tanning

Melanotan

Coming soon!

Tan fast!No sun required!

© Science Upd8 at www.upd8.org.uk

I'm lucky! My extra melanin absorbs UV. I'm less likely to get skin cancer ... and I'll have fewer

wrinkles when I'm older.

I might try that!

I always burn in the

sun.......and that's risky.

I wonder how it works?


Dr Kay answers your burning questions.BODY TALK

I've got a date this weekend, but I look so

drab.

What's the best way to get an instant tan?

Roxy

I read about melanotan.

They reckon you'll be able to buy it on the internet soon.

Is it worth trying?

Good Charlotte fan

I can use the sun bed in my aunt's salon.

But I hear it's dangerous.

Should I go?

Usher fan

I need you to draft some answers to these readers' letters. You'll need to know how skin tans.

Use my notes as a guide.

Question Question Question


Cells pushed up as dead

ones rub off and new ones

form below Melanocyte – your genes

control the type of melanin

produced. The amount

increases when skin is damaged

Packages of melanin give

skin colour

Packages of

melanin are passed

to all the other skin

cellsUVLive skin

cells

Dead skin cells

Nucleus containing DNAMost harmful UV

light is absorbed by melanin

How skin tans

Good:

Bad:

Pills colour fat cells below the skin

They contain dyes, like those in carrots, which get

stored in fat.

Simple to use

Unnatural orange colour gives no UV protection

Good:

Bad:

Melanotan Spray colours live skin cells

It contains synthetic hormone that seeps through

the skin and gets carried in the blood to every cell.

Melanocytes respond by making 50% more melanin.

Natural-looking, lasts 8-12 weeks and gives good UV protection

May cause side effects by affecting other cells

Good:

Bad:

Sunbathing and sun beds colour live

skin cells

UV rays damage their DNA and release signal

molecules. Melanocytes respond by making more

melanin.

UV lets skin make vitamin D for healthy bones

Increased risk of skin cancer

Good:

Bad:

Fake tan lotions colour dead cells

Bronzer stains them instantly but washes off. DHA reacts

with their protein (in 2-3 hrs) to give a brown product. It takes 5-7 days to wear off.

Instant colour

Messy, unnatural, and gives no UV protection


Choose one tanning method.

Decide what you'd like to know about it?

! Write a scientific question I could research.

! Decide which type of investigation I should do.

! Explain how I could find the answer.

! Tell me what evidence I need to collect.

! How big a sample will I need?

Style secrets

I'd like to tell readers more about tanning.

But what would interest them? Help me plan the feature.

Follow these guidelines.

Dr Kay investigates tanning

Melanotan Melanotan

Melanotan

Carry out a fair test

Conduct a survey

Test an explanation

Look up information

Observe something

Fact BoxTypes of investigation

tanning

Lifestyle