Melanoma's Dramatic Increase : Another Reason to Self Tan

Some alarming news from the medical arena was recently rehashed in the news, and it gives just another reason to self tan with sunless tanning products instead of bathing in the sun and/or indoor tanning to get that natural earthy glow that everyone craves these days.

The bad news is that melanoma skin cancer, the most deadly form of cancer of the skin, has increased 50% since the early seventies in women alone. Men have only slightly increased, as expected, and then leveled off, meaning there is some other factor that makes women more susceptible to melanomas than men.

Many researchers think that it may be a combination of factors, but cite one, indoor tanning amongst women (who frequent tanning salons more than men), as perhaps being the largest factor in the singular increase.

Although they have no direct proof of this, and the indoor tanning industry of course vehemently denies this correlation and instead cites better screening factors for more melanoma identifications, there does seem to be a valid point to the theory.

Also, they believe that women have significantly surpassed men in the incidence increase is that women tend to be sunscreen devotees more than men, and this may make them feel more protected out in the sun for long periods of time, when in fact they are really just exposing themselves longer to the UV rays that theoretically cause melanoma.

I've recently been made aware, since I myself am from a family that has a history of melanoma skin cancer since my grandfather on my father's side succumbed to it years ago, that you should really get regular screenings for skin cancers from a dermatologist or general practitioner, at least once to twice a year. It is also important to know that the highest incident rate of melanoma skin cancer, for unknown reasons, tends to be on the torso and lower body in women, and this may be where you want to specifically be aware to keep an eye out for suspicious spots on the skin.

There are a couple of schools of thought on exposure to the sun's rays though as well, which you may have been exposed to, which actually might cause confusion. Some say that it is not actual sun exposure that causes melanoma and other skin cancers, but rather UV ray exposure can help protect you from skin cancer because it helps promote the production of a vitamin D.

Vitamin D has been revealed as a significant factor in the survival and deflection of different types of cancer, and the only way we have of manufacturing it is naturally in our bodies. This naturally made form of vitamin D is the best, most protective kind of the vitamin we can have, and can only be synthesized through sunlight exposure. However, many experts say that this theory can be misleading, since over exposure to sunlight definitely plays a large role in skin cancer development.

They say that sun exposure is ok, as long as you are not constantly exposed to it and you do not repeatedly burn your skin. Burning the skin over and over creates cell mutations which lead to cancer, and this is definitely not something you want to take a chance with. So, as with almost everything else under the sun (no pun intended), take precautions not to overexpose the skin, but also don't be so afraid of sunlight that you do not ever venture outside, especially because not only does sunlight make vitamin D, but it also plays a role in mood control.

All of this leads me to believe that if you want the natural, healthy "looking" glow that it so popular and in vogue today, and has been for several years, the way to go may be a prudent combination of occasional natural sunlight exposure, with caution, and when you want that extra natural glow, to use a self tanner.

Self tanning does not cause wrinkles, dryness or age spots and freckles like UV radiation does, and has not been shown to cause any unhealthy mutations in skin cells, and the great self tanners of today really create a beautiful, natural looking tan that lasts for days.

After all, it's nice to know you can still create this coveted, sexy look without over exposing your skin, your largest and most protective organ, to anything that could harm it's long term health and beauty.