TikTok has helped revive indoor tanning among young people—mostly women—a trend Seattle dermatologist Dr. Heather Rogers calls alarming after years of decline. A 2025 American Academy of Dermatology survey found 20% of Gen Z prioritize getting a tan over protecting their skin, and 25% say it’s worth looking great now even if it means looking worse later.
A new study published in Science Advances explains why that mindset is dangerous. Researchers compared medical records for nearly 3,000 people who used tanning beds with an age-matched group who never tanned indoors and found tanning-bed users were nearly three times as likely to develop melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. The team also detected DNA damage across nearly the entire surface of the skin in tanning-bed users, not just at visibly affected spots.
Dr. Pedram Gerami, the IDP Foundation professor of skin cancer research at Northwestern and a study author, says precursor mutations were present “even in skin cells that look normal” in tanning-bed patients. The researchers observed a clear dose–response effect: 10 to 50 tanning-bed exposures doubled melanoma risk compared with controls, while more than 200 visits increased risk more than eightfold. Gerami notes that 200 exposures can accumulate quickly—roughly once a week for four years.
The team performed genetic sequencing on normal-appearing skin from tanning-bed users, most of whom were younger women—the demographic known to tan indoors most heavily. Hunter Shain, an associate professor of dermatology at UCSF and co-author, said the group was “stunned” to find women in their 30s and 40s carrying more mutations than people in their 70s and 80s from the general population. “They somehow were able to cram in two lifetimes’ worth of UV damage in 30 years,” Shain said.
Dr. Rogers adds that tanning beds can emit ultraviolet radiation 10 to 15 times stronger than sunlight and are sometimes marketed as safer—claims this study undermines. Gerami says many patients in his high-risk melanoma clinic are women who began indoor tanning as teens for events like prom and now endure frequent skin checks, biopsies, anxiety and the emotional burden of a cancer diagnosis at a young age. Some of those patients donated skin samples to the study in hopes of preventing similar harm to others.
The findings reinforce a simple takeaway: indoor tanning delivers intense UV exposure that causes widespread DNA damage and substantially raises melanoma risk. Avoiding tanning beds and prioritizing sun protection remain the most effective ways to reduce that risk.