Today, Explained - Tanning is back

Episode Date: July 12, 2026

Never mind skin cancer. Summer 2026 is all about tanmaxxing. This episode was produced by Kelli Wessinger, edited by Jenny Lawton, fact-checked by Melissa Hirsch, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Matthew Billy, and hosted by Jonquilyn Hill. Young women sunbathing. Photo by Krisztian Elek/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images. If you have a question, give us a call at 1-800-618-8545 or email [e-mail] to Explain It to Me ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Support for today's explain comes from Fetch. Fetch is pet insurance if you hadn't figured it out. Do you have a pet? According to a study from a pet insurance company from a few years ago, every six seconds a pet owner in the U.S. gets hit with a vet bill over $1,000 and it almost never comes at a convenient time. So check out Fetch. You get paid up to 90% of vet bills. You can use Fetch for any vet in the U.S. and Canada. Every vet is in network. Go to fetchpet.com slash save right now for your free quote. That's fetchpet.com slash save. In Toronto, every arrival is a statement, and nothing says it better than this. Cadillac Optic was the number one selling luxury EV in Canada for 2025. Find your rhythm across a seamless 33-inch display

and an immersive 19-speaker AKG surround audio system. This city demands agility, and Optic delivers with precision, to make every drive extraordinary. Let's take the Cadillac. Find out more at cadillac canada.ca. Luxury sales claim based on S&P Global Mobility, Canadian New Vehicle Total Registrations for calendar year 2025

for the Cadillac definition of luxury. When I was a teenager, we went to the Bahamas. We didn't realize how intense the sun was down there. I'm at the beach with my friends. I don't put on any sunscreen. I'm John Glyn Hill. This is Explained it to me from Vox. The other day, producer Kelly Wessinger and I headed up to the roof of my apartment building to take part in a time-honored summer tradition, hanging out poolside, and Kelly came dressed to impress.

I'm wearing a rash guard, its long sleeve and high neck, turtleneck in the summertime. I'm also wearing shorts. There is a bathing suit underneath this. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. None of these clothes are coming off. And I'm wearing sunscreen underneath all of this, too. Before I put the rash guard on, there's 50 base layer.

Kelly has a contentious relationship with the sun. I am very pale, so I wear like 70 on my face every day. And then... Oh, you wear 70 on your face? Yeah. I won't lie to you, JQ, I've used 100. I've used 100 before, yeah. I am not pale by any means.

And I tend to play it a little more fast and loose. JQ, just in contrast to me, can you walk? walk us through what you are wearing at the pool? Oh, yeah. I have on a pair of sandals and an anklet and a bikini. And my 40 SPF, of course. Yes. She looks like a normal person at the pool.

Both Kelly and I, we've gotten burned before. And the thing about a bad sunburn is, you don't forget it. I felt this burn coming from the inside of my body. It felt like it was inside of my skin, not even on top of it. I went and Googled it. I looked on Reddit, and apparently you can get a sunburn so bad that it is called hell's itch. I applied sunscreen everywhere but the tops of my feet. And I burned the tops of my feet so bad I couldn't put socks on for two or three days.

I'm black, and so I figured I never burn. I'm not going to burn. It was horrible. Completely deep fried. My face had blown up like a big red cherry tomato. And that burn can stay with you. Skin cancer is the most common kind of cancer. And your chances of having melanoma double if you've been sunburned five times.

All of that should make sunscreen a no-brainer, right? Well, maybe not. According to Elle Beauty editor, Katie Barone, summer 2026 is actually all about getting as much sun as possible. So like a lot of trends these days, it really has taken hold on TikTok, especially with the younger audience, Gen Z in particular. And I hate to be a millennial that's like, Gen Z is doing this, but it's true. Gen Z is tanning a lot.

And on TikTok, the way that we kind of see that manifesting, is that people are doing this thing they call tan maxing, which is like looks maxing, but for tanning. Okay, these are my tanning non-negotiables as somebody who literally treats tanning like it's a sport. Seeing how long I can last tanning in 103-degree weather in UV-12. So as you can't see, I'm like mostly burnt, but once it like fades, it'll become chocolate, you know?

Listener, she is not chocolate. So you're trying to tan as much as possible in like the most optimized way, which means they will look at the UV index and see where the sun is higher. And that's when they'll go outside when UVs like 10, which, you know, if you're concerned about the sun, that's like the last time that you want to be outside. And then there are also a lot of people that are using these tan accelerator products. Okay, I'm using my favorite tanning oil from keratin. And I'm going to see how dark I can get.

I've been used to this for over a year. It is intensive tan in gel and it has carrot and coconut oil in it. Which typically have carrot seed oil in them, which is supposed to accelerate how fast your skin tans because it has a lot of vitamin A, which is supposed to help you get tanner faster. So I was just on a family vacation and one of the people that was with us was Gen Z, 20, 3rd. years old. She had one of these carrot tan accelerators with her. She was checking the UV index. I was like, oh my God, it's like TikTok is coming to life in front of me. And, you know, I was really seeing it happen in real time. Is it that people don't know the risks or do they just not care about the risks? I think that people are aware of the risks. I, you know, I think that we're seeing that with Gen Z and younger people quite a bit, just the

way the world is, I think that there is this certain degree of nihilism of like, oh, well, the world is bad anyway. Why would I just also get a tan? And I also think that to a certain extent, you know, and I don't know how many people would say that they're necessarily inspired by the Trump administration or something like that, but we do see in the culture right now kind of this turn against medicine and vaccines and trust in science. And I do think there are people online that are taking that and also saying that they don't trust sunscreen. They think that chemicals and sunscreen are bad for you. Stop using sunscreen. Okay. The sunscreen chemicals seep into your bloodstream after just one day. I'm a big believer in not wearing sunscreen because I think it causes cancer.

Sunscreen with like crazy chemicals in it. As soon as that was approved, also a spike in melanoma happened. There's kind of this pervasive idea that sunscreen might be just as bad for you as the sun, in which case why wouldn't you also have a tan? And of course, RFK Jr., the head of health and human services, is well known for tanning, right? He is a proponent of getting in a tanning bed, and that is, you know, why he has the skin tone that he has and kind of the leatheriness to skin. So what's the aesthetic people are going for?

Like, what is the look of the moment that tanning is part of? Yeah. I mean, I think to a certain extent, wanting to be tan has never gone away. There's, like, one commonality between a WWE wrestler and a bride and it's a spray tan. And that has been the case for a long time. It's kind of like an event-ready thing. Like, you know, you want to look tan. And for some reason, people think that when they're tan, they look their best.

And obviously you can go get a spray tan, but I think, you know, there are plenty of reasons people don't necessarily want to do that. It costs money. It smells. It's messy. It is a really great alternative to being in the sun if you do want to be tan. But I think that people are kind of like, well, why would I do that when I could just go and get the real thing in the sun? So if the Secretary of Health and Human Services is super into tanning, is that normalizing this idea that tanning is actually healthy when really it's not? I mean, I do think that there are a lot of people who think that the sun has benefits for them.

And there's, you know, all these people who are like, oh, if I just go in the sun, it'll fix my eggs. or I know that people think that that's the best way to get vitamin D. And like, I do think that there is this idea that the sun can be really healthy for you. And I think that people think that they look healthier when they have a tan. Like, when I first started working on this story, I went on my, because I'm a beauty editor, so a lot of my followers are people in the beauty space. And I went on my Instagram and I asked, like, anonymously, if you like tanning, let me know why. Like so many people, so many like beauty industry insiders, makeup artists, editors, all these people were like, don't tell anyone, but I love tanning because I just think it makes me look like healthy and beautiful.

And like a lot of people were even like, I don't tan my face, but I tan my body because I think I just like look better, healthier, stronger when I have a tan. So I think that it's twofold. I think that people think that the sun is good for them. And I think that they think a tan makes them look healthier. People have been chasing the sun in pursuit of that healthy glow for more than a century. That's coming up. Support for this show comes from What Not. It's hard to follow your business dreams,

and not enough people talk about the time and effort you have to put in to make your dreams a reality. What Not is the largest dedicated live shopping platform, whether it's beauty, collectibles, electronics, luxury fashion, even cookies. Sellers are building real, thriving businesses. Instead of uploading a listing and crossing your fingers, Sellers can go live, showcase products directly to viewers, and answer questions as they come in and make some sales on the spot. According to their data across WhatNot, the number of sellers making over $1 million a year has doubled, and people selling on WhatNot sell 10 times more than on other major marketplaces. I tried out What Not and I had a really great time.

I bought some really fun pieces from cool auction houses, some in L.A., some in Texas, people selling vintage clothes or brand new handbags, all in a full. fun, live environment where you're able to chat with the salesperson, you're able to chat with your people bidding around you. It was great. Search Whatnot, W-H-A-T-N-O-T in the App Store. Download, and you can start selling right away. Support for the show comes from Quince. The summer is full of opportunities to relax, and your wardrobe should reflect that. That means no uncomfortable thick layers. Think nice linen sets and breezy vibes. Quince has all the well-made summer essentials you need. They use premium materials like European linen, organic cotton, and washable silk without the traditional retail markup. Quince's 100% European linen pants, dresses, and tops are the pieces you can reach for all summer long.

They're lightweight, effortless to style, and start at just $32. And it's not just clothing. Quince offers everything from home to travel to everyday essentials. It's all affordable, too. All their items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. Claire White is our colleague here at Vox, and she's tried to. some stuff from Quince. Here's what she thinks. Everything that I've gotten from Quince for the summer has been awesome. They've got great tanks to great button downs, things you can wear both to the beach

and to dinner. It's breathable. It's really well made and I just can't stop ordering from Quince. Make your summer wardrobe easier. Go to quince.com slash explain it for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's QI-N-C-E dot com slash explain it for free shipping. and 365-day returns. Quince.com slash Explain It. I'm JQ. Back with more, Explain It to Me. Summer 2026 is all about tan maxing,

but it's not exactly a new trend. 100 years ago, people headed to the American Southwest in search of better weather and better health. Writer Lyra Killson wrote all about it in her book, Sun Seekers, The Cure of California. This was a movement that really boomed in the late 19th century and early 20th century, and that's when people were really dealing with a very terrible tuberculosis epidemic and other respiratory illnesses for which there were no cures.

And the cure of sunshine became something that was actually prescribed by medical doctors. Patients would literally be told by their doctors, say, in Chicago, Michigan, Boston, they would be told you need to get down to the southwest. You need to pack up your family and move in order to survive. Does the sun actually have that healing power? It sounds wild to be prescribed sunshine now. I know. But actually it does. The doctors back then, even though they were not, you know, it wasn't necessarily evidenced-based medicine the way we understand it today, they were onto something. And later studies, like in the late 20th century, proved that vitamin D does actually fight some of the organisms that cause tuberculosis.

So we have all these people moving to California for the sun and for the climate. When they got there, what did their treatment look like? Give me an average day in the life of someone getting the sun treatment. Okay. Probably you would have to wake up early in the morning in order to get the most sunshine possible. and you would be expected to be outdoors in the sun for as many hours as you could be. Sometimes if you were bedridden, you might be on a bed that had been designed with wheels in a room with doors that opened out to a porch, for example, so that you could just be wheeled right out into the sunshine and get that fresh air was also part of this.

And also, so it greatly affected the way that hospitals were designed. designed at the time. Not only did people start building architecture that incorporated a lot of windows and porches, but also because of the desire for air circulation and concern about contagion, instead of just putting a lot of people into one big room, things like cottages became more popular also. So you could have a little bit more control over when you had access to fresh air and sunlight. So is this sun cure something we invented here in the U.S.? No, it really started in Europe, and Switzerland and the Alps was a very popular place. And I should say that it's sunshine that was important to people, but it was also just a feeling at the time that cities had been growing so

quickly and people's lives had been changing so quickly in terms of moving to cities, working in factories and so on. Humans were just living, at least in urban Europe. They were living a really different way than their ancestors had been. And things like sanitation and disease really kept pace, unfortunately. And so the idea of leaving the city and going to unspoiled nature in the Alps, for example, to heal was a very popular pastime. Were there any downsides to this kind of sun-maxing? Well, this is later on, so more in the early 1930s, there was a very strange link between sun, bathing, sun worship, and tanning and emerging Aryan ideas about like a perfect body, a perfect health, the perfect, you know, strength, the strength of that race, et cetera.

All of those things were combined in kind of a twisted way. and sunbathing nude or partially nude. I mean, I think to them, they were probably harketing back to like ancient Greece or something, you know, when athletes competed in the nude. But there were some extremely popular books about sunbathing that were also filled with anti-Semitic tropes. How long did this trend of sun-seeking last?

Sun as a cure was, it sort of went away, as soon as antibiotics were available in the 1940s. A miracle out of mold. That same green mold which everyone has seen growing in bread or ruining fruit and vegetables. It produces the drug known as penicillin. Through mass production methods, America is continually increasing its output of penicillin,

a new drug that affects almost miraculous cures. Once a better, you know, a much faster, more effective medical cure was available, the idea that people were not taking sun cures anymore. However, the legacy is still visible in places like Germany. You still have a lot of nude bathing by lakes and so on. They still call them things like free light bathing. So I think there's some of this residue is still there.

You know, earlier in the show, we had a conversation about tan maxing. People are back to, I know, I hear that sigh. I hear that sigh. People are back to chasing the sun, often without sun. And some of them believe that sunscreen is unhealthy or even dangerous. Do you see similarities between now and then? Like, what is going on with our relationship with the sun? I would say that the belief in what the sun can do for you is very different. I mean, it was very much sort of a matter of life and death at that time. But I would say one link is that in some of the fringe communities in the late 19th, early 20th century, there was also a great skepticism about industrial processed foods. And so sunbathing and nature cures often went hand in hand with people who were vegetarians back in those days, which looks very different than what it does now, and would maybe be, for example, Seventh-day Adventists or followers of John Kellogg and his Battle Creek Sanatorium, also the temperance movement. So in terms of feeling sort of anti-establishment and also embracing the sun, I suppose maybe that's a resonance.

I find it interesting to see all of the different waves of our relationship to the sun and tanning even. Like, for example, I think being very pale, at least in European culture, was considered very desirable for a very long time. you know, just the sort of symbolism of what a tan meant, than what it meant in the mid-century in terms of sort of like access to leisure time, what it means now. It just keeps changing, and I find that really fascinating. Up next, America's sun protection is finally catching up with the rest of the world. Support for the show comes from chime, ding-dong.

Chime is changing the way people bank by offering rewarding fee-free banking. They're not like traditional old banks. I charge you overdraft and monthly fees, and they have thousands of fee-free ATMs because you shouldn't pay to get your own money. Chime members can benefit from up to $1,150 in annual awards. With no fees, you can get 5% cash back on Chime Card in a category of choice like gas or groceries. Your savings can grow faster, too, with a 3.75 APY, which is nine times higher than the National Ashtonel. average. Take that national average. Chime is not just smarter banking. It's the most rewarding way to bank. Join the millions who are already banking fee free today. You can go to chime.com

slash explained. That is chime.com slash explained. It only takes a few minutes to sign up. Chime is a fintech, not a bank. Banking services for MyPay and Chime card provided by Chim's bank partners. For more information on APY rates, MyPay Spot Me and Troutberg, go to chime.com slash disclosures. Support for the show comes from MintMobile. When you're buying a new phone, transparency is everything. That's why MintMobile's wireless plans have no gotchas.

They just offer high-speed 5G data and great coverage. Right now, plans are $15 per month, and that includes their unlimited plan. We have a colleague here at Vox who's on Mint, and he's a fan. He says he loves that it saves him so much money and that he's never run into an issue where his data might be limited.

To get your new wireless plan for just $15 a month, go to mintmobile.com slash explain it to me. That's mintmobile.com slash explain it to me. Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month at mintmobile.com slash explain it to me. That's it. There's no catch. Up front payment of $45 for three month, $90 for six month, or $180 for 12 month. Plan required $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra, initial plan term only.

Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. Includes up to 20 gigabyte hotspot. device required. Availability, speed, and coverage varies. See mintmobile.com. I'm JQ. Back with Explain It to me. I'm Moral Cabarian Scalcy. I am a board-certified dermatologist, director of the dermatologic surgery center of Washington and clinical professor at Georgetown University. So what does the sun do when it touches our skin. The sun, as soon as it touches your skin, begins to act on the DNA on a cellular level. And what happens when you're getting excessive sun exposure? Your skin is trying to protect itself. And it's trying to make more layers increase the pigment, so there's not so much absorption.

and we have specialized cells called melanocytes that produce pigment called melanin, and the more sun exposure you get, it'll usually get more melanin, or if you're unable to produce melanin, more of a sunburn. And it's actually not a sign that your skin's becoming healthier. It's a sign that your skin has responded to ultraviolet light exposure by increasing its protection. It's just wanting to protect itself. So it just, the cells then undergo DNA damage, which your body can repair a lot of the times, but not all of it. And as you, over time, develop that DNA damage, these mutations accumulate. You know, earlier in the show, we talked about how young people are quote unquote tan maxing, as in getting as tan as they possibly can

without using any sunscreen. There's been a movement online. about how sunscreen can even give you cancer. People are making that claim. Is that real? That is not real. Skin cancer means, God, sunscreen does not cause skin cancer. What causes skin cancer,

99% of skin cancer comes from ultraviolet light. The sun is a known carcinogen, like smoking, alcohol. These things all lead to cancers. And unfortunately right now, the most common cancer is skin cancer. Are you seeing the effects of this tanning trend in your practice? I do. I see more and more young people who are number one trying to do things like get a base tan or go use indoor tanning and have seemed to be under the impression that there is a healthy tan. There is no healthy tan actually.

You know, in my practice, I have seen younger and younger people developing skin cancer. I recently saw a 19-year-old with a skin cancer on her face. And it's really hard to be at that age and to need to undergo surgery for skin cancer and to realize that this was largely preventable. Okay, speaking of which, there's a new sunscreen ingredient on the market this summer. It was already available in Europe and Asia and has been for years, but it was only just approved in the U.S. by the FDA. What is it? Yeah, it's really exciting.

It's Bemotrizzanol. Just approved by the FDA a new sunscreen ingredient for the first time in more than 25 years. This is essentially the Jalen Brunson of sunscreen. It's a broad-spectrum sunscreen, meaning it's blocking both ultraviolet. light A or the aging rays and ultraviolet light B, the burning rays. And it's particularly stable. So it remains effective even when exposed to sunlight. It's also very safe. It has low absorption through the skin due to the large molecule size. So it's safe in terms of absorption. If it's so great, why did it take so long to be approved here?

Well, that's a great question. It's a lot slower process in the United States because the FDA regulates sunscreens as over-the-counter medications rather than as cosmetic as they are in Europe. I'd love for you to break down how we should be wearing sunscreen. First, does everyone need to wear it every day? Yes. Everybody needs to wear it. Even if you have dark skin, you should be wearing sunscreen. Dark skin is not immune to skin cancer, nor is it immune to photo aging.

So everybody needs to wear sunscreen and daily, not just when you're out at the beach. Everybody should use at least an SPF of 30, and I recommend my patients an SPF of 50 if they can. applying it about 15 to 30 minutes, particularly for chemical sunscreens before going outdoors, reapplying it every two hours unless you're in the water. And then if you look for the labeling and if sunscreen says it's water resistant, that means it's good for about 40 minutes in the water and for very water resistant, it's 80 minutes. And then the question of how much, most of us don't put on enough.

Everybody's body's a little bit different, but it's about a strong. shot-sized glass to cover a whole body or a teaspoon word for the face and neck. Sometimes people also will spread the sunscreen out on your fingers, and that should be enough for the face and neck. Yeah, I do the two-finger rule for my face and neck, but I admit I don't always wear sunscreen on my whole body going out. And I'm definitely not reapplying, especially when I wear makeup. I guess, like, how do you stay on top of all this sunscreen application?

It's a lot. It's a lot. There are sunscreen powders. You can apply on top of makeup. And sunscreen is not the only way to practice sun protection. Broad-brimmed hats, sunglasses, avoiding direct sun, seeking the shift. seeking the shade and sun protective clothing

are all really useful ways of decreasing your sun exposure. Let's say you have someone come into your office and say look, I know tanning is risky, but I love how I look when I do it a little bit. It makes me feel confident.

It makes me feel attractive. What do you say to them? I mean, I totally understand that. I get it. You know, that's not unusual, but there are ways of getting an artificial suntan with self-tanners, which is a relatively safe way of getting a little darker skin temporarily. The color fades in about seven to ten days as your skin slifts off, and there's no

evidence that it's harmful. You know, skin care has come a very long way, and I can totally see a young person thinking, okay, yeah, I'm doing all this ton stuff now, but when I'm older, like, there's a for germs to fix my skin. Is that actually true? You know, dermatology can do a lot to improve the skin's appearance and to help it become as healthy as possible, but it can't reverse all of the damage. In addition to causing skin cancer, the sun is a great way to make, get freckles, thinning of the skin, irregular pigmentation, rough spots, and it's not like you can erase that entirely and have the skin of a newborn. So we can do a lot, but dermatologists are not magicians. That's it for this week. Our next episode is going to be all about names, how we get them,

why we get them, and the ways they shape our experiences in the world. So tell us, how did you get your name, and what does it mean to you? Give us a call at 1-800-6-18-8545. or send an email to AskVox at Vox.com. Another name to keep in mind, Vox Membership. Vox members get to listen to this and other Vox Podcasts ad-free. Just head over to vox.com slash members to learn more. This episode was produced by Kelly Wessinger. It was edited by Jenny Lawton,

fact-checked by Melissa Hirsch, engineered by Matt Billy and Patrick Boyd, our executive producer is Miranda Kennedy, and I'm your host, John Glyn Hill. Thank you so much for listening. I'll talk to you soon. Bye! Hey y'all, it's Kelly Clarkson with Wayfair.

Ever order furniture online and wonder, what if? Like, what if it doesn't hold up? That sofa was four days old. You should have ordered from Wayfair. With Wayfair, there's no what if. Just style you love and quality you can trust. Visit Wayfair.ca. Wayfair, every style, every home.