Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 May-Jun;15(3):123-132.
doi: 10.1097/jdn.0000000000000736.

Sunless and Indoor Tanning Among U.S. Non-Hispanic White Women Ages 18-49 Years

Andrew B Seidenberg  1 , Anne K Julian  2 , Anne M Hartman  1 , Dawn M Holman  2
Affiliations

Sunless and Indoor Tanning Among U.S. Non-Hispanic White Women Ages 18-49 Years

Andrew B Seidenberg et al. J Dermatol Nurses Assoc. 2023 May-Jun.

Abstract

The use of indoor UV tanning devices (also known as "indoor tanning") has declined in recent years. Less is known about use of dihydroxyacetone-containing products used for tanning (also known as "sunless tanning"). We analyzed data from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey. Analysis was limited to non-Hispanic White women ages 18-49 years. We estimated the proportion of women reporting spray tanning, self-applied lotion tanning, and indoor tanning and used weighted multivariable logistic regression models to examine the relationships between socio-demographic characteristics, skin cancer risk factors, and other cancer risk factors with sunless and indoor tanning. Overall, 17.7% of women reported sunless tanning. Lotion tanning was more common (15.3%) than spray tanning (6.8%), while 12.0% of women engaged in indoor tanning. Among sunless tanners, 23.7% also engaged in indoor tanning. Younger age, ever having a skin exam, skin reactions to the sun, binge drinking, and being at a healthy weight were associated with sunless tanning. While sunless tanning may be less harmful for skin cancer risk than indoor tanning, the frequency with which the two behaviors co-occur suggests that efforts to address societal pressures for women to alter their skin color may have important public health benefits.

Keywords: skin cancer; sunless tanning; tanning; tanning beds; women.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared

References

    1. Armstrong BK, & Kricker A.(2001). The epidemiology of UV induced skin cancer. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B, 63(1–3), 8–18. 10.1016/s1011-1344(01)00198-1 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Braunberger TL, Nahhas AF, Katz LM, Sadrieh N, & Lim HW (2018). Dihydroxyacetone: A Review. Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 17(4), 387–391. - PubMed
    1. Brooks K, Brooks D, Dajani Z, Swetter SM, Powers E, Pagoto S, & Geller AC (2006). Use of artificial tanning products among young adults. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 54(6), 1060–1066. - PubMed
    1. Ciriminna R, Fidalgo A, Ilharco LM, & Pagliaro M. (2018). Dihydroxyacetone: an updated insight into an important bioproduct. ChemistryOpen, 7(3), 233–236. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cision PR Newswire. (2021). Global Sunless Tanners Market Report 2021–2026 - Europe Leads Sunless Tanners Market, Emerging Markets Set to Spearhead Future Growth. Retrieved June 20, 2022 from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-sunless-tanners-market-r...