Want a safe tan? Buy it in a bottle
The only safe tan comes out of a bottle, according to Peter Webb, M.D., a Mills-Peninsula dermatologist who follows his own skin cancer prevention advice.


“I just had a vacation in Maui,” he said. “I sat under an umbrella and wore a lightweight sun-protective shirt when I snorkeled.

“If you come back from vacation with a tan, you’ve gotten too much sun.”

Don’t pin your hopes on sunscreen, either, the dermatologist advised.

“Sunscreen is good, but it’s overrated. People put it on and think they have iron-clad protection. That’s not true.

“The first defense is clothing – a big hat, high collar and long sleeves,” Dr. Webb said. “Then add the highest level sunscreen, and don’t skimp.”

The dermatologist knows he’s “swimming upstream” when a tan is still a symbol of
status and health among Caucasians, who are most at risk of skin cancer.

But the problem is increasing. There are more skin cancers each year in the U.S. than all other cancers combined.

Melanoma is the most dangerous. “The lifetime risk now is one in 75,” Dr. Webb said. “This is particularly frightening because while other skin cancers tend to occur in older age groups after years of sun exposure, melanoma tends to have peak incidence earlier, from the 20’s through 50’s. “One American dies of melanoma every hour.

“Another popular myth is that tanning beds are a safe alternative, the dermatologist cautioned.

“It’s technically true that tanning beds are a little safer than natural sun, but they still use radiation, and it’s a wavelength that actually penetrates deeper into the skin.

“We don’t know yet what the long-term effects will be.

“We do know that longer wavelengths cause deeper changes in the skin also known as aging. Tanning beds should really be called aging beds.”

The only safe tan comes from the skin dyes found on cosmetic counters, Dr. Webb said. “They’ve improved over the years and are pretty good now for giving natural color.”

The doctor’s long-term wish is a cultural shift to Caucasian fashion preferring untanned skin.

“Tanning has only been popular since the early 1900’s when it became associated with the wealthy leisure class who had time to sunbathe.

“Fashions change, and some day this fashion will change, too,” he said. “It’s slow, but it will happen, just like smoking.”


Skin cancer basics
All skin cancers come from sun exposure, but melanoma also has other factors.

The three types of skin cancer: