10 comments

  • miladyincontrol 1 hour ago
    Excessive UV exposure in general not a great time, tanning is just a way of speedrunning damage unless done in very short intervals.

    I'll never understand some people's fetishization with getting darker via tanning though. Theres nothing wrong with light skin, its only a few western countries that seem to have a weird fetishization with cooking your skin longterm to get darker short term. Meanwhile most other countries and peoples are willing to damage their skin in whole other ways trying to get the opposite.

    • tveita 32 minutes ago
      They're both imitations of status symbols

      "wealthy people can stay inside while poor people work in the sun" vs. "wealthy people can vacation in sunny countries while poor people stay home in the cold"

    • Tha_14 22 minutes ago
      You can always use Melanotan II instead to get a good tan while also increasing libido and sleep quality; )
    • thisislife2 40 minutes ago
      Cosmetic companies to blame? In the east, they fetishize white / fair skin, while in the west they fetishize dark skin.
  • adrianN 5 hours ago
    I suppose the specifics are novel enough to warrant a paper, but on a layman’s level it has been known for decades that UV ages your skin rapidly.
    • tannhaeuser 21 minutes ago
      We can do better than "known for decades, on a layman's level" folklore and the answer actually isn't as straightforward ([1]). Recently there's even been discussion (by a Brit scientist I believe but I have no reference) on skin cancer vs more serious forms of cancer, and also about skin pigmentation playing a role here.

      [1]: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022202X2...

    • baxtr 1 hour ago
      I don’t think it’s super straightforward. Another thing laymen know: Most younger people in southern Europe don’t look old.
      • brabel 1 hour ago
        I think that’s because locals have some level of adaptation to their region. In Australia, you can really see how the high levels of sunshine affect the Northern Europe descendants who live there today. Some 30 yo women look easily 40.
      • blell 1 hour ago
        I actually live in southern Europe and most of my friends who are >35 and have been out and about for most of their lives do indeed look much older than they are.
    • 7bit 1 hour ago
      "known" is the wrong word. Laymen know a lot of things, like ingesting lead, radium, mercury and arsenic. Up until a couple of years ago, people "knew" that one glass of wine a day was healthy, when infact every drop is poisonous to the body.

      In reverse, people thought (and too many still "know") that MSG and pasteurization is bad.

      Don't use the word know, when in fact you mean "assume".

      • djtango 1 hour ago
        Is MSG not bad for you in the way aspartame is not bad for you? I totally get that MSG is naturally present in dashi but the chemistry of dashi (a very messy and complex mix of substances) vs purified msg is going to be different, and the concentrations the japanese consume food containing dashi are very different to the way UPFs and chinese restaurants gratuitously smother your food in it. MSG is to many cuisines what butter is to western cuisine (ie moar is always bettah)
        • padjo 48 minutes ago
          There’s no evidence linking MSG specifically with any chronic health issues and little reason to suspect there would be in healthy people at the quantities generally consumed. Funnily enough many people who are wary of MSG and try to avoid it would be better off looking at their sodium intake, which we know for sure has long term health risks.
          • jtbayly 20 minutes ago
            salt is bad again?
        • sallveburrpi 57 minutes ago
          MSG is only bad for you because it makes things taste amazing so you are going to eat more than you actually should. Nothing wrong with butter btw.

          As with most food stuffs if not consumed in moderation it can become a problem.

  • Nevermark 5 hours ago
    I think people way over cook themselves. The economics and amplified power of tanning beds at salons push people to highly overdose.

    I estimated that 1 minute of artificial tanning is comparable to the 10-15 minutes of sun a day that is recommended. But has the benefit of the whole body's largest organ kicking in for the health benefits. So I tan at home for 1 minute a couple times a week. You can't do this economically with a salon.

    I don't really get tan, just a little more color. But when I do get any lengthy sun time due to outdoor activities, I tan quickly instead of burn.

    • willguest 2 hours ago
      I love the idea that we believe that we can replicate all of the natural processes involved in getting a tan, and to such a precision that we can then speed up the process 10 fold, and that we can fit it all into a single unit that can be wheeled in and out of the room.

      Unless of course our calculations are a bit off, then we accidentally created a bed version of the wrong chalice from raiders of the lost ark, but I think it's fine.

    • Sparkyte 5 hours ago
      I just walk outdoors.
      • Nevermark 5 hours ago
        Nude? :) I do think getting a bit of sun everywhere has to enhance the benefits. Thus my solution.

        I also walk a lot when I can and weather allows. I started walking with a weighted vest occasionally and it was like my body went into some kind of good shock. I was surprised how little soreness or fatigue I felt even the first time, after a two hour walk wearing 20 lbs. And the physical energy boost was dramatic. I switched to 40 lbs the second time and since.

        • stevekemp 2 hours ago
          Sure! Walk out of the sauna, over the garden, down the dock, then jump into the lake for a naked swim.

          Do that daily for about four weeks, come rain or shine, whilst enjoying your summer vacation.

          Of course that probably doesn't work for every country, but here in Finland it's normal enough. Too bad I'm a pale-skinned redhead, covered in freckles, and I get burned if I'm not too careful.

        • JumpCrisscross 4 hours ago
          > I do think getting a bit of sun everywhere has to enhance the benefit

          Why? This is not how we naturally insolate.

          I’m not saying you’re wrong. Just that the status quo is different parts of your body getting sun each day. You’re not replicating that, which places the burden of evidence on you.

        • djtango 2 hours ago
          Depends where you live but where I am it's not unacceptable to go for a run in essentially swim wear so you'd be sunning not much less than what you'd get in a public tanning salon
        • medstrom 3 hours ago
          There are tan-thru clothes, if you want to be serious about it.
      • Krssst 2 hours ago
        I just take vitamins if needed, saves time and no cancer.
  • drooopy 5 hours ago
    There was this lady who started going to the tanning salon across the street from my place. In 4-5 months her skin had turned from pale white into tanned leather. It was shocking watching this happen.
  • qubex 1 hour ago
    As a naturist I’ve always wondered whether there’s a difference in prevailing skin cancer rates, but I’ve never found any data.
  • breve 4 hours ago
    Why go to the expense of a tanning bed when you can get skin cancer for free.
    • hbogert 3 hours ago
      Geographically this is unpractical at some locations. Mild understatement. Do you happen to live in a year round sunny place?
      • ImHereToVote 1 hour ago
        This is true. As a society we often overlook the barriers to get skin cancer in many communities.
  • everyone 3 hours 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.

  • jwpapi 4 hours ago
    How does this compare to Melatonan peptide?
    • chrisco255 2 hours ago
      Melanotan makes your skin react to light more effectively and you can get a full tan quite quickly with it (even in a few days). I don't know whether that means it ages you less because it takes less UV exposure to get a good tan with it or if it has some other adverse side effect. But I have tried it once and it is definitely effective.
  • gazabbqparty 1 hour ago
    [dead]
  • faangguyindia 2 hours ago
    After workout, i sit in the mild sun each morning before having my breakfast and have done so for many years now. I live near Himalayas and sun is always there, except for some weeks of winter.
    • iwontberude 1 hour ago
      It’s not just the working out — it’s the sun lounging that has really made you comprehend the differences.
    • xandrius 2 hours ago
      And?
      • Xiol 2 hours ago
        He's very fit but looks like he's 120 years old.