Perhaps best said by the late Jim Morrison: “Whoever controls the media controls the mind” or perhaps the Orwellian, “The people will believe what the media tells them to believe” from his book, 1984. What evs. They sure have a gift for contouring public opinion.
The case in point comes to us from across The Pond. The UK’s the Daily Mail recently reported that a woman from Gloucester who opted to use tanning beds to get a “lush fake tan” noted that a small mole appeared after three months of sunbed use. The headline “Mother diagnosed with skin cancer after using sunbeds for 3 months” pushes the issue. It was further stated that she went to her general practitioner who told her the mole was melanoma skin cancer. Based on this body of information, do you believe this to be true or false? Well, let’s take a deeper look.
If you have successfully completed the industry’s premier salon operator certification program, Sun is Life®, you will recall that melanoma has a latency period of 20-30 years. The Atlantic Health website even claims that it can be as long as 30-40 years. So, it’s highly unlikely that her brief period of UV exposure over just three months ignited a mole that was observed to be melanoma. But there’s certainly a “wow” factor in the headline, n’est pas? (French for “right?”) Hey, it’s a European story, so I threw that in … but I digress.
A series of factors contribute to development of melanoma. Among the top are heredity, family history of skin cancer and mole (nevi) coverage, as well as pale skin, freckles, light-colored eyes and yes, lifetime history of UV exposure. So, if you are predisposed to skin cancer, you (of course) need to be aware of limiting your UV exposure. But understand that people can get melanoma without any UV exposure. It’s mostly observed on the head, neck and shoulders, but sometimes it’s even observed between the toes. So, remember the A B C D E format for determining melanoma. A: asymmetry. If a mole is not symmetrical, it may be something a doctor should examine. B: border, as in irregular edges. C: color, whether it is black, brown or tan. D: diameter, as in whether it is enlarging from very small to perhaps pea-sized. E: evolving, as in whether the mole is changing with regard to any of the above-listed factors.
Look, as always, if you are predisposed to skin cancer, any form of UV exposure should be done with caution. However, millions of people weigh the risk/benefit of seeking a cosmetic tan acquired by UV exposures from a tanning system at a professional salon where sessions are delivered in moderation and responsibility to minimize the risk of overexposure and sunburn.
Salon staff who have completed Sun is Life Training & Certification are aware of these facts and much more! For information on the award-winning Sun is Life program, visit sunislife.com.
If you have successfully completed the industry’s premier salon operator certification program, Sun is Life®, you will recall that melanoma has a latency period of 20-30 years.
