Artificial tanning is still popular in SP – 12/17/2023 – Equilíbrio

The tanning bed trend didn’t stop there in the 2000s. Today, in São Paulo, at least 60 clinics provide services and guarantee the desired skin tone with the addition of a bikini line. This is against all recommendations from Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency).

The use of tanning beds that emit ultraviolet (UV) radiation, for aesthetic purposes, has been banned throughout the country since 2009. At the time, a study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (Iarc) associated the practice before the age of 35 with a 75% increase in the risk of skin cancer.

In the state of São Paulo, however, a court decision allows beauty companies to provide artificial tanning. Anvisa says it has appealed the determination and is awaiting judgment.

Meanwhile, companies in the capital deny any relationship between artificial bronze and skin cancer and benefit from influencers’ publicity.

“Our equipment is UVA lights, they are not radiation or jets”, says the attendant at a tanning company in Mooca, on the east side of the capital of São Paulo, to say that the procedure is safe. UVA lights are radiation.

In another establishment, in the Perdizes neighborhood, in the west zone, the attendant states that the camera filters both UVB and UVA lights. “Don’t worry,” she says when asked about the risk of skin cancer.

The radiation used by the camera, in theory, filters UVB light (ultraviolet B rays, which burn the skin and are more present in the 12 o’clock sun) and uses UVA (ultraviolet A rays, which cause skin cancer and premature aging). .

A clinic, with branches in Tatuapé (east zone), Perdizes, Ibirapuera (south zone) and Avenida Paulista (central region), boasts of having “masterfully met the desires of demanding clients”, such as the digital influencer and lawyer criminalist Deolane Bezerra, singer MC Mirella and ex-BBB Jaqueline Grohalski.

At the Paulista branch, two bronze chambers do the work. One, the attendant guarantees, has infrared light that provides collagen. But both have “morning sunlight”, he says, recommended by dermatologists for tanning — until 10 am.

There’s no danger, he says, you just need to know your skin phototype, measured first using a machine similar to digital thermometers that measure temperature using your wrist. This way, you can tell how long your skin can withstand the machine. Durations range from 20 to 40 minutes.

“Even if you protect yourself from UVB, UVA continues to act on your skin. It won’t burn, it will age you and cause cancer”, says the director of SBD in São Paulo, Flavia Ravelli.

Despite the promises of radiation similar to the morning sun, dermatologists explain that the risk of cancer is greater than that of a tan on the beach.

“The danger is that tanning beds use high doses of ultraviolet radiation to stimulate skin pigmentation,” says Marcelo Sato Sano, dermatologist and surgical oncologist at Beneficência Portuguesa.

Doctors know the camera procedure because they use similar technology in phototherapy. The practice is regulated and was developed to treat skin conditions, such as psoriasis and vitiligo, that respond to radiation.

“People took this technology and made it popular. They began to see that those who had a tan looked healthy”, says Cauê Cedar, a doctor at the Brazilian Society of Dermatology (SBD).

The difference between the procedures is that medical treatment has benefits and is controlled by specialists, dermatologists say. The time spent on the machine increases progressively and rarely exceeds 20 minutes.

“There is a day to start and a day to end, because we know that even if it is to treat a disease, it can cause cancer in the future”, says the director of SBD in São Paulo.

According to the doctor, the society of dermatologists has already reported several irregular artificial tanning establishments to Anvisa this year. “What has caught our attention are some cases of burns in these tanning beds — as they are prohibited by Anvisa, we have no regulations,” she says.

At an aesthetic center in Bela Vista, in the central region of São Paulo, a scientific term asks the client to see a dermatologist in case of bruises and blemishes on the skin after tanning. There, after the first bronze cycle, which takes at least three sessions with a maximum interval of 48 hours, it is possible to spend up to 60 minutes on the machine.

In another, in the east zone, three 50-minute sessions cost R$275. On the portal, they claim that they have “the Anvisa seal”, even though Anvisa does not regulate procedures.

How to tan healthily

If you don’t have a beach or pool to tan before 10 am or after 4 pm, you can resort to spray tanning or self-tanning, experts say.

Spray tanning uses a pressurized pigment that “paints” the person from neck to toe with the desired color. The biggest risk, says Cedar, is that the pigment will cause some type of allergy or reach an area of ​​mucous membrane.

Self-tanning is a product that can be recommended by a dermatologist and applied at home. After a while, a more golden and vibrant skin tone becomes evident.

In the case of tanning in the radiation chamber, doctors advise you to see a dermatologist if any changes are noticed after the procedure — such as spots, spots that have changed pattern and burns.

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