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The Bad Effects of Baby Oil on Tanning

In the 1950s and 1960s, baby oil was a very popular tan enhancing product because it increased the darkness and speed of a tan. Some people still use baby oil to get a dark tan, but there are many adverse effects to doing so. The oil does not protect the skin from the sun's harmful UV rays and tanning without sunscreen protection increases your chances of getting skin cancer.

  1. UV Exposure

    • Skin with baby oil soaks up the sun faster than dry skin alone. The sun's harmful UV rays react with the shiny oil, penetrating deeper into the skin. Although the tan will be darker, the process increases the amount of UVA and UVB rays that get into the skin. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, UV rays damage skin cell's DNA, leading to a higher potential for genetic mutation. Excessive sun exposure is also the main cause of nonmelanoma skin cancers.

    Cancer Risk

    • Since baby oil acts as a magnet for drawing harmful ultraviolet radiation into the skin, the risk for skin cancer increases with unprotected exposure to sunlight. UVB rays are responsible for sunburns but the effects of UVA rays are not as visible. They penetrate deeper into the skin and cause skin cancer. Even one sunburn or tan can increase a person's cancer risk. The World Heath Organization and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services classify UV exposure as a carcinogen. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, tanning increases chances for melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma.

    Skin Reactions

    • At the beginning of summer, when the skin is at its lightest, it is most sensitive to sunburns. If you slather baby oil onto the skin at this time, you increase the chances for getting a severe sunburn, which causes pockets of tiny blisters to appear over the surface of the skin. The sun heats the baby oil to high temperatures, in effect cooking the skin. This can cause heat rash, scaly patches, wrinkles and skin cancer. In extreme cases, large blisters may form. Almost all sunburns will cause the skin to peel and not tan. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, 90 percent of visual aging signs are caused by UV exposure.

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