What’s the difference between UVB and UVA?
UVB are the burning rays. These short-wave rays produce sunburn and are considered the main cause of skin cancer. UVA are the aging rays. These long-wave rays penetrate the skin more deeply than UVB, adding to the UVB’s harmful effects, promoting skin cancer, wrinkles, blotching and premature aging of the skin. What if my daughter wants to go to a tanning booth to get tan? According to the American Academy of Dermatology, indoor tanning lamps emit UVA and UVB radiation at levels that are far higher than the sun. New, high-pressure sunlamps emit doses that can be as much as 15 times that of the sun. A number of recent studies have found that exposure to tanning beds before the age of 35 caused a 75 percent rise in melanoma. Both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) encourage people to avoid use of tanning beds and sun lamps. What many teenagers may not realize is that, thanks to great improvements in artificial tanning lotions,
