Base tans from tanning salons will not protect entirely from sunburn

By ANDY CLARKE
Collegian Staff Writer

This week, many beach-bound students are rushing to local tanning salons.

Building up a base tan can protect the skin from burning in the sun during spring break. But some doctors warn that a base tan from a tanning salon may be less protective than students think.

A base tan refers to a light browning of the skin intended to protect it prior to prolonged exposure to sunlight. Many students go to tanning salons before spring break for this reason.

"(Tanning in a tanning salon) is not as protective as a tan in natural sunlight," said Dr. James Dunne, a dermatologist. Dunne explained while tanning in the sun darkens the entire outer layer of skin, tanning beds only tan a lower layer of skin. As a result, the outer layers of skin are still subject to burning.

Despite doctor precautions, some students still say tanning prior to going to the beach is helpful.

Lindsay Karis (sophomore-advertising), who is going to Cancun for spring break, said she likes to go to tanning salons before traveling close to the equator.

"I would burn to a crisp if I didn't," Karis said.

Another dermatologist, Dr. Kathryn Bonnett, said if someone is planning to be in the sun a lot, it is better to have small exposure to get the pigment in the skin going. But, she said, tanning salons are not safer than the sun.

"There's really no such thing as a safe tan," said Billy Blades, owner of Billy Blades, 212 S. Allen St., a local tanning salon.

Blades said getting a base tan in Pennsylvania and then going to the beach is still dangerous.

"It's helpful, but it is not going to stop you from burning, even if you have the base," Blades said.

The safest way to look really tan before going to the beach is to use self-tanning lotion from a bottle, Dr. Dunne said.

"Then you get to the beach and load up on sunscreen," he said.

He recommends sunscreen with the active agent titanium dioxide or zinc oxide.

He also recommends Parsol 1789, which is a long-wave ultraviolet filter.

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