Fake Bake Debate

At this year's Oscars actress Anne Hathaway stood out not just because of her gorgeous red Marchesa gown but because of the creamy pale skin she wore under it. If her decision to appear sans tan was an attempt to send a signal that tanning is losing its glamorous glow, her timing couldn't be better, dermatologists say.

This is just the time of year when the temptation to hit a tanning salon is highest, particularly for women, who make up an estimated 70 percent of tanning customers. With prom and wedding season around the corner, and beach weekends not far off, a lot of women think they need some "healthy color" to look their best. But dermatologists say that there is no such thing as a healthy "real" tan. "A tan is essentially an injury to the skin," says Dr. Henry Lim, chairman of the department of dermatology at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. "Tanning is just a reaction by the skin to try and protect itself."

While most people know they have to slather on sunscreen (SPF15 or above) whenever they're in the sun for more than a few minutes, there's a lot of confusion about the relative merits and risks of tanning salons. Promoters say tanning machines are healthy because they emit mostly ultraviolet A (UVA) rays and just 5 percent UVB rays, which cause most sunburns. But dermatologists say there's a growing stack of research that UVA rays are more damaging than originally thought. The UVA rays generated by tanning beds penetrate much deeper into the skin than the sun does, says Lim. For people concerned about their skin's appearance, that's a big problem, since most prematurely wrinkled, spotted and leathery skin can be blamed on exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

More worrisome is the increased risk of skin cancer associated with UV rays. Sunburns have long been associated with skin cancer, and Dr. Scott Fosko, chairman of dermatology at St. Louis University School of Medicine, says people can get burned in tanning salons as well as from the sun. "The tanning industry says tanning beds are a safe way to get a tan, but I see a lot of people who use tanning beds who get burned," he says. "They are not foolproof." Those with the lightest skin need to be the most careful.

But even if you don't get burned, skin experts say UVA rays' deep penetration into the skin causes genetic damage and increases the risk of squamous-cell, basal-cell and malignant melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer. Dermatologists are particularly distressed at the growing number of younger people developing melanoma and other skin cancers. A recent review of skin cancer studies, conducted by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, concluded that people under 35 who use tanning beds increase their risk of developing melanoma by 75 percent. Meanwhile, the Indoor Tanning Association countered this unfavorable news by launching a media blitz in March accusing dermatologists of fearmongering and stressing the positive benefits of sun exposure, including the natural production of vitamin D. Their new Web site, also launched in March, goes as far as to say "there is no compelling evidence that UV exposure causes melanoma."

Many people start using tanning beds when they're teenagers, researchers say. A 2003 study done at Case Western Reserve University found that nearly 40 percent of white American teens have used a tanning bed at least once, and 47 percent of 18- and 19-year-olds say they've used them repeatedly. "A lot of these places set up shop close to schools and place ads in the school newspapers," Fosko says. That's one reason most states have instituted age restrictions and some now require parental permission or presence on site. This type of regulation has limited effect, however. Not only is enforcement spotty, Fosko says research indicates that many kids get hooked on tanning because their parents are regular customers.