A New Study Reveals Serious Dangers Linked to Tanning Beds

The idea that tanning beds can increase your risk of melanoma is nothing new. We of course know that when it comes to skin safety, both natural sunlight and tanning beds carry significant risks — risks that outweigh the aesthetic benefits of a golden glow. But, important update time: New research suggests that tanning beds present even greater dangers than we anticipated.

Recent research from Northwestern Medicine and University of California, San Francisco finds evidence to challenge a long-held belief that tanning beds are no more dangerous than sunlight.

The study's first author, Pedram Gerami, MD, has noticed high numbers of women under 50 with histories of multiple melanomas in his work. This inspired Dr. Gerami and his research team to compare medical records of tanning bed users against records of those with no history of indoor tanning. Melanoma was diagnosed in 5.1 percent of tanning bed users compared to 2.1 percent of non-users observed. 

Dr. Gerami and his team were able to learn more thanks to the women who donated their biopsies to help him better understand this relationship. 

In an abstract for this news, the researchers point out a few things: One, the indoor tanning industry is making a comeback. Two, many of the women who had melanoma later in life started tanning in their teens. Dr. Gerami believes at the very least, indoor tanning should be illegal for minors. To me, this makes perfect sense: Minors don’t have the ability to truly understand the lifelong risks. And if this research is any indication, they’re even greater than we previously thought.

What’s the takeaway here? You may be seeing indoor tanning places pop up, but please consider this research before tanning this way. And also, let’s take this deeper: This represents yet another way women put themselves at risk in pursuit of an unrealistic beauty standard.

As one woman who donated her biopsy to Dr. Gerami’s research shared, many of us started using tanning beds multiple times a week in our teens because “it felt like that’s what made you beautiful,’ says 49-year-old Heidi Tarr, a melanoma survivor.

If you’ve used a tanning bed, don’t panic. What’s done is done. But Dr. Gerami advises anyone who has used a tanning bed have a full body scan done by their dermatologist.