The summer is over but before you head to the tanning salon to maintain that sunkissed look, beware!

Some people experience a reduction in the amount of acne they have after tanning, leading to the popular myth that the habit is actually beneficial for acne sufferers. Although it may be nice to have less pimples after a few sessions under the sun (or under the lights of a tanning bed), in the long term, this practice can actually contribute to increased levels of sebum production in the skin, leading to the potential of more pimples.

Why?

Well, the role of sebum is to hydrate the skin. However, pimples are often caused by excess levels of sebum which support the growth of acne causing bacteria. Tanning dries some amount of sebum in the skin, which is typically how it positively affects breakouts. Unfortunately, the skin will naturally react to drier conditions by producing more sebum, thereby contributing to the formation of more pimples.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 9:46 am and is filed under General Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.