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The benefits and harms of tanning
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
It's summer, the sun is out, and that means it's time to talk about tanning. After all, the sun's rays saturate our body with energy and vitamin D, which is extremely important for health and beauty.
Tanned skin, of course, looks much more attractive than pale skin, however, even in this case, beauty should not be sacrificed for health. After all, tanning is stress for our skin, and excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation can cause significant harm to it, even to the point of provoking the development of skin cancer.
There is a common belief that while we are basking in the sun, our body receives not only harmful ultraviolet radiation, but also harmless one. This is far from true. Let's talk in more detail about the types of ultraviolet rays, and at the same time about sunscreens, which can be used to some extent to protect against the negative effects of these rays.
It is known that there are three types of rays: UVC, UVA and UVB.
Let's start with UVC rays. We don't have anything to worry about yet regarding their effect on our skin - these short waves, filtered by the atmosphere, do not reach the Earth's surface
Next are UVA rays. These rays, 95% of which reach the Earth, are present in our lives every day - from dawn to dusk, at any time of year, in any weather and in any climate zone of our planet. No less harmful to our health are UVA rays, because they are considered a source of free radicals.
Now about protection from UVA rays. Unfortunately, the main problem with the vast majority of modern sunscreens is that they only protect against one type of rays. Thus, SPF filters are used to protect against UVB rays.
Finally, about UVB rays. 95% of these rays are absorbed by the ozone layer and clouds on their way to the Earth's surface - only 5 percent reach us. Thus, UVB rays harm not only our skin, but also the environment around us. The greatest activity of these rays is observed from 10 am to 4 pm. The consequences of prolonged exposure to UVB rays on our skin are sunburn, as well as the risk of abnormal cell mutations, which can result in skin cancer. Sunscreens designed to protect against UVB rays have IPD and PPD filters.
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