Over the last month or so, we have seen the UK’s tabloid media, internationally renowned for its overt sensationalism (think Prince Harry and Meghan!), make its annual attempt to besmirch the professionalism of our tanning industry.
The result? To be honest, a number of years ago it probably bothered me more. But now, it presents as nothing more than an irritation. They play fast and loose with statistics that simply distort the facts in order to promulgate their flawed ideology. It is probably more frustrating than irritating that the media continues to function with such low standards of professionalism and fact-checking in certain quarters. I certainly find myself adopting a much more sanguine approach these days. Quite frankly, if celebrities and royalty with all of their influence and financial resources are unable to hold our tabloid media to account, what hope is there for us? And I say “more sanguine” because it is abundantly clear to me that our industry has never been in such a professional and well-grounded position.
This does not for one moment mean that we rest on our laurels; indeed, quite the opposite. Our industry’s relentless growth and professionalism must surely flummox our opponents and help further their blinkered and irrefutably flawed desire to see it challenged.
Our industry’s relentless growth and professionalism must surely flummox our opponents.
But what to do when someone repeats a mantra so often, however ridiculous it may be, that they believe it? Case in point: a dermatologist in a recent interview who claimed she would not see someone in her clinic “who isn’t using SPF every day. SPF30 all year round and top up with SPF 50 in the summer.”
This is a mantra soaked up by the beauty industry and media. Just try and buy any face moisturiser these days without SPF, or find an article about daily beauty regimes that does not include daily application of SPF. Where the UK is positioned geographically, this is just nonsense. And this is not just me saying this, it is widely (if not publicly) acknowledged by dermatologists.
Of course, SPF products have their role. As the tanning bed industry, we absolutely acknowledge, promote and educate on responsible UV exposure whether in the sun or a tanning bed.
Yet all too often, we find ourselves on a one-way street with our opponents when discussing responsible UV exposure. Whilst some UV exposure is acknowledged as necessary, and sunbathing with SPF is perhaps tolerated, any tanning bed use is an absolute no-no. (Once again cherry-picking research and data to fuel their ideology.) Another case in point: a research paper published in a peer-reviewed journal by Brian Diffey, BSc, AKC, PhD, DSc and Emeritus Professor of Photobiology in Dermatological Sciences, Institute of Cellular Medicine at the University of Newcastle, England. For a little further background, Professor Diffey invented the UVA Star Rating for sunscreens in conjunction with the UK’s leading drugstore company, and the Critical Wavelength adopted by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, as the sole measure of broad-spectrum protection.
The paper’s objective was to compare the UV exposure from a two-week holiday spent sunbathing with SPF-protected skin, with that from a typical course of ten tanning bed sessions. The conclusion was that the UV insult to the skin on a sunbathing holiday with SPF protection is likely to result in higher cumulative exposures than commonly employed tanning bed practices.
Need I say any more? Other than an update from my last month’s opinion piece when I mentioned a Charity Commission inquiry into the practices of a charity with an anti-tanning bed agenda – no report published as yet. But it is interesting to see that the charity’s founder and main protagonist of its anti-tanning agenda has been removed as a director of the company. No doubt more to come on this one!
