Suntan benefits
So, if tans are protective, should we toss our SPF 45 and become sun worshippers? No. The researchers are emphatically on the side of sunscreen and avoidance of excessive sun or other UV exposure. But they’re also looking for ways to harness the “tanning pathway” that might give fair-skinned people the protective benefits of having a tan without going through the hazards of getting one. The safe tan would be one produced by activating the skin’s tanning process without running the risk of the DNA damage that occurs with exposure to UV light, either naturally from the sun or artificially at a tanning salon.
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