Tanning Beds

While many of you may have been told that tanning beds were safe, they are not as safe as you may think. The problem with getting sunburned is that we damage our skin with free radicals from the sun. The damage that occurs actually happens within the cell at the DNA level. The DNA chain is damaged when hit by the free radical. Your immune system has to fix that damage. Most of time the immune system is able to fix it. However, when it is unable to fix it you have damaged cells which may mutate and end up being cancer cells. It makes no difference whether those free radicals are generated by the sun or by a tanning bed, the effect is the same.

My best advice is to not use tanning beds. Sunscreen is your best bet to protect yourself from free radical damage.