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What Are Tanning Beds?

The idea that a tan makes a person beautiful can be traced back to the 1920s when the French fashion designer, Coco Chanel, declared that having a tan is fashionable. Since then, the desire to have a tan has been ingrained in most people’s minds, particularly in teenagers. This desire has been indulged by marketers through the introduction of materials that can help a person get a tan. One of the most popular among these materials is tanning beds.

Tanning beds allow a person to acquire a tan even within the confines of his or her home. Since the sun’s rays have been proven to cause skin problems and even pose danger to a person’s general health, inventors have come up with a supposedly safe equipment to provide consumers what they want – an indoor tan.

These beds give off long-wave rays or UVA rays, as opposed to the short-wave (UVB) rays given off by the sun. According to manufacturers the pattern of exposure to the sun that causes skin diseases, including cancer, is not consistent with the pattern offered by these beds; and therefore, these tanning devices are safe. Several medical associations, though, are contesting this claim.

The debate surrounding the safety of using indoor tanning devices has not stopped a lot of people from using indoor tanning equipment, particularly sunbeds. The desire of a lot of people to have a tan has made the indoor tanning industry a billion dollar business. It has been estimated that in the United States alone, the market for suntan beds earns $2 billion a year.

Beds for indoor tanning work by inducing the skin to produce additional pigment or coloring to protect itself against burn from UV rays. Users of these beds lie down on a Plexiglass surface while lights from above and below are aimed at their body. The UVA output of sunbeds is regulated in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration so users can only get a limited UV exposure per session.

The popularity of tanning beds, whether in salons or in private homes, has not been affected much by the warning issued by most medical associations. For most people, the idea of getting a tan is worth the risks; whether it is from the sun or from these indoor tanning devices.