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Our strict policy is to take a very conservative approach to tanning and UV exposure. We control the time with a close watch on the limits placed by the manufacturers recommended maximum exposure time. Our beds are the latest technology, not the old roasters that put out unpredicatble amounts of UVB.
Quote from the American Family Physician website.
Risk Factors
Numerous risk factors for the development of melanoma have been identified, including sun sensitivity, white skin, fair hair, light eyes, tendency to freckle, family history of melanoma, dysplastic nevi, increased numbers of typical nevi, large congenital nevi (Figure 1), and immunosuppression.4 The risk associated with sun exposure is not completely clear. Although sun exposure is a risk factor for melanoma, cutaneous melanomas can arise frequently in areas of the body not exposed to the sun (Figure 2). Sunburn and intermittent sun exposure increase the risk of melanoma, but cumulative and occupational sun exposure do not appear to increase risk.5 Sun exposure in childhood and having more than one blistering sunburn in childhood are associated with an increased risk of melanoma.6
According to data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program of the National Cancer Institute, from 1995 to 1999 the annual age-adjusted incidence of melanoma was 20 per 100,000 persons among whites.2 The incidence was higher in men (24.4 per 100,000 persons) than in women (16.8 per 100,000 persons).
American Family Physician
http://www.aafp.org/afp/2005/0715/p269.html
In Blacks and Hispanics melanoma numbers are virtually nonexsistant since they have their own tan and thus are protected. Also Men are twice as likely to get melanoma. Women are the people who tan most of the time, 78 percent of tanners are women. Men are more likely to spend intermitant time in the sun and get burned badly.
The reason we opened, was to provide a clean, time controlled place to get some "sunshine" and a base tan so we didnt BURN when we went outside to enjoy ourselves on vacation or in daily life. I certainly dont want to spend my life hiding from the great outdoors. And we really don't want to endanger our health by burning.
Remember way back when "Sun screen" was called tanning lotion? The manufacturers found that it is a lot easier to sell the stuff if you can scare people into thinking they will not live (literally) without their product. "Sunblock" is now a MULTI BILLION dollar industry with powerful lobby in Washington DC. The more afraid they can make everyone of sunshine and tanning beds the more product they can sell.
With a good base tan we dont have to coat ourselves in expensive chemicals that we cannot pronounce or wear head to toe garments to be protected from the sun. Our natural protection (a tan) works pretty good when we are outside being active and enjoying all the fun the great summer weather has to offer.
Science agrees that a tan protects you from sun damage, but they say getting one is bad? How does that work? I don't think we were created that way.
In the winter we tan so that we get some "sun" when the latitude we live at doesnt provide us much opportunity. It is very hard to believe that moderate amounts of sunshine are bad for us.
Are we saying go outside unprotected from the sun this summer? NO! Burning is very bad. Burning is an unnatural result of spending too much time indoors then going out in the sun unprotected. If you do wear sunblock outside make sure it is "full spectrum sunblock". Most sunblock just filters the uvb and you will spend way too much time in the sun with no protection from the uva, in this case sunblock would be blamed for your extreme overexposure. Also bring a lot of it, to be properly protected with sunblock you must apply about 1/5 of the bottle to you on each application and that has to be done quite often.
If you sit inside for months and turn pale as milk and then go outside, you will burn from lack of any natural protection. If we could spend small amounts of time outdoors, little by little we would have built up some protection naturally. We can accomplish the same thing in a tanning bed.
Show us a healthy person who spends all their time indoors and never gets sunlight.
FAQ's on Indoor Tanning a sane balanced viewpoint.
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