By CATHY GEIGLE
cathy@du2.byu.edu
Although the debate over the safety of indoor tanning salons has increased in recent years, salons continue to be extremely popular in Utah County, according to Joe Schuster, the national sales director for Wolff Systems Technology.
Provo has at least nine tanning salons, not including the tanning beds owned by private gyms.
Schuster said salons are very popular in places where outdoor activities take place. He said Utah County is no different.
'Tanning salons offer a controlled environment in which to obtain a cosmetic tan as opposed to the uncontrollable aspect of outside weather,' Schuster said.
Since the big boom of tanning salons began in the 1980s, no claims on health can be made concerning the relative safety of tanning beds, Schuster said.
However, the Environmental Health Department does regulate sanitation and exposure time or the bulbs that are used in the beds, according to Jay Stone from the EHD.
'We certainly don't advocate going, but we want to make it as safe as possible,' Stone said.
Cathy Warner, owner of Club Tan in Provo, said, 'Overexposure is what creates the most damage to the skin. People think that they have to get red to get tan and they don't.'
Russell Eyre, a doctor from the Eyre Dermatology Clinic in Provo, said using sunsreen is a better option than going to a tanning bed. Eyre said that with sunscreen people can get tan without burning.
'It is hard to take back the radiation that is received in tanning beds, and a tan is actually a way the body tries to protect itself from damage,' Eyre said. He said the beauty effects from tanning can be long-term.
Tanning promotes a degradation to collagen and elastin, the skin's major protein which can give the skin a 'yellowish pebbley' look, Eyre said.
Tanning also ages the skin, causing wrinkles and freckles, Eyre said.
'As far as I'm concerned, it is very clear that scientific literature would support the fact that tanning has a dangerous effect,' Eyre said.
However, Warner said the good thing about tanning beds is the controlled environment that allows exposure time to be regulated. He said any ultraviolet exposure causes aging whether in a tanning bed or outside in the sun.