Skin cancers and sunburn - Tanning

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A tan is much more than your skin turning brown. Skin cells in your epidermis (the top layer of skin) produce a pigment called melanin that gives skin its natural colour. When skin is exposed to UV radiation, melanin production is stimulated, causing the skin to darken. A lot of people refer to a “healthy tan”, but tanning is actually the skin’s response to sun exposure and a way of protecting itself from further sun damage.

Even a light tan is a sign your skin has been exposed to too much sun. Tanning without burning can still cause DNA damage and skin damage leading to premature skin ageing and can also cause skin cancer.

Given the risks associated with tanning, it is disturbing that half of Australian adults believe a tan looks healthy. The misguided notion of a “healthy tan” is most prominent in young men aged 18 to 24 years (56%), while young women in the same age group were least likely to believe a tanned person looks healthy (39%).

Fair-skinned people (a large proportion of the Australian population) have a less protective form of melanin. When fair-skinned people go out in the sun, cells called melanocytes produce melanin, which stays in the top layer of skin for four or five days, giving them a tanned appearance.

The melanin produced by fair-skinned people is much less protective. For some fair-skinned people no amount of sunbaking will result in a tan: just sunburn and skin damage.

A natural tan offers very limited sunburn protection: usually an average of an SPF4, depending on the skin type.

For further information call the Cancer Council Helpline 13 11 20