Indoor tanning makes youthful skin much older on a genetic level

Posted by SanjayMehta 2 days ago

Indoor tanning makes youthful skin much older on a genetic level(www.ucsf.edu)

256 points | 191 commentspage 2

horizion2025 2 days ago|

"The young tanning bed users had more skin mutations than people twice their age, especially in their lower backs, an area that does not get much damage from sunlight but has a great deal of exposure from tanning beds."

So in other areas than the lower back, everyone - tan bed users or not - have these supposed seeds of melanoma as well? And that is for a much larger area of the skin than the one mentioned.

Also I wonder about the quote that a mutated cell can never go back. The immune system could kill the mutated cells and thereby promote the unmutated ones. Though nothing is perfect of course. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/jan/analysis-protective-lung...

scotty79 2 days ago|

> The immune system could kill the mutated cells and thereby promote the unmutated ones.

This happens all the time. The mutated cells we see are the ones that immune system couldn't detect and kill. Fortunately they are still overwhelmingly non-cancerous, but unfortunately some might be.

horizion2025 1 day ago||

Yes I agree, I was just responding the article's "“We cannot reverse a mutation once it occurs, ..." I don't think that is entirely accurate. Also, I think it is a dynamic process, so even cells the immune system hasn't killed yet could be found later. Or the mutation could cause other deviancies that will make the cell uncompetitive with healthy cells. But it is a slow process - it takes years for former smokers' lung cancer risk to return to near that of never smokers. And it probably never gets there - some mutated cells may never be detectable and there's clearly also a threshold beyond which the cancer is irreversible, at least without intervention.

ekjhgkejhgk 2 days ago||

If you travel around you can see with your own eyes that countries that have both A) more sun and B) culture of intentional exposure (e.g. at the beach) people by the age they're 40 have on average noticeably worse skin. More wrinkles, more dark patches etc.

BobbyTables2 1 day ago||

Don’t even have to go to other countries.

Just visit New Mexico (;->

testing22321 2 days ago||

More skin cancer

anjel 1 day ago||

Its like everyone's arguing we should optimally live in darkness. As if 1. Humans didnt evolve living outdoors, 2. Everyone ages at the same rate 3. If they did, no one would ever get MM again. Like many things across the universe, too much of a good thing becomes bad. And "too much" varies considerably from one individual to the next. And no one in their 80s who avoided exposure to the sun is without wrinkles.

erelong 2 days ago||

I thought the healthy consensus was to get a little of actual sunlight on the skin for vitamin D production and other things

Gud 1 day ago||

What about red light treatment,

https://platinumtherapylights.eu/?srsltid=AfmBOoo2cCKKYMO53w...

everyone 2 days ago||

I live in Ireland, there's practically 0 opportunity to get exposed to the sun unless you work outdoors, and even then only your face and hands and perhaps forearms get exposed. I just take vitamin D tablets.

Also I know UV goes through clouds, but when its raining all the time you tend to stay indoors and only go outside with raincoat / umbrella.

feverzsj 2 days ago||

This reminds me of the "Tanning Mom".

[0] https://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/26/justice/new-jersey-tannin...

breve 2 days ago||

Why go to the expense of a tanning bed when you can get skin cancer for free.

hbogert 2 days ago||

Geographically this is unpractical at some locations. Mild understatement. Do you happen to live in a year round sunny place?

ImHereToVote 2 days ago||

This is true. As a society we often overlook the barriers to get skin cancer in many communities.

hbogert 1 day ago||

The tongue in cheek is strong in this one ^

Tempest1981 2 days ago|||

My job requires me to work indoors during high-UV hours. But I'll look into weekend exposure, thanks!

mrguyorama 21 hours ago||

Get a job as a welder and you can get UV exposure every day!

doubled112 2 days ago||

It’s currently -10C with 50km/h wind gusts. The cloud cover suggests I’ll see some snow today. There is no sun.

I’ll lend you my balcony if you want to try for a tan. Do you think it will happen before sunset? That’s 430pm and it is currently 10:30am.

Noaidi 2 days ago||

Most of you would not even be close to guessing the top ten states with the highest skin cancer rates.

Utah Minnesota Vermont Arizona Iowa Idaho New Hampshire South Dakota Nebraska Kentucky

https://statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov/incidencerates/index....

Skin damage, and skin cancer, is not just about the sun. It is about genetics and nutrition as well.

trallnag 1 day ago|

It's not just about cancer. it's about aesthetics, how leathery you look.

throw-12-16 1 day ago|

Lip fillers are the new artificial tanning.

Looking forward to seeing the downstream effects.

More comments...