Indoor tanning makes youthful skin much older on a genetic level

Visible effects of tanning and UV aging

• Multiple anecdotes describe rapid transformation from fair skin to “leather-like” in a few months of salon use.
• Many commenters say this outcome matches decades-old knowledge that UV rapidly ages skin; others argue this is more “folk wisdom” than rigorously understood science.
• Some note regional differences: in sunny cultures, heavily outdoorsy people over 35 can look much older, but others in the same regions look fine if they avoid intense exposure.

What’s novel about the study

• Several people highlight that the new element is epigenetic: indoor tanning appears to accelerate aging at the DNA methylation level.
• Others respond that, while mechanistic details are interesting to scientists, the lay takeaway (“tanning beds age and damage skin”) hasn’t really changed.

Sunlight vs tanning beds vs supplements

• Repeated theme: natural sun in moderation is seen as beneficial (vitamin D, mood, circadian rhythm, nitric oxide, exercise outdoors), but tanning beds are viewed as “speedrunning” UV damage.
• Debate over whether vitamin D supplements can substitute for sunlight:
  • Correlations between high vitamin D levels and good health are strong, but trials of supplementation often disappoint.
  • Some groups (certain ethnicities, people with IBD or malabsorption) may not respond well to oral vitamin D.
• A few use low-dose UVB devices or brief bed exposure for winter mood or vitamin D; others insist pills are cheaper and safer.

Risk, mortality, and uncertainty

• One commenter cites a study where sunbed use correlated with lower all‑cause mortality despite higher melanoma risk, suggesting overall-health trade‑offs are not straightforward.
• Others emphasize that any tan is cellular damage and that tanning beds clearly increase mutations, especially in typically sun-protected areas like the lower back.
• There’s discussion of immune surveillance: mutated cells can sometimes be eliminated, but accumulated damage still raises long-term cancer risk.

Cultural aesthetics and behavior

• Strong discussion of Western preference for tanned skin vs many Asian cultures’ preference for lighter skin, both tied to status signaling (indoor leisure vs outdoor labor, or vice versa).
• Observations that heavy tanning makes people in their 20s–30s look a decade older; some consciously accept this trade-off for current appearance or mood.

Other interventions and side topics

• Melanotan peptides are discussed as a way to tan with less UV; others warn of serious potential risks (melanocyte proliferation, hormone disruption, melanoma).
• Brief tangents cover red/infrared light therapies, MSG/salt/alcohol as examples of lay “knowledge” vs evidence, and the difficulty of giving universal advice when genetics and environment differ.