Don't let your own vanity harm your health. While the flattering glow of a dark tan lures millions of Americans into tanning beds each year, tanning is a dangerous health risk, medical professionals say.

"It feels good to be tan and people think it's healthy, but it's not," said Melody Hof, a dermatologist physician's assistant at Southern Illinois Dermatology, which has locations in Herrin and Murphysboro.

There is no such thing as a safe tan. Damage to a cell's DNA has to be produced to even create a tan. Whether it's from the sun, the hot bulbs in a tanning bed or a sun lamp, getting a tan is dangerous.

Tanning beds accelerate the rate that a sun would give you a tan.

"They contribute to skin cancers as much if not more than the sun," Hof said.

George Nahass is a dermatologist who is also board certified in dermatopathology, which means he is trained to diagnose skin cells under a microscope to determine if they are cancerous or not.

Put simply, it is not OK to tan, said Nahass, who has his own private practice and also works at both St. Mary's Good Samaritan Hospital and Crossroads Community Hospital in Mt. Vernon.

He recently diagnosed a 40-year-old woman who has Basal Cell Carcinomas, a type of skin cancer, on her back. The woman had been tanning for years.

"I know of a 15-year-old in southern Illinois who has had melanoma," Nahass said.

UV radiation from the sun and tanning beds can cause skin cancer, but can also cause premature aging of the skin, other skin problems, cataracts and eye damage and even suppression of the immune system, according to the Cancer Information Network Web site.

Moderate tanning can also cause cancer, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, people who tan often over the years increase their risk of developing skin cancer because skin damage accumulates.

Although most people know that ultra-violet (UV) radiation causes skin cancer, the use of tanning beds is at an all-time high, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation Web site.

Trade publications report tanning salons as a $2 billion-a-year industry in the U.S., with 28 million Americans tanning in about 25,000 tanning salons.

Tanning first became popular in the 1920s when French Designer Coco Chanel called it a fashion look, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.

UV radiation induces skin cancers in three ways: it damages DNA, which leads to mutations, produces activated oxygen molecules that damage DNA and other cellular structures, and leads to a suppression of the immune system, which blocks the body's natural defenses against cancer, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.

Skin cancer is now an epidemic. One in five Americans will develop the disease, which is the most common cancer in the U.S.

The American Cancer Society estimates that there are more than 1 million cases of basal or squamous cell skin cancers every year. While these types of cancer are curable, 1,000 to 2,000 Americans die from them every year.

In the early 1980s, an ozone hole was discovered in the Antarctic. Ozone depletion reduces the atmosphere's protection from the sun's harmful UV rays, Ultraviolet A (UVA) and Ultraviolet B (UVB). UVB causes sunburns while UVA is a deeper penetrating radiation.

Scientists have recently suggested a link between UVA radiation and malignant melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer.

Malignant melanoma is often fatal, if not detected early. Some dermatologists have said that childhood sunburns increase a person's chance of developing melanoma later in life. Cases of melanoma have increased twofold in the past 20 years.

Hof said the youngest patient she has seen with melanoma was a 14-year-old girl, who had tanned, but not often. The patient, however, had very light skin, which made her more at risk for skin cancer than people with darker skin.

More than 59,000 Americans have melanoma each year and it kills than 7,000 Americans each year. Melanoma is more common in the U.S. than other countries around the world. Tanning and tanning beds may be part of the reason.

Nonmelanoma skin cancers aren't as deadly as melanoma but can still cause disfigurement and serious health problems. Two types of nonmelanoma skin cancers, basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas. Both are curable 95 percent of the time.

Basal cells are the most common tumors associated with skin cancer. They look like small, fleshy bumps or nodules and usually appear on the head and neck, but can also be seen on other parts of the body. They grow slowly and rarely spread to other parts of the body. They can, however, penetrate to the bone and cause considerable harm, according to the Cancer Information Network.

Squamous cells are tumors that look like nodules or red, scaly patches. They can turn into large masses and can spread to other parts of the body.

Hof sees cases of skin cancer most often in construction workers, farmers, or fisherman who spend a lot of time outdoors. The cancer often appears on the shoulders, arms, upper back and face. Men often get skin cancer on the tops of their ears, which are exposed to the sun because of men's short haircuts.

Nahass emphasized that people should wear a broad-brimmed hat in the sun. Baseball caps really don't protect from the sun because they leave the neck and ears unprotected, he said. And what's more - 80 percent of skin cancer appears on the head and neck.

Nahass said that while people with fairer skin, hair and eyes have a greater risk of getting skin cancer, nobody is absolutely protected.

"I've seen skin cancer in African American skin," he said.

In addition to skin cancer, basking in the sun's warmth without protecting your skin can cause premature aging.

Hof said that she sees patients with brown age spots more often than any other problem. The spots are caused from overexposure to the sun. Sun damage also causes Actinic keratoses, skin growths that appear on the body areas exposed to the sun, especially the face, hands, forearms and the neck. These raised, reddish, rough-textured growths are a cancer risk.

Over time, chronic sun exposure can make skin thick, wrinkled, and leathery. In fact, people can begin to see the effects of premature aging from the sun in their late teens and 20s, Hof said.

Pre-existing moles are also associated with one-third of melanoma cases, Nahass said. Signs that a mole is dangerous are if it is asymmetric, has an irregular border, has non-uniform color and is larger than 6 millimeters in diameter. But Nahass said it's hard to make generalizations and that a seemingly normal mole could also be cancerous. He suggested that people see a doctor if they notice something new or changing on their skin.

Other risk factors for melanoma are having many moles, having an immediate relative with melanoma, blistering sun burns before age 18 and having fair hair, skin or eyes.

And remember that the sun can damage more than the skin.

The eyes are six times more sensitive to UV rays than the skin. UV radiation increases the likelihood of cataracts, a condition which clouds vision. If not properly treated, it can cause blindness. Wearing proper eye protection can reduce the likelihood of developing cataracts.

Overexposure to UV radiation can suppress the immune system. It can cause decreased response to immunizations, increased light sensitivity and reactions to some medications.