As Spring Break approaches, students are beginning to feel the glow.

Many students tan right before Spring Break. Susan Mueller, owner of Super Tan, 122 E. Hillcrest Drive, said it is a good idea for students with certain types of skin to get a base tan before going on Spring Break.

“If [you are] going on Spring Break to a location that is warm and sunny, we recommend a base tan because some people are more at risk to burn,” Mueller said.

Kara Schuur, a junior communication and journalism double major, said she is currently tanning for Spring Break.

“I think that tanning sporadically to get a base tan for Spring Break is OK, but tanning too much can be dangerous,” Schuur said. “As long as people know the dangers and use precaution when tanning, it is fine.”

Biology professor John Mitchell said skin relies on a limited amount of sunlight exposure to make sufficient vitamin C for bone structure and general health.

If students will be in bright, unprotected sunlight, it is better to moderate the exposure to develop a tan rather than to burn and cause cell damage and mutation when the skin is completely unprotected, Mitchell said.

“This pigment in the epidermal layers does reduce the negative effects of continued sun exposure, but this is not complete protection,” Mitchell said. “Continued sun exposure, even with a deep tan, will increase skin cancers and premature wrinkling and aging. This is quite obvious among outdoor laborers such as farmers and residents of our warmer climates who are exposed to more sun.”

Tanning in tanning booths is different than sun exposure. Mitchell said manufacturers of tanning booths insist their products are designed to avoid the harmful UV wavelengths.

“Certainly the lights can minimize the wavelengths most frequently associated with certain types of DNA damage,” Mitchell said. “However, some investigators in this field suggest that there indeed is damage caused by the same wavelengths of light that induce the tanning response.”

The Illinois Department of Public Health enforced a law that said a person cannot tan twice in a 24-hour period. Mueller said her facility does strictly enforce this law.

“We do have unlimited tanning packages,” Mueller said. “But there are restrictions. We encourage tanning in moderation. If you do things in moderation, they are more helpful than hurtful, just like anything else in life.”

Consistent exposure of unprotected skin to sunlight or tanning booth light can be risky to one’s health, Mitchell said.

“It is quite likely that by continuing to be exposed to this ‘tanning,’ light you are also increasing the chance of cell mutation, such as cancer and premature cell aging,” Mitchell said. “It may be a while, however, before sufficient data is accumulated by monitoring people who do maintain tans by this means to convince the general public of this risk.”

For now, Mitchell said there is plenty of evidence that long-term sun exposure, even in well-tanned skin, will result in a higher incidence of skin cancers, premature wrinkling, age spots, loss of skin elasticity and general premature skin aging.