There is a saying in the south, “Tan fat is better than pale fat”, meaning that a person who is overweight, but tan is more attractive than an overweight person without a tan. Since skin cancer was found to correlate with the amount of time spent in the sun, the sunscreen market boomed, and people began looking elsewhere for tanning.
The fear of skin cancer pushed many people into “fake baking”, using sunless tanners to get that sought after perfect tan. Most of the no-sun lotion tanners are more apt to turn a person orange than tan. Spray tanning has also increased in popularity. Once only for Hollywood stars, it is now available to the general public, either at home, or in a salon. In the 70’s, the tanning bed introduced the world to a safe alternative to tanning outside. Then in the 90’s, Arizona State University created a synthetic hormone called Melanotan that allows tanning with minimal sun exposure via subcutaneous injection.
The Tanning Salon
Tanning salons generally offer a variety of services, including tanning beds and airbrush tanning. Tanning beds were introduced in the 70s, and are designed to provide UVA and UVB skin exposure through light bulbs which in turn causes the body to produce melanin, a skin pigment that aids in the tanning process. Unfortunately, tanning beds are not “safer” than the sun as was originally thought. There are many factors that would make the tanning bed prohibitive for many people:
Tanning beds produce the same harmful UV rays that the sun produces.
Can be costly because you will have to return periodically to retain tan.
Tanning beds have been linked to the same dangerous skin cancers as the sun.
Airbrush tanning is a relatively new process to the public that can be done at home, or professionally in most tanning salons. The tanning spray works with amino acids in the skin so that the tan looks more natural. The customer chooses the shade of tan that he/she wants, and then step into a booth that sprays them evenly. Airbrush tanning can have its problems though.
It can be expensive, and take multiple sessions to get and keep the perfect tan.
It does not protect you from the sun.
The chemical DHA found in the tanning solution has not been approved by the FDA.
Melanotan
New to the public and still relatively unknown is a tanning product called Melanotan. Melanotan, is a synthetic hormone injected subcutaneously that makes the body produce melanin. It is thought of as a safer alternative because it requires much less exposure to UV rays than traditional tanning or using a tanning bed.
After years of testing, this product has still not been approved by the FDA.
It requires multiple injections done by the user to achieve the perfect tan.
It does not protect from skin cancer.
10 average doses could cost more than $50 plus additional for syringes, alcohol swabs, sterile water to mix it with, and shipping.
Only available through an online distributor.
Will Melanotan kill the Tanning Salon?
Tanning salons have been around for a very long time, and even after decades of testing, Melanotan has not deemed safe for public use. There are many people who are willing to do anything to achieve that beautiful tan, however, potentially having to inject oneself with this chemical very regularly will ward off many people. Melanotan has been on the market for a while by Melanotan US, and tanning salons are still alive and kicking, so it’s doubtful that they will disappear anytime soon. Of course, not being tan is coming into fashion, and if that gains in popularity, then the whole tanning industry may be in trouble.
Posted in: Tanning