This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Tanning

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Tanning is the darkening of the skin's colour as a result of deliberate ultraviolet radiation exposure - sunbathing. It is potent way of externally modifying the rate of melanogenesis within the skin. There may be three mechanisms at work:

  • photo-oxidation of existing melanin by long-wave UVA which lasts for less than an hour
  • production of new melanocytes, tyrosinase and melanin by exposure to UVB. There is a latency of at least 24 hours for this reaction.
  • putative oxidation of glutathione, so preventing its inhibition of tyrosinase

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.