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Rachel Shively

Professor Tim Waggoner

ENG 1201

25 July 2021

Tanning Ramifications

Why do people tan? This question can be answered through biased perspectives but

trying to find the nonbiased answers helps to give the most accurate response to the question.

People tan for a few different reasons, for which will be explained throughout this paper.

Tanning is “the action or activity of exposing one’s skin to the sun in order to achieve a brown or

darkened color” (Oxford). My grandfather tanned his entire life – always striving to have the

“perfect glow.” His dermatologists began to find melanoma spots on his skin as he reached his

early eighties. The majority of these spots appeared on his face and had to be removed to

eliminate the cancer. He did not let these discoveries stop him, he repeated went to the tanning

bed and went outside to get the vitamin D and tan skin. The one procedure caused repercussions

that inhibited his eye from being able to blind. This caused more problems and my grandfather

finally stopped tanning after all of the trouble in retraining the muscles in his face. My

grandfather is not against tanning but knows that he should no longer try to reach that “perfect

skin glow” anymore (Shively, Laurence). My father on the other hand is more opposed to

tanning than anyone I know. His favorite quote to this day is, “Tan skin is damaged skin”

(Shively, Randy). These two opposing views have caused a curiosity in wondering the motives

behind the act of tanning. A few years ago, I discovered that my skin is allergic to the chemicals

in sunscreen, this causes me to always have to remember my “special” sunscreen – that is thick,

white and unable to be fully rubbed into my skin. This causes me to sometimes not wear it to
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avoid the verbal comments and jokes about how I failed to rub in the sunscreen. However, when

my skin tans the dry patches that appear with stress cause my skin to look “polka-dotted.” This is

not a look I admire; however, I have to pick my battles. The heat of the sun on my skin feels

amazing, but it led me to the question that this paper is centered around. Paler people are often

the most likely to develop tanning habits, and women more likely than men. Some people might

argue there are more benefits than risks, but the articles prove the effects can be detrimental to

one’s life. The answer to this question and the question “why do people tan?” will be explained

by examining opposing viewpoints, scientific effects, and psychological motives behind tanning.

Scientific findings have found sun’s rays to be harmful. Sometimes people do not

understand the severity of tan skin or a small sun burn; although, there is a lot more behind it

than the “perfect glow” look. There are two main types of rays that can cause the skin to tan. One

type is UVA rays. They “penetrate deeper into the skin than UVB rays […. going] all the way

though the skin’s protective epidermis to the dermis” – to the blood vessels and nerves. These

rays trigger melanocytes cells, which produce melanin in the skin. This production causes the

skin pigment to brown. This is tanning. A person who receives a lot of UVA rays may end up

with a damaged immune system, effecting their ability to fight off diseases. It can also lead to

melanoma – “the most serious type of skin cancer.” The UVB rays are the second type. These

rays burn the skin’s top layers and are the rays that cause sunburns. When the UVA rays trigger

the production of melanin, the body produces these cells to try to stop the skin from burning

(Teens Health). UVB rays do have benefits in giving people vitamin D. In the article “How to

Safely Get Vitamin D from Sunlight”, there were tips to when it is best to get vitamin D if

choosing to use the exposure to UVB rays (Ramen). One might argue that vitamin D is good for

a persons’ mood and health, however too much exposure to the sun’s rays can cause immense
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harm. According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, Vitamin D only comes

from UVB rays. Tanning beds only emit UVA rays, so the benefit from vitamin D is not relevant

for tanning at a tanning bed. In order to receive vitamin D safely, “board-certified dermatologists

recommend eating a healthy diet” and if it is still low, “consider taking a supplement” (AAD).

The benefits of vitamin D from UVB rays are the spike of vitamin D when it is deficient.

However, the time spent in the sun to produce vitamin D ranges based on the melanin in the skin.

This creates a dilemma when trying to determine if vitamin D from the UVB rays is worth the

risk of the sunburn or increased production of melanin. To repeat what the American Academy

of Dermatology stated previously, “dermatologist recommend eating a healthy diet” and “taking

a supplement” if needed (AAD).

The psychological effects of tanning can motivate people to keep returning to the

radiation. One person might argue that their only motivation to tan is to have the darker

complexion, but it goes deeper than that. The article “Are you Addicted to the Sun?” by Stacey

Colino looks at tanning from this psychological perspective. Colino says that the exposure to

ultraviolet (UV) rays can be addictive based on some of her findings. Throughout the article, the

author references previous studies and includes her connections and conclusions. The UV

radiation causes the skin to release beta-endorphins which is connected to the process in the

pigmentation of the skin. Colino says, the “production of beta-endorphins in the skin leads to

elevated blood levels of endorphins” and targeting opiate receptors in the brain. This stimulates

“the same reward pathway as morphine and related opioid drugs [ – ] ‘There is a feel-good

component to it.’” This connects the addictive properties of the sun’s rays to the addiction of

drugs. They also found that women are more likely to tan than men, but the reason was lacking.

Also discovering, out of their reference study that 39 percent had body dysmorphic disorder, 57
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percent had seasonal affective disorder, and 30 percent had high levels of stress. In addition,

people who go to tanning beds are more likely to have higher levels of anxiety. From their

studies, they drew the conclusion that tanning is a way for people to self-medicate their problems

(Colino).

Through a recent discussion with peers, it was stated that tanning is not connected to a

female’s desire to be thin, while author Susan Darlow seems to disagree. Her article “Tan and

Thin” also analyses tanning from a psychological standpoint. This article highly focuses on

adolescent girls’ motivations to tan. Most reasons given by these adolescent girls for tanning is

positive, with the greatest response of “increased mood.” The author believed that “those who

tan tend to also have unhealthy appearance and weight concerns and unhealthy dieting

practices.” Adolescent females’ main motivation to tan is to change their outer appearance to

better adhere to their ideal image. Their qualitative study had females complete a ten-question

survey. They discovered that the connection between body image and tanning was relevant in

sunbathing, but not indoor tanning. In addition, most responders had multiple reactions to

tanning with increased mood commonly marked. Their main motive in writing the study was on

skin cancer being the highest in the United States of America and one in four women reporting to

have been to an indoor tanning bed. All in all, they found that women who sunbathe want to

increase their outer appearance (Darlow). In the sense to the opposing argument, tanning being

unrelated to thinness, seems to be disproved – tanning is connected to an enhanced outer

appearance.

Different races might also have a variety of viewpoints on the issue. A 2008 article looks

at the differences in tanning for different races. It discusses the want for darker complexion from

Caucasian people. As well as the want to appear paler from African American people. They say,
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“lighter Blacks appear to be more likely to survive among mainstream white folks.” They discuss

this throughout their entire paper, and they conclude it with a short conclusion. Making their

point known, “It would appear that “lightness” still remains viable. It may be reduced, but to this

author color is a human stain and preferences go to the color of white covered by sun-oriented

tan, but mainly by chemicals that are less cancerous.” They conclude that the Caucasians’ tan,

and other races tend to not (Snell). According to Raman’s Healthline, the less amount of melanin

in a person’s skin can allow them to tan faster than those with more melanin in the skin. A

person with more melanin might dislike tanning because they do not tan as fast as those with

more melanin (Raman). This article might be irrelevant because of its publication date of 2008;

however, the viewpoint is interesting through how it shows the different wants of tan skin

through different races. This is interesting and raises question to whether it is still relevant today.

People might argue that tanning is just a summer activity, but it is connected to deeper

psychological factors and scientific effects in Caucasians. The article by Murray and Turner is

titled “Health, Risk, and Sunbed Use.” Murray and Turner focuses on the three things listed in

their article – health, risks, and sunbeds. They begin their article by saying, “Exposure to the sun

is, for most people, a part of everyday life. However, research has shown that increasing

numbers of people are voluntarily exposing themselves, and increasing their risk of skin cancer,

through both excessive sunbathing and the use of sunbeds.” Then follow it with the increase in

skin cancer in the United States specifically among white people. They also found that people

who wanted to be seen as physically attractive would spend a significant amount of time tanning

– sunbathing or tanning beds. They found that females are more likely than men to use sunbeds.

They included statistics from studies from different age ranges where the women always were at

least double the percentage of men using indoor tanning. However, they state that “men are more
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likely at risk for skin cancer.” Even though, women are reported to more UV rays, women tend

to apply more sunscreen causing them to be more protected from radiation. Through their study

they sampled, interviewed, and recorded reactions. Their conclusions were vast. Tanning is used

for a variety of reasons, but the one common in each person was to enhance appearance. They

also discovered that people use tanning beds because of various forms of peer pressure – each

time with wanting to enhance appearance. Adolescents go to the pool in groups, resulting in tan

skin from the sun’s rays. Not all peer pressure is in a negative light. When peers of all ages hang

out together when the weather is nice, it is often outdoors. Negative peer pressure could be a

person with paler skin being made fun of or compared to their peers as the pale one. This could

motivate a person to try to increase the melanin in their skin. A person going to the tanning bed

could be a result of standing out as a pale peer or a result from wanting to increase their outer

appearance to their peers. Overall, they found that the reason why people tan is because they

want to improve their appearances.

Another argument could be that not many people go to tanning beds anymore because of

all the research. The article “An Initial Investigation of the Effects of Tanning-Related Cues on

Demand and Craving for Indoor Tanning” proves to produce a counterclaim. It will be the final

article discussing sun tanning and why people tan. The article initially jumps in with statistics

saying that each year “7.8 million women and 1.9 million men in the United States engage in

indoor tanning.” This shows that there are so many Americans that still are active in going to

tanning beds. These beds are harmful in that they only produce the harmful UV rays. It also

proves various articles true, where they stated that the United States melanoma cancer has risen

over recent years. The increase is due most likely due to the drastic increase in indoor tanning

use, even after the release of research of the harmfulness. Using tanning beds causes an increase
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of melanin cell production in people, and this can cause an increased risk of melanoma cancer.

When the number of people indoor tanning rise, the melanoma cancer numbers in the United

States will rise as well. People might believe that tanning is not addictive, but this is false. In the

article, they also complete a study of undergraduate students who reported using tanning beds.

The students had to complete questionaries and their finding were related to the psychological

effects of tanning beds. They found that “tanning cues can potentially increase demand and

craving for tanning” – parallel to the findings in the first article. Their findings were conclusive,

in that they found tanning causes an increase want for more tanning.

Even though people know the risks of skin cancer, people still tan trying to enhance their

appearance. The scientific evidence, psychological motives and effects, and the different

viewpoints all point to negative effects of tanning. Each article talked about the appearance as

being the main motivator for the habit. Some discussed the addition of the ultraviolet rays, while

others talked about the peer pressure. Each article had overlapping parts to the other articles. All

five state that tanning can cause an increase want to tan, that women tan more than men, that

tanning people want to enhance their appearance, and they report it improves their mood. These

four things all help the understanding to “why do people tan?”. The overall perception of tanning

people is the outer appearance is enhanced when the skin has a darker pigment. This raises more

questions, but the main answer to the one that began this essay has been found – people tan to

enhance their appearance. In my life, I will encourage sunscreen protection among myself and

future children, try to eliminate the use of tanning beds, and spread the harmful effects of

tanning. I will continue to stay in the sun and feel it shining on my skin, but not participate in the

tanning bed practices. The effects of tanning beds seem to out way the benefits of the fast tan

skin. I am content with my pale skin staying pale. People should be cautious with the amount of
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ultraviolet light they are allowing their skin to receive. As my father states – Always remember

“Tan skin is damaged skin.”

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Works Cited

Becirevic, Amel, et al. “An Initial Investigation of the Effects of Tanning-Related Cues on

Demand and Craving for Indoor Tanning.” Psychological Record, vol. 67, no. 2, June

2017, pp. 149-160. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s40732-017-0246-z.

Colino, Stacey. “Are You Addicted to the Sun? | Wellness | US News.” U.S. News & World

Report, U.S. News & World Report, health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/2016-08-

17/are-you-addicted-to-the-sun.

Darlow, Susan D., et al. “Tan and Thin? Associations between Attitudes toward Thinness,

Motives to Tan and Tanning Behaviors in Adolescent Girls.” Psychology, Health &

Medicine, vol. 21, no. 5, July 2016, pp. 618-624. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1080/13548506.2015.1093643.

“Discover the Story of EnglishMore than 600,000 Words, over a Thousand Years.” Home :

Oxford English Dictionary, www.oed.com/.

Murray, Craig D., and Elizabeth Turner. “Health, Risk and Sunbed Use: A Qualitative Study.”

Health, Risk & Society, vol. 6, no. 1, Mar. 2004, pp. 67-80. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1080/1369857042000193039.

Raman, Ryan. “How to Safely Get Vitamin D From The Sun.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 28

Apr. 2018, www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-from-sun#skin-color.

Shively, Laurence. Personal Interview. 5 July 2021.

Shively, Randy. Personal Interview. 4 July 2021.

SNELL, JOEL. “COLORISM/NEO-COLORISM.” Education, vol. 138, no. 2, Winter 2017, pp.

205-209. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=pbh&AN=126936158&site=ehost-live.
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“Tanning (for Teens) - Nemours KidsHealth.” Edited by Patrice Hyde, KidsHealth, The

Nemours Foundation, Aug. 2016, kidshealth.org/en/teens/tanning.html#:~:text=UVA

%20radiation%20is%20what%20makes,of%20protecting%20skin%20from%20burning.

“10 Surprising Facts about Indoor Tanning.” American Academy of Dermatology,

www.aad.org/public/diseases/skin-cancer/surprising-facts-about-indoor-

tanning#:~:text=Many%20people%20say%20they%20use,leathery%20skin%2C%20and

%20skin%20cancer.