The darker the skin, the more damage UV rays have done. Knowing this, it can be concluded that tanning beds are far more intense than the sun and emit much greater amounts of UV rays. People like the fact that their skin is dark and they think this is a positive thing when in actuality tanning is your skin healing itself. This is why tanning indoors is not at all safer or better for the skin than natural sunlight. In fact, if a person tans indoors on a regular basis, it can be worse than natural sunlight. .
Too much exposure to UV rays can damage the retina, burn the cornea, and, with repeated exposure over time, can cause cataracts. Cataracts happen when the structure of the lens in a person's eye begins to cloud. Cataracts can eventually cause blindness. Sunglasses block UV rays; This is why sunglasses are recommended when someone is outside in sunny conditions. Tanning beds are much worse for your eyes than being outside on a sunny day because they emit a greater amount of concentrated UV rays. Even a few minutes of exposure in a tanning bed can be harmful to the eyes. Many people do not wear eye protection while tanning to avoid the "raccoon effect" around the eyes even though it is required by law to wear a pair of goggles. Tanning indoors is much more harmful to the eyes than most people know. .
Tanning indoors causes premature aging of the skin. Premature aging is also caused by natural sunlight, but it occurs much faster if a person were to tan regularly. Premature aging is associated with wrinkled, saggy, leathery, skin. Human skin wrinkles naturally as we age and some people use this excuse to contradict premature aging caused of tanning beds. But tanning indoors repeatedly does in fact cause premature aging of the skin. There are three different kinds of UV rays: UVA (longest UV wavelength), UVB (shorter UV wavelength), and UV (shortest UV wavelength). Premature aging happens because of the longer UVA rays given off by a tanning bed.
