make that a reality.
You are so right. I believe I was just lucky to have learned about sunscreen earlier. I’ve endured the stares of onlookers as I’ve slathered it on every couple of hours, say, on a European vacation! But I don’t care. (I do try to be discreet!) I saw a man yesterday with a nose cover attached to his sunglasses and I thought, how brilliant is that? Maybe he’s already had basal cells removed. Let’s normalize covering up when we need to!