Tanning apps that offer ‘safe’ sun routines undermining efforts to tackle skin cancer | Health

Smartphone apps that claim to offer “safe” and “healthy” tanning routines to users as young as four are being heavily promoted by influencers, helping to fuel what has been described as a dangerous resurgence in tanning culture among Australian teenagers.

“Get your best tan safely” and “get a healthy glow faster” are among the claims in apps uploaded by Guardian Australia. One of the tanning apps, labeled as suitable for users aged 4 and above, is among the most downloaded free apps in the “weather” category of Apple’s App Store.

Many apps ask users to choose their ideal skin tone, like “espresso glow” or “golden bronze.” Users then choose from tanning intensity levels such as “mild,” “medium,” or “intense” for a “faster, deeper tan.”

Some apps prompt users to add body oils, tanning butters, and accelerators to their routines, or to select a post-sun refreshment activity, like taking a shower or swimming.

The apps then recommend a tailored tanning routine centered around deliberate exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays, with the app telling users when and how much time to spend in the sun to achieve their desired skin tone.

A sponsored social media ad for one of the apps features a tanned young woman, with the caption: “I didn’t check the UV. I didn’t reapply. I didn’t even think about it.”

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“It all makes no sense,” said Dr Deshan Sebaratnam, a dermatologist and associate professor at the University of New South Wales, adding that the concept of “safe tanning” from UV exposure does not exist.

“A tan is actually a distress signal from your skin,” he said. “This means that your skin cells have been damaged by ultraviolet rays and are reacting by producing melanin. There is no such thing as a safe tan. The only safe tan is a fake tan.”

Sebaratnam said apps suggesting gradual tanning schedules are safer or that there are safe exposure thresholds are misleading because any change in skin color indicates damage, whether it happens slowly or not.

He said tanning applications targeting young people are particularly troubling because UV damage early in life leads to a higher risk of skin cancer, long after the skin has healed.

That’s because UV damage “gets into your DNA, causing mutations, even though your skin heals and looks fine,” he said, with those DNA mutations in skin cells remaining afterward.

“When you acquire enough mutations, that’s what causes cancer,” he said.

“We know that childhood sunburns actually increase the risk and that’s why there are policies like ‘no hat, no play’.”

Although melanoma in children is rare, Sebaratnam said he has treated young patients who required surgery and lymph node removal.

Sebaratnam said using tanning accelerators or oils as suggested by some apps is a “terrible idea,” and that the products may contain ingredients that increase photosensitivity and lead to serious burns.

Cancer Council Victoria’s SunSmart program manager, Emma Glassenbury, said: “We’re hearing from parents who are worried about their children chasing tan lines again, asking about UV levels and when it’s ‘safe’ to tan.

“This is deeply concerning.”

A poll released by the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne in December found 23 per cent of teenagers aged 12 to 17 surveyed wrongly believed a tan protects against skin cancer, while half said they would prefer to look tanned.

Around 2,000 Australians die from skin cancer each year.

“What we’re doing is really trying to raise awareness about the dangers of these apps,” Glassenbury said.

“We urge all Australians not to engage in these dangerous tanning apps, as they are simply too risky and particularly target our young people.

“By promoting tanning trends, they are actually undermining our public health efforts in the fight against skin cancer. SunSmart has spent decades trying to shift Australians’ attitudes away from this tanning mentality.”