First, you need to understand that there is no such thing as a safe tan. Any amount of tanning, whether it is achieved by exposure to artificial or natural sun, is dangerous. A tan is your body's protective mechanism kicking in to protect your skin from further damage. Dermatologists recommend a sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 15. Thus, a base tan offers almost no protection, and you have to damage your skin to get it.
Some sun seekers turn to tanning beds thinking they are a safer alternative.
However, what people don't know is that tanning beds may also lead to skin cancer. The prevalence of melanoma and other skin cancers is increasing in young women, the same population that frequent tanning beds. Recent experimental evidence has made it clear that, contrary to earlier belief, UVA can burn, and when it does, it burns much more deeply and severely than any other ultraviolet wavelengths. As a result, UVA rays negatively affect the immune system, allowing cancer cells to take over. This type of photo damage occurs much more quickly with tanning beds than with natural sunlight because the UVA rays used in tanning devices deliver two to three times the dose of UVA found in outdoor sunlight.