The inevitable evil of tanning

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Sunburn has become one of the most controversial fashion trends in recent years. Now it doesn't matter if you are pale or tanned - the main thing is what theoretical basis you will put under it.

If you don't have time to sunbathe because you work a lot, that's bad. If you do not work, but also do not sunbathe, as you surf the Internet for days on end for your own pleasure, this is stylish, but again bad. It’s also not good if your black tan was earned during hard work in the field. And worst of all, if you spent the whole vacation being treated for burns from the first day.

Now that is good. Fashionable if you get a golden tan in the middle of a snowy winter or at least a month before your vacation. But the best thing is when, after four weeks in the scorching sun, your skin tone remains unchanged, especially if it is due to health care and the use of sunscreens. All conversations on the topic of tanning come down to the question: is it harmful to sunbathe or is it useful?

Aside from purely fashionable considerations that bright makeup looks better on tanned skin, then the answer is unambiguous: nothing ages the skin and does not harm it the way direct sunlight does.

Of course, without sunlight, the body cannot exist, because under the action of ultraviolet radiation, vitamin D is produced in the body. Lack of vitamin D leads to a lack of calcium in the body - hair, nails and, most importantly, bones suffer. But an overdose (more than 0.02 mg) leads to impaired renal function, and what it is is clear to everyone. A sufficient amount of vitamin D (0.01 mg) is produced by daily exposure to the sun for 10 minutes, if only hands and face are open.

Beauty, supposedly obtained from sunburn, disappears in 2-3 months, and diseases accumulate over time. And it would be fine just a disease - but the skin is also rapidly aging. The mechanism in a nutshell looks like this: pigmented cells are more dehydrated, so the upper layers of the skin are less exfoliated, thicken, and as a result, wrinkles appear and become deeper. Plus age spots, which poison life in old age.

In a word, you need to beware. If you want to, there is a whole sunscreen industry at your service. Today there are a great many of them - from cheap ones, including quite effective ones, to expensive multistage series. When choosing, you can be guided by your own feelings, but you need to know something important.

First, pay attention to SPF (literally - sun protection factor). This Latin abbreviation is usually followed by numbers. They suggest how many times the time of safe exposure to the sun increases. That is, multiply these numbers by the few minutes in which your skin does not have time to redden. For white-skinned people, this is usually 10 minutes, for dark-skinned people, a little more. As a result of multiplication, you get a certain period of time, after which the sunscreen must be washed off and reapplied. At the same time, it is not out of place to remember that in water and near water, the effect of sunlight increases, and sunbathing in the shade is much safer for health.

If you decide not to sunbathe at all, use a screening agent with SPF 30. By the way, this is the highest possible degree of protection, and if you come across numbers over 30 - this is just an advertising stunt of manufacturers. Secondly, in the summer it is advisable to use sunscreen all the time, and if you do not, then at least apply it not on the beach, but before leaving the house. Thirdly, even if it is written on the product of your choice that it retains its effect in water, it is better to apply it again after bathing. Fourth, after the cream has expired, remove it: used sunscreen filters only contaminate the skin. Well, do not forget about basic protective equipment - dark glasses, a hat, light beachwear and a reliable awning. Alas, in the case of tanning, beauty is harmful to health. Therefore, of all evils, you need to choose the least - sunbathe carefully.

Victoria Selantieva