Their proponents say they’re healthy for you, but does science back up this claim?

It sounds logical enough: if controlled sun exposure is the best way for your body to manufacture vitamin D, then tanning beds might be good for your health, helping to prevent a number of cancers. This is the mantra common to the tanning salon industry and, for people who love to get brown, it’s a seductive one.

While the UV light emitted by tanning beds and booths does indeed cause the skin to manufacture vitamin D (provided your skin is not slathered with accelerator creams), there are no studies to show that this vitamin can prevent skin cancer or help protect the skin from premature wrinkling and the development of age spots.

So should you forsake the tanning salon altogether? Not if you avoid the tanning beds and booths that tan you by emitting UV light. Most salons now offer the “UV-free tan” — where you enter a booth and are sprayed all over with a self-tanner or bronzing colourant. It’s a great way to prepare yourself for an upcoming vacation, and your skin won’t suffer. Just remember that these tans have no SPF and wear your broad-spectrum sunscreen when out in the real sunshine.