According to an online mole screening service, Moletestuk, 1 in every 20 women believe that having a fake tan will protect their skin from sun burn, while 11% think that a base tan acts as protection for their skin.
These worrying results seem to point to continued misunderstandings of the effects that the sun’s rays have on our skin. If skin has changed colour, then it is already damaged. When the skin is exposed to sunlight, it produces more melanin as a response to the damage, and the skin darkens. Although a tan will fade as skin cells are shed, sometimes damage can be permanent, and an excess of pigmentation will remain even after the tan has faded.
Of course, the major cause for concern is skin cancer, and these results seem to show that the message about protecting skin from damage is not getting through. The other danger is cosmetic, although it could still impact on the quality of someone’s life.
If skin is over-exposed to sunlight, it ages, wrinkles, sags and becomes blotchy. Excess pigmentation can be treated used laser and microdermabrasion treatments, however, with the serious health risks that go hand in hand with failure to protect the skin, prevention should always be the preferred option.
While fake tan or a base tan will afford you no protection at all, sunblock will. Take a look at the sunblock of 40+ factor in our skin care product range, and save yourself the worry about sunburn.
