Regular sunbathing, whether outdoors or in a solarium, is not only enormously harmful to the skin, it can also be addictive. Dermatologists refer to this condition as tanorexia (tanning addiction). Like all addicts, so-called “tanorexics” also exhibit typical withdrawal symptoms such as nervousness, restlessness, sleep disorders or even depression if they do not tan their skin for once. Only through the excessive enjoyment of natural or artificial sunlight do they feel good. Only in this way do they come closer to their ideal of beauty of a crisp tanned body.
What does tanorexia mean?
The term “tanorexia” is composed of the English verb “to tan” and the medical term “anorexia nervosa”, anorexia. However, body weight plays less of a role for tanning and solarium addicts. Their ideal of beauty primarily corresponds to a crisp, tanned body.
However, as with anorexia, the self-perception of those affected is conspicuously disturbed. Thus, many tanorexics perceive themselves as pale and thus unattractive, although their skin is already excessively tanned. The entire self-esteem is made dependent solely on the body tan. The immoderate desire for sunlight or artificial UV light lures them to the tanning salon weekly, some even daily.
Why do we get addicted to tan skin?
Sunlight promotes vitamin D formation and release of happy hormones in our body. That’s why we feel good when the first rays of sunlight touch us in spring. But this is precisely where the danger lies: if you soak up too much sun, you can easily get sunburned and expose yourself to premature skin aging. In addition, the risk of developing skin cancer increases rapidly.
“Pre-tanning” in the solarium not possible
If you think you can prepare your skin for an aggressive vacation sun in a solarium, you are mistaken, because tanning on a tanning bed is done via UVA rays. Even if the skin is pre-tanned in the solarium, the skin pre-tanned under UVA radiation does not offer any protection against the dangerous UVB rays of the sun later on.
On the contrary, those who tan in the solarium allow their skin to age more quickly and promote the development of brown pigment spots. Occasionally, pigment spots represent risk factors, because they can become malignant and trigger skin cancer when exposed to UV light.
People with more than 40 pigmented moles or atypical pigmented moles have up to a 7- to 15-fold higher risk of developing malignant melanoma (black skin cancer). Sunburns in childhood and adolescence increase the risk by a factor of two to three.
But skin cancer is curable if it is detected early enough. That’s why it’s also important for shade lovers to have their pigment spots checked by a dermatologist once or twice a year.
Tips for the right tanning
Consider the following tips for healthy tanning:
- How long you can stay in the sun without getting sunburned depends on your skin’s own protection time. For example, light skin types can unprotected maximum five to ten minutes in the sun.
- Always cream your skin well! The sunscreen should have a protection factor of at least 20. Even then, the protection lasts for a maximum of 1.5 to 3 hours. After that, you should definitely look for a place in the shade.
- If you still do not want to do without the tanning bed, you should inform yourself well beforehand about the tanning salon of your choice. Pay attention to an integrated protective function in the tanning device. This should be able to switch off automatically at maximum irradiation time.
