To test the effectiveness of an appearance-based intervention, Dr. June Robinson, professor of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and her colleagues assembled a 25-page book detailing the history of tanning and the effects it can have on skin and collagen, as well as tanning alternatives. They distributed the booklets to college-aged women (18-22) who tanned as often as four times per week.

These women said they tanned for one of two reasons: To boost mood (symptomatic of seasonal affective disorder), or because they detested their skin color. Six months after reading the booklet, tanning visits among the young women fell by roughly 35 percent and some eventually gave up tanning all together. Why?

“They’re not worried about skin cancer, but they are worried about getting wrinkled and being unattractive,” Robinson said in a press release. “The fear of looking horrible trumped everything else.”

East Tennessee State University’s Joel Hillhouse, Ph.D, was lead author of the report, and wrote the booklet used in the study. He says this experiment was originally meant to serve as an appearance intervention, which means it would have less of an effect on the group with symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

"We found the opposite,” he said. “The intervention worked just as well for people with seasonal affective disorder as for people who didn't like their skin color. That means it's a really good intervention for everyone."

That includes your daughter, your niece, or maybe even your sister. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, the number of women under age 40 diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma has doubled in the last three decades, and the risk of melanoma increases by 75 percent if she has used a tanning bed before age 35. Talking about responsible tanning is important.

The key?

"You have to balance the positive and the negative forces that motivate someone to change," Robinson said. "First you have the fear that they will look horrible, then you offer a positive—an alternative to meet their needs."

Read The Archives of Dermatology for more about the intervention study, or visit the Skin Cancer Foundation’s site to learn more about melanoma.

Comparing Apples to Oranges: UVA&UVB Rays

According to The Skin Cancer Foundation, long-wave UVA rays make up about 95 percent of the UV rays that hit Earth. These rays aren’t as intense, but there are 30-50 times more of them, and they’re present year-round in all daylight conditions. UVA rays have deeper penetration, too, and can cause wrinkles, aging, and skin cancer.

Although the effects of UVB rays are more superficial, they can cause serious damage to the epidermis. These rays are responsible for skin reddening and those nasty sunburns you get at the beach. UVB damage is more visible, and can also lead to skin cancer.

SPF: Get to Know Your Sunscreen

“For sunscreen to be really effective in preventing skin cancer, it has to provide broad-spectrum coverage,” Dr. Henry Lim, chairman of dermatology at Henry Ford Hospital, told MSNBC. “The U.S. is the only country with no guidelines for UVA protection, so consumers here have no way of knowing.”

One common misconception about a sunblock’s sun protection factor (SPF) is that the numbers—15, 30, and clear up to 100—indicate the level of protection. In actuality, it represents the amount of time a person can be exposed before the skin starts to redden. Dr. James Spencer, a St. Petersburg, Florida, dermatologist explains:

“SPF is very misleading,” he told MSNBC. “If I were a logical consumer, I would think that SPF 30 is twice as good as SPF 15. But SPF 15 blocks 94 percent of UVB rays. SPF 30 blocks 97 percent. Past 30, there isn’t much additional benefit to be had.”

Where to go from here:

The best thing you can do for your skin is to protect against both UVA and UVB rays.   Seek shade during peek daylight hours (10 am to 2 pm), wear clothing that will cover or protect the skin, and find a sunscreen that has ingredients that protect against both UVA and UVB rays. These ingredients include dioxybenzone, ecamsule, oxybenzone, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide.

Read more about UV rays at MSNBC.com, or contact the FDA about establishing guidelines for UVA protection.

Of 229 college students from a large university in the northeastern United States that used indoor tanning facilities, four in 10 met DSM-IV criteria for tanning addiction. Three in 10 met criteria for a test similar to the CAGE test (acronym for Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye-opener). CAGE is a four-question self-test sometimes used to increase awareness of use and/or abuse of alcohol.

Students who met criteria for both also had greater anxiety and substance use than their counterparts, which leads some to believe tanning addiction may be related to stress.

"There is some growing evidence now that people use tanning as a way to cope with stressors, as way to increase positive mood, decrease negative moods, [and to] cope with environmental demands,” Catherine E. Mosher, co-author of the study, said in an interview with Health Day. “In that way it's similar to other addictive behaviors."

Sun exposure stimulates Vitamin D production in the body. Vitamin D plays an important role in bone health, but it’s also been known to boost mood. Just 10 minutes a day in the sun’s UV rays—the same rays that allow tanning beds to produce that golden glow—is enough to boost these levels.

However all of this UV exposure can cause serious skin damage. For tanning addicts, this means a significantly higher risk of skin cancer. Mosher says counseling may be one way to reduce the impulse to tan

“Counseling could be a logical intervention for these people who have excessive visits to tanning salons,” Mosher said. “If, for some people, tanning is a way to cope with emotions, then there are obviously healthier ways to do so than to go to tanning salons every week.”

Read more about Mosher’s study on Health Day, or find her study’s abstract in The Archives of Dermatology.

Many of us remember to apply sunscreen while in the sun, but do we remember hats and sunglasses? July is UV Safety Month and the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) wants to remind people to protect their eyes as much as they protect their skin.

The sun is shining in Seattle today. Yes, finally. And as we take our walks and bask on our balconies during lunch break, we must remember to be cautious of potential sun hazards, such as UV radiation; as even a brief 15 minutes of sunshine can result in unwanted sunburn for some people.

The following are some tips from the Skin Cancer Foundation about sun protection. If you have questions about sun protection or skin cancer, make sure to Ask an Expert on Healia Communities.

• Use a sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher whenever you spend time outdoors.
• Cover up. Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants, a broad-brimmed hat, and UV-blocking sunglasses.
• Seek the shade.
• Never seek a tan.
• Protect your children and teach them sun safety at an early age.

sun protection skin cancer UV radiation