Generation Z Wants a Tan

I turned my attention to TikTok to find out what gospels of tanning wisdom young people are preaching. It was worse than I had anticipated. 

In a video with 1.1 million views, one young TikToker advises wearing sunscreen but then goes on to say that “tanning is a sport” and that she checks the forecast for a UV index of 7 or higher before lathering herself in tanning oil and laying out during peak UV rays hours. A commenter on her video responded, “I’ll literally believe anything you say.” 

Another TikToker with a suspiciously single-minded focus on tanning and 1.2 million likes across her videos posted a video that starts off mocking those who say she’s going to get cancer and ends by promoting a tanning app that uses a photo of your skin and suggests the optimal UV index and amount of time you need to tan. The app (mockingly, it feels) also suggests the SPF you should apply while tanning. The same TikToker has promoted a second app that makes similar claims. 

Lies, lies, lies. There is no such thing as a safe tan unless it comes in the form of a self-tanner from a bottle. The color you get when you tan—even if it’s a subtle “sun-kissed glow”—is sun damage. And sun damage can lead to skin cancer and more rapidly aging skin—there is no room for caveats here. 

“A tan is your body’s way of producing melanin to protect itself from radiation, from ultraviolet radiation,” dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD, tells CR. “So it’s basically your body’s way of giving you an SOS to say, ‘Whoa, I am in protective mode.’”

If you were born with Black or brown skin, your natural melanin provides a natural form of UV protection of up to about SPF 13, according to dermatologist Michelle Henry, MD at Skin & Aesthetic Surgery of Manhattan. However, Henry tells CR, SPF 13 is not sufficient. “What we recommend is SPF 30 to SPF 50,” Henry says. “So yes, there is some natural inherent protection with melanin, but it’s not sufficient to protect us, to give us immunity from skin cancer. I mean, that 13 percent is why we see lower rates of skin cancer in darker skin. There is some inherent protection, however, it is not completely protective or perfect.”

There are several TikTok videos showing very tanned or reddened young people providing tanning tips. My goal isn’t to shame them. They are young, learning, may not be aware of their influence, and were born at a time when they just so happen to have a platform for spreading information (and misinformation) that they are likely getting from other sources. 

Just as cigarettes increase your risk of getting lung cancer, Gohara says tanning booths, which she says provide 12 times more ultraviolet light than ambient sun exposure, increase your risk of getting skin cancer. “The booths are a known and well-established carcinogen,” Gohara says.

According to a 2024 national survey by Orlando Health Cancer Institute, about one in seven (14 percent) adults under the age of 35 believe that daily sunscreen use is more harmful to the skin than direct sun exposure, and 23 percent believe drinking water and being hydrated can prevent sunburn. There’s a bit of debate over why some are avoiding sunscreen and believing alternative facts about sun exposure, with some writing on Reddit that they believe that it prevents vitamin D absorption and that some wellness influencers are pushing tips like “eat more foods with antioxidants” in place of wearing sunscreen.

​​Gohara says there is no science behind that thinking. “What we do know is that one blistering sunburn or five regular sunburns, double your risk of melanoma, which is a deadly skin cancer over a lifetime,” Gohara says. “And most people have had one sunburn or one blistering sunburn or five regular sunburns. So anyone picking themself up to not wear sunscreen is essentially really putting themself at a very high risk for skin cancer. If they feel that they want a sunscreen with less chemicals in it, they can choose one with titanium or zinc, which are naturally occurring minerals.”

That isn’t the only alarming statistic about Gen Z and tanning. In 2023, the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) surveyed more than 1,000 adults in the U.S. and found that 71 percent of Gen Z adults (between the ages of 18 and 25) are unfamiliar with the risks of sunburn, with 59 percent of them believing tanning is “healthy” and that a “base tan” can prevent sunburn. 

“Getting a base tan, that’s a complete fallacy,” Gohara says, adding that once the sun has tanned your skin at all, the damage is already done.

Some health experts are staging a social media counteroffensive by creating content that is pro-sunscreen and anti-tanning, but Henry says whenever she posts a video about the importance of wearing sunscreen, it is received with anger by some commenters. “I think they’re getting a lot of misinformation, and that’s why it’s really important that physicians are at the table and participating in social media and all of these conversations [so] that our voices can be louder,” Henry says. “I get attacked on social media for telling people to wear sunscreen all of the time. So it’s a tough battle.”

I sat Kiera down for a brief interview to find out how much of these messages she has absorbed. She downloaded TikTok for the first time six months ago. 

Mom: Why do you want a tan? 
Kiera: It looks good. It adds to your looks. 

Mom: How dangerous do you think it is to tan? 
Kiera: You wear sunscreen while you tan. I thought you can’t get cancer if you wear sunscreen while tanning. 

Mom: Do your friends tan? 
Kiera: Yes. They use tanning oil. 

Mom: Where do you get tanning tips? 
Kiera: TikTok. I know my sources aren’t reliable. 

Mom: At what age do you think skin cancer is detected? 
Kiera: In your 20s.

Kiera was spot-on about one thing: Even though the risks increase with age, melanoma is the third most diagnosed cancer among individuals aged 25 to 39 in the U.S., and for individuals ages 15 to 29, it’s the ninth most common cancer. Gohara says that the first sign of aging and sun damage she frequently sees in people as early as their teens are freckles on their skin. While it could be youth and a lack of perspective talking, the AAD’s survey found that 20 percent of Gen Z adults said getting a tan was more important to them than preventing skin cancer.  

The AAD recommends that everyone use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher every day, even when it’s cloudy outside. Apply it 15 minutes before going outside and re-apply it every two hours (or right after exposure to water). The AAD also advises avoiding tanning beds, wearing sun-protective clothing—for more protection, wear items with an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) on the label—and seeking shade between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sun’s rays are strongest. Consumer Reports has tested dozens of mineral and chemical sunscreens. You can see our top picks here. It’s critical that you find a sunscreen you’ll actually use.

Gen Z has something that previous generations didn’t have at an early age: TikTok and social media platforms that promote education (including valuable scary stories from skin cancer survivors) and lies about tanning and sunscreen. But is Gen Z so different from their parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents in terms of their attitude toward tanning? 

Henry says she thinks it is a bigger problem now, and that the root problem is a lack of trust in medical experts and their advice when it comes to health, including sunscreens and sun exposure. “They’re the digital native generation who’ve been flooded with information but not education,” Henry says of Gen Z. “They’re the generation who grew up hearing things like ‘Fake news, don’t trust this. Vet your source.’ And they’re confused. We’ve taught them not to trust what they read, but we’ve not taught them how to figure out what to trust, right?”

In an environment where trust has been eroded, it’s difficult for Gen Z to figure out the importance of expertise. And this makes it even easier for a charismatic influencer with no medical background or knowledge of science to swoop in, throw around the words “toxic” and “chemicals,” and create panic.