Spray tans can cause damage to DNA which could lead to cancer and fatal lung diseases, a panel of experts have warned.
The chemicals used in the process are absorbed far deeper into the skin than had been thought and can spark a ‘mutagenic’ effect on genes.
They can also be inhaled into the lungs during the tanning session where they can go into the bloodstream more easily with potentially deadly results.
Spray tan safety: Their use cause damage to DNA which could lead to cancer and fatal lung diseases, a panel of experts have warned
Of particular concern are pregnant women who spray tan and could be raising the risk of birth defects in their unborn children.
The warning comes from a panel of American experts who have reviewed existing studies and one previously unpublished research paper from the US government.
Written in 1999, it has only been now made public thanks to requests from US media - and contains disturbing findings.
American TV network ABC News asked a panel of six experts across the fields of dermatology, toxicology and pulmonary medicine to review this study and nine others and they concluded that there were serious grounds for concern.
Dr Lynn Goldman, the dean of the School of Public Health and Health Services at George Washington University, said: ‘The substance (DHA) seems to have a potential for what they call creating mutations or changing DNA in living cells, which is a serious problem and needs to be further investigated, yet hasn't been.
‘What we're concerned about is not so much that reaction that creates the tanning, but reactions that may occur deeper down with living cells that might then change DNA, causing a mutation and what the possible impacts of that might be.
‘I'd be very concerned for the potential of lung cancer.’
Dr Rey Panettieri, a toxicologist and lung specialist at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine, added: ‘Frankly, right now, given the evidence I've seen, it's time to pursue this question in a more rigorous fashion and really answer: Is it safe or not?’
The report from 1999 from the US regulator the Food and Drug Administration found that DHA had the potential for ‘mutagenic’ effects on genes.
The studies were carried out on a variety of cells including mice skin cells grown in a lab, bacteria and salmonella, though none involved human cells.
It was the first time that DHA was found to have breached the outer protective layers of human skin, known as stratum corneum, where they posed little health danger, but was not made public.
In the US DHA was approved for use in the 1970s but only for external use, although at the time regulator the Food and Drug Administration did not envisage it being used the way it is now or to such an extent.
Bearing this in mind, tanning salons are supposed to provide goggles and nose filters to stop the chemical mist being inhaled but not all salons offer them
Dr Panettieri noted that the lungs have an unusually large surface area and are built to absorb oxygen and distribute it throughout the body.
They will do the same thing with chemicals like DHA that reach them, and unlike the skin, the lungs do not have a protective layer.
They will do the same thing with chemicals like DHA that reach them, and unlike the skin, the lungs do not have a protective layer.
Dr Panettieri said those who are particularly at risk are those who work in tanning salons, people who repeatedly use spray tans and children whose parents allow them to go through the process.
Pregnant mothers were singled out by the panel and told to think twice about the effect on their baby before getting a spray tan.
Dr Darrell Rigel, an NYU professor of dermatology and former president of the American Academy of Dermatology, said: ‘A potential problem has been identified and for public safety, more studies should be done.
‘The concern here is we never thought this was getting absorbed.
‘We thought it's binding to the surface of the skin and that's where the stain is. So this is ... news that, in fact, it is penetrating beyond that.’
‘We thought it's binding to the surface of the skin and that's where the stain is. So this is ... news that, in fact, it is penetrating beyond that.’
The first self tanning products have been around since the 1950s and have always been hailed as a safer alternative than exposing yourself to the sun.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2158253/Safety-alert-spray-tans-government-report-claims-salon-treatment-cause-DNA-damage-cancer-risk-birth-defects.html#ixzz1xb7CvLAp
