Sun Tanning  sun tanning

Sun tanning or simply tanning is the process whereby sunscreen to skin exposed to the sun, but others use oils to accelerate the tanning process.


The term “tanning” has a cultural origin, arising from the color tan. Its origin lies in the Western culture of Europe when it became fashionable for young women to seek a less pale complexion (see Cultural history below).


Tanning process

indirect DNA damage to the skin and the body naturally combats and seeks to repair the damage and protect the skin by creating and releasing further melanin into the skin's cells. With the production of the melanin, the skin color darkens, but the UV-B in sunlight can also cause sunburn. The tanning process can also be created by artificial UV radiation, which can be delivered as UV-A, UV-B, or a combination of both.

There are two different mechanisms involved in production of a tan by UV exposure: Firstly, UV-A radiation creates oxidative stress, which in turn oxidises existing melanin and leads to rapid darkening of the melanin. UV-A may also cause melanin to be redistributed (released from melanocytes where it is already stored), but its total quantity is unchanged. Thus, the effect of UV-A leads to skin darkening, but this is only cosmetic since it does not lead to greatly increased production of melanin and therefore also to little increase in protection against UV-B, or protection against sunburn.[1]

In the second process, triggered primarily by UV-B, there is an increase in production of melanin ([2] The tan that is created by an increased melanogenesis lasts much longer than the one that is caused by oxidation of existing melanin, and is also actually protective against UV skin damage and sunburn, rather than simply cosmetic. However, in order to cause true melanogenesis-tanning by means of UV exposure, some direct DNA photodamage must first be produced, and this requires UV-B exposure (as present in natural sunlight, or sunlamps that produce UV-B).

As noted above, the ultraviolet frequencies responsible for tanning are often divided into the UVB ranges, which will be discussed:


Ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation is in the wavelength range 320 to 400 nm. It is present more uniformly throughout the day, and throughout the year, than UV-B. UV-A is not blocked by the ozone layer. UV-A causes the release of existing melanin from the reactive oxygen species which damage DNA indirectly. UV-A (see above) apparently induces a cosmetic tan but little extra melanin protection against sun damage, sun burn, or cancer.


Ultraviolet B (UV-B or UVB) radiation is in the wavelength range 280 to 320 nm. Much of this band is blocked by the Earth's ozone layer, but some penetrates. UV-B does the following:

  • is more likely to cause a sunburn than UVA as a result of overexposure. The mechanism for sunburn and increased melanogenesis is identical.[4] Both are caused by the direct DNA damage (formation of CPDs)
  • produces Vitamin D in human skin
  • reduced by virtually all sunscreens in accordance with their SPF
  • stimulates the production of new melanin, which leads to an increase in the dark-coloured pigment within a few days.[5]

Tanning behavior of different skin colors

A person's natural skin color has an impact on their reaction to exposure to the sun. An individual's natural skin color can vary from a dark brown to a nearly colorless pigmentation, which may appear reddish due to the blood in the skin. Though subject to variations, ethnic Europeans generally have lighter skin, while ethnic Africans generally have darker skin. In 1975, Harvard dermatologist [10]

Type Also called Sunburning Tanning behavior von Luschan scale
I Very light or pale, “Celtic” type[11] Often Occasionally 1–5
II Light or light-skinned European[11] Usually Sometimes 6–10
III Light intermediate or dark-skinned European[11] Rarely Usually 11–15
IV Dark intermediate, also “Mediterranean” or “olive skin[11] Rarely Often 16–21

Avoiding tan lines

Example of tan lines caused by a tank top.


Because of the potential shade or cool off in water.

Sunless tanning

To avoid exposure to UVB and UVA rays, or in sunless seasons, some people take steps to appear with darkened skin. They may use sunless tanning (also known as self-tanners); stainers which are based on dihydroxyacetone (DHA); bronzers, which are simply dyes; tan accelerators, based on tyrosine and psoralens. Some people use make-up to create a tanned appearance[12] while others may get a tanned appearance by wearing tan colored stockings or pantihose.




Tanning controversy

A tanning bed



Tanning agents

Several tanning activators are different forms of [25]

Cultural history

La promenade (1875) by Claude Monet. End of 19th century in the upper social class, people used umbrellas, long sleeves and hats to avoid sun tanning effects.

Throughout history, tanning has gone in and out of fashion. In Western countries before about the 1920s, tanned skin was associated with the lower classes, because they worked outdoors and were exposed to the sun. Women went to great lengths to preserve pallid skin, as a sign of their “refinement”.[26]

Women's outdoor clothing styles were tailored to protect against sun exposure, with full length sleeves, and sunbonnets and other large hats, headscarves, and parasols shielding the head. Women even went as far as to put lead-based cosmetics on their skin to artificially whiten their skin tone.[15] However, when not strictly monitored these cosmetics caused lead poisoning. Achieving a light-skinned appearance was achieved in other ways, including the use of arsenic to whiten skin, and lightening powders. The preference for fair-skin continued until the end of the Victorian era.

By the early 20th century the therapeutic benefits of sunlight began to be recognised.[30]

Shortly thereafter, in the 1920s, [34]

In the 1940s, advertisements started appearing in women’s magazines which encouraged sun bathing. At the same time, swimsuits' skin coverage began decreasing, with the bikini radically changing swimsuit style after it made its appearance in 1946. In the 1950s, many people used baby oil as a method to increase tanning. The first self-tanner came about in the same decade and was known as “Man-Tan,” although it often led to undesirable orange skin.[15] Coppertone, in 1953, marketed their sunscreen by placing a little blond girl and her cocker spaniel tugging on her bathing suit bottoms on the cover of their bottles; this is still the same advertisement used today. In the latter part of the 1950s, silver metallic UV reflectors were common to enhance one’s tan.

In 1962, sunscreen commenced to be SPF rated, although in the US SPF labeling was not standardised by the FDA until 1978. In 1971, Mattel introduced Malibu Barbie, which had tanned skin, sunglasses, and her very own bottle of sun tanning lotion. In 1978, both sunscreen with an SPF 15 rating as well as tanning beds first appeared. Today there are an estimated 50,000 outlets for tanning, whereas in the 1990s there were only around 10,000.[35] The tanning business is a five-billion dollar industry in the United States.[35]

In China, darker skin is still considered by many to be the mark of the lower classes. As recently as 2012, ski masks were becoming popular items to wear at the beach in order to protect the wearer's face from the effects of the sun.[36]

See also


  1. ^ Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2011 Feb;24(1):136-47. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-148X.2010.00764.x. Epub 2010 Oct 6. The deceptive nature of UVA tanning versus the modest protective effects of UVB tanning on human skin. Miyamura Y, et al. PMID 20979596
  2. ^ dead link]
  3. ^ 15748643.
  5. ^ “WHO | The known health effects of UV”. 2010-12-01. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  7. 978-1-4051-4663-0.
  9. ^ Jan Holler, [email protected] “Sample images”. . Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  10. ^ “Tanning scale”. 2009-03-10. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  11. ^ etc.
  12. ^ “Dihydroxyacetone”. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  14. ^ “Sunless Tanners and Bronzers”. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  15. ^ Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  20. ^ “Health Effects of Tanning and Vitamin D”. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  21. ^ “Vitamin D, Skin Cancer, and the Dermatologists”. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  27. ^ The Times. 25 August 1900. p. 1: An advertisement for a ‘German Bath In Scotland' offers ‘For Health and Pleasure…Pure Air and Sun Baths…'.
  28. ^ “Nobel Prize Winners in Medicine – University of Copenhagen”. . Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  29. ^ The Times. 12 March 1910. p. 12.
  30. Sigmaringen the reporter says: ‘The Castle possesses many delightful terraces which could be adapted for sunbathing.’
  31. ^ [|Hanson, M.D., Peter G.]. “About Face”. The Effects of Aging, Health and Stress on Your Face. FaceMaster. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
  32. ^ “Sun and Clouds: The Sun in History”. Magic Bullets – Chemistry vs. Cancer. The Chemical Heritage Foundation . 2001. . Retrieved 11 September 2009. “By the 1920s, the therapeutic effect of the sun was widely promoted, and two well-publicized French personalities gave “tanning” a fashion boost. Coco Chanel, of designer fame, returned to Paris after a cruise on the Duke of Westminster's yacht with a tan that became all the rage. And the natural caramel skin color of singer Josephine Baker made women all over the world try to emulate her skin tone.”
  35. ^ Retrieved 11 September 2009. “The tanning industry has grown about 25 percent over the past six years, according to the Indoor Tanning Association. In the United States, about 25,000 free-standing tanning salons employ 160,000 people and generate more than $5 billion in annual revenue, the association said.”
  36. ^ Levin, Dan (3 August 2012). New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2012.

Further reading

External links

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Sun-tanning, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

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