What Is a Tan?

Some say “a tan is the skin's response to an injury,” I disagree. While I don't claim to be an expert on the epidermis, I believe a tan is the body's natural defense against UV radiation. That is, when our body is exposed to UV light our skin naturally forms melanin. This melanin is our body's natural sunscreen, it absorbs harmful UV rays and has the added touch of browning our skin.

Instead I claim, “a sunburn is the skin's response to an injury.” A sunburn, whether acquired while tanning indoors or tanning outdoors, is when the real skin damage occurs. The red color of a sunburn is partly due to the increased blood flow to the injured skin. Don't believe that a sunburn eventually fades into a tan – this is untrue. Instead a sunburn is an injury on top of tanned skin, as our body heals this injury the redness fades away to reveal the tanned skin.

TanSmart, never let yourself sunburn!