BUST THAT MYTH

A BASE TAN WILL PREVENT SUNBURN

A base tan will prevent sunburn. No, it won’t – use sunscreen!

There’s little evidence to support the idea that a base tan protects.

A few sessions of indoor tanning won’t prevent you from burning in the sun.

A base tan is no substitute for good sun protection. Plus, the risks of long-term tanning outweigh the unproven benefits of a base tan.

Tanning under the sun or a sun lamp may give modest protection to those who are able to tan well.

But the protection it gives doesn’t come close to using sunscreen. The larger issue is that any change in skin colour from tanning is a sign of damage from ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

Repeated exposure to UV radiation — whether from the sun or a tanning bed — increases the risk of premature skin aging and skin cancer.