When Kim Kardashian offered a sneak peek into the SKKN offices for her TikTok followers, the last thing we expected to see were sun beds. In one part of the video, Kim excitedly displays her own sun bed, getting into it while dressed in a robe and protective eyewear. She jokingly remarks, "I’m Kim Kardashian, so of course I have a tanning bed." This left many of us scratching our heads – why would someone like Kim, who is all about skincare and has built her SKKN brand around it, have and apparently use a sun bed in her office?
While the moment with the "3D model of my brain casually sitting on my desk" was quite interesting, the presence of the sun bed became the elephant in the room that fans couldn’t ignore, including us. Comments from TikTok users ranged from questions like, "Does this mean we can start tanning again?" to statements like, "Are tanning beds safe again???? I’m seeing them everywhere."
But let’s not forget the facts – sun beds are not good for us, for a multitude of reasons. The Skin Cancer Foundation highlights that UV radiation from sun beds is a known human carcinogen, classified in the same cancer-causing group as cigarettes and plutonium by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. In 2014, the FDA upgraded UV tanning from a low risk to a moderate-to-high risk of cancer. In the UK, it’s illegal for those under 18 to use sun beds, and countries like Australia, Brazil, and Iran have even banned indoor tanning altogether.
The statistics linking tanning beds to cancer are alarming. According to Cancer Research UK, individuals who start using sun beds before age 35 have an 87% higher risk of malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. The charity also found that those who have ever used a sun bed are 20% more likely to develop melanoma compared to those who haven’t. The British Medical Journal estimated that sun beds account for 5.4% of malignant melanoma cases in 18 European countries studied. In the UK alone, sun beds cause around 440 malignant melanomas annually, leading to nearly 100 deaths.
While UV exposure remains a major cause of melanoma, it’s crucial to note that sunbed-induced cases are entirely preventable. Some may speculate that Kim’s sun bed is related to her psoriasis, a condition she has been open about. However, UV exposure can actually exacerbate psoriasis rather than help. Board-certified dermatologist Shasa Hu, MD, has explained that severe sunburn can trigger a full-body psoriasis flare, as it essentially causes systemic skin damage. While controlled sunlight and medical UV therapy can be beneficial for psoriasis, sunburn and sun bed use are big no-nos for psoriasis patients.
Kim also reveals a red UV light bed positioned next to her sun bed, showing that she might have one part of the equation right.
