Why Do So Many Of Us Like A Sun Tan Despite The Claims Of Skin Damage?

Do we look better with a sun tan or is it just showing off our wealth, health and vanity?

Well I am not alone.

Men like to have a healthy outdoor tan look. Women like the sin kissed glow from a touch of the rays.

Other women like to maintain a perfect white skin that never sees the sun and that is also a beautiful effect. Joan Collins never allowed the sun to touch her face.

In the 18th century it was fashionable to have very pale skin because it showed that you weren’t working outdoors pale skin was synonymous with being wealthy. After the industrial revolution the poorer classes that had worked outdoors were now in factories and the wealthy could now travel in the winter and come back with a tan and so a tan became synonymous with wealth. And that still holds to this day.

I like to sun bathe which most of my friends find ridiculous as they say that I have one already. For me I look better if I am a couple of shades darker and I feel I look healthier.

A survey of Brits by SunSense UK found that many people will get a sun tan even if they are putting themselves at risk of skin cancer. The report showed that 70% believe that there is a safe way to get a tan even if this may not be true. 60% like to sunbathe even if it means premature ageing and the risk of skin cancer. Half of the people said it was safe to prepare and build up a tan before going to a hot country and 10% said that sun tan beds are safe. Two thirds preferred to have a sun tanned look even after being told that Ultra Violet rays are a large cause of skin cancer.

Having a sun kissed look makes us feel good but Dr Kerryn Grieve PhD says there is no such thing as a healthy tan and that most people just feel that skin cancer happens to other people and not them.

The self tanning industry has grown enormously and it really does make you look so much better in the winter or when you have a hangover or just feel dreary. I feel that a golden self tan really does improve your appearance. You don’t have to be orange. You can just have a subtle glow. I feel we mustn’t forget that many people really enjoy a very pale complexion.

One of the biggest causes of pigmentation can be skin damage caused by the sun.

Aesthetic Medicine says “Exposure to the sun can cause patches of pigmentation to form on the skin and can worsen existing pigmentation abnormalities such as freckles or melasma, which have been caused by other factors. This happens because melanin absorbs the energy of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays in order to protect the skin from overexposure. As such pigmentation is most common on areas of the body that have prolonged exposure to the sun, such as the face, arms, hands and décolletage”.

I feel that most of us are now quite sun aware. We use sun protection creams and we try to make the right decisions about which factors to wear. If we are not educated properly it could be because of so many claims made by the Beauty industry. The information we receive is quite confusing.

I was informed many years ago that the SPF in a product lasts for nine months.

Are we supposed to treat the sun in the same way as we are beginning to treat sugar?

Our parents didn’t give us sugar but they gave us the sun without any cream.

Let me have your views please.

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