UPDATED: March 8, 2018 at 2:22 p.m.

Only one week of grinding through tests and projects remains until Syracuse University students are free for spring break starting March 11. The luckiest will escape the unpredictable Syracuse weather for a few sun-filled days in places like Cancun, Mexico, or Orlando, Florida. When vacationers return to central New York, refueled for the second half of the semester and sporting sun-kissed skin, they shouldn’t be bragging about their tan.

Getting some sun on vacation may feel harmless, but according to the American Skin Association, a healthy tan does not exist. Any amount of tan means the affected cells have irreversible damage — so just imagine the damage caused when you lay out too long and wake up with a bright red back.

Despite the pain and danger associated with skin damage, young people persist in their quest for the perfect tan. The American Academy of Dermatology found 63 percent of teens believed they looked better with a tan while only three out of ten teens who lie in the sun say they always use sunblock. The tan look proves so desirable that more than 1 million Americans visit a tanning salon daily.

Tanning bed use has dropped in recent years, from 5.5 percent in 2010 to 3.5 percent in 2015, but of the most frequent indoor tanners — white, non-Hispanic women ages 18 to 21 — 20.4 percent still used tanning beds in 2015.

Some of these tanners visit the salon to build up a “base tan” so they will not get so badly burned on vacation, but the ultraviolet rays coming from a tanning bed harm your skin the same as the rays coming from the sun. The “base tan” acquired in Syracuse is no different from getting tan in Mexico.

If beauty is what frequent tanners aim for, they will be sorely disappointed once they leave their 20s. The sun damage builds over time to result in wrinkles and sun spots. The skin ages prematurely, with 90 percent of skin aging resulting from the sun.

Kevin Camelo | Digital Design Editor

Wrinkly skin will be the least of your worries if sun damage takes a serious turn into cancer. Skin cancer is the most highly diagnosed form of cancer in the U.S., and the likelihood of diagnosis rises significantly the more sun damage a person has.

The three types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and the most threatening form of skin cancer — melanoma — which kills one American every hour.

Young people don’t realize how easy it is to develop the cancer, but their carelessness could result in sun damage consequences later on. After getting more than five sunburns, the risk of melanoma doubles. Using a tanning bed before the age of 35 increases the risk of melanoma by 75 percent.

In his own practice, Dr. Ramsay Farah, a fellow at the American Academy of Dermatology, has seen many young people come in with cases of melanoma, and nearly every time the patient had previously been to a tanning salon.

Farah warns young people to be wary of advertising from tanning salons, which he relates to the campaigns from tobacco companies using misleading science to sway and misinform consumers.

“Melanoma and skin cancer is an epidemic,” Farah said. “We’ve already had an experience with the tobacco industry and know the playbook they used, which no one in their right mind would believe looking back. People recognize now that industries have a bias so they will engage in (the counter) campaign (which) sows doubts in their minds.”

Farah also warned that people often feel a false sense of security in the sun with a “base” tan, but truly any tan means damage. People then become careless with sunscreen and spend more time in the sun since their base makes them feel protected, which leads to greater skin damage.

For those going on vacation in the sun, Farah advised liberal use of at least SPF 30 sunscreen. Apply sunscreen a half hour before sun exposure and reapply every two to three hours, or else your skin will miss out on half of the sun protection factor.

Spending your entire vacation in Florida cowering under an umbrella is unnecessary — cover yourself with sunblock consistently and take sun breaks when the sun is strongest, which is typically between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. While it might seem like a hindrance to your ideal deep tan today, your smooth-skinned and healthy future self will thank you.

Caroline Maguire is a sophomore television, radio and film and psychology double major. Her column appears biweekly. Contact her at cpmaguir@syr.edu or on twitter at @carolinemags22.

Published on March 6, 2018 at 1:08 am