“Tanning is beneficial to your health,” claims tanning salon owners and employees when the House Committee on Energy and Commerce undercover investigators called 300 tanning salons nationwide. This false claim may not fool many sun protection advocates, but the rest of the U.S. population could be easily led to believe that tanning is good for you.

Australia has the highest rate of melanoma in the world. For decades they have been taking measures to reduce the number of skin cancers by encouraging the use of sun protection through public health campaigns. Now, Australia is taking their sun safety efforts to the next level. In February, New South Whales (NSW), the most heavily populated state is Australia, declared they will prohibit the use of commercial tanning beds, regardless of age, by 2015.

Some stories are so powerful they need to be retold. This blog was written by Dr. Jessica Sparks Lilley, a pediatrician who learned the hard way that the risks of getting melanoma from using a tanning bed are real! Please do not use tanning beds. Please do not allow your children to use tanning beds. Help pass legislation to ban the use of tanning beds by minors.

If you had the resources to tell hundreds of thousands of people around the world about skin cancer and prevention would you? Director and Cinematographer Stan Kozma did and decided to take action. All is revealed about skin cancer and melanoma in his film “More Than Skin Deep: Skin Cancer in America”. This landmark film has so many elements that we decided to speak with Stan and get the reasoning behind his creation of the film.

According to a recent survey by the American Academy of Dermatology, the answer is yes for many teens and young adults in the United States. When asked if they think people look more attractive with a tan, a large percentage of respondents (66 percent) answered yes, especially indoor tanners (87 percent).

Did you know the expression ‘you are what you eat’ is true to a certain extent? While it’s well known that your overall health can be impacted by diet, your outward appearance, skin in particular, is greatly affected by everything you put into your body as well. If you’re hosting this year’s Thanksgiving feast, take a second look at your grocery list before heading off to the super market. If you want to keep your skin looking healthy and naturally glowing throughout the holidays, fill yourself with food and nutrients your skin, and body, will love.

Whether you’re a fan of the Twilight series or not, in the next few weeks you’ll be hearing plenty about it as the fourth movie, Breaking Dawn Part 1, makes its way to theaters. I always enjoy the hype around this series, not only because I’m a “Twihard”, but because it makes me feel like I’m part of a movement that’s making pale skin more desirable, seeing that I have a naturally light skin tone.

On Sunday, October 9, 2011, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill making California the first state to prohibit minors from using tanning beds. This raises the question, should teens be able to decide whether or not to use tanning beds? According to Aim at Melanoma Foundation, using a tanning bed before the age of 20 doubles a person’s risk of developing melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Even more staggering is that 28 million individuals in the U.S. use tanning beds each year despite the statistics, which includes 2.3 million teens.

Have you ever wondered why your loved one can’t get enough of the tanning bed? They are, after all, very health conscious, they don’t smoke, they exercise and eat an organic diet. Why then would they continue to use tanning beds knowing the potential risks? Science can shed some new light on the subject.

The incidence and prevention of skin cancers has become a global concern. The World Health Organization reports that prolonged human exposure to solar UV radiation may result in acute and chronic health effects of the skin, eyes and immune system, including skin cancer. This global epidemic has prompted the first International Conference on UV and Skin Cancer Prevention, jointly sponsored by the WHO, the Danish Cancer Society, TrygFonden and the Cancer Council Victoria.