Building a Solar Callus: The Truth About Sun Tanning and Skin Health

Building your solar callus

Is there anything worse than a sunburn? You look like a lobster and every time you reach for the aloe you scream in pain, wondering what joyous activity you could be doing if you had just read this article one week sooner.

The good news is, for most of you there’s still time to prepare yourself for the summertime sun. You don’t need to burn, regardless of how pale your skin is. All it takes is a little dedication and some preparation.

In today’s article, we will be discussing the “solar callus” or what is commonly known as your base tan.

Mainstream medicine (and dermatologists) insist this is a myth. Turns out they are wrong, as usual.

When medical advice goes against everything we observe you should have your B.S. radar up. For my entire life people have talked about building a base tan. Most doctors have to unlearn that truth during medical school. Since they aren’t smart or inquisitive, they never relearn what their grandma taught them.

Before we get into tanning methods, you should understand what a tan is.

There are cells in the skin called melanocytes. Their job is to produce melanin. There are two types of melanin but that’s not especially important. Long story short, melanin is a dark pigment that absorbs ultraviolet light from the sun.

The sun releases ultraviolet light in two frequencies: UVA and UVB.

UVA light causes melanin to oxidize which leads to darkening. Since the amount of melanin doesn’t significantly change due to UVA exposure, it doesn’t do much to protect you from UV rays.

UVB light induces melanogenesis or the creation of more melanin. The pathway is through DNA damage which causes the melanocytes to produce melanosomes which produce melanin. These are transported to the outer layer of the skin and the melanin blocks UV light.

As you can see, UVB light is what you’re looking for. It leads to an overall increase in the amount of melanin produced and lasts for weeks to months. With more melanin, you are better protected from future sunburn. A good tan is about the equivalent of wearing 3-5 SPF, maybe more.

The obvious question here is, “what about cancer?”

The risk of cancer is omnipresent. Everything you come in contact with in the modern world is a cancer risk to someone. That said, the risk of skin cancer from sun tanning is a real thing… sort of.

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer. This is partly because the skin is the biggest and most exposed organ. This is partly because we classify every precancerous lesion (actinic keratosis, for example) as cancerous. It’s partly because skin cancer is simply common.

Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are far more common and usually easy to treat. They can be removed in the office with a simple procedure most of the time. Seeing a dermatologist for this is a good idea.

Melanoma is the scary one. By the time people catch it the risk of spreading is very high. It also spreads to weird and scary places (brain adrenal glands, and so on). The prognosis for metastatic melanoma is poor.

But melanoma isn’t purely caused by the sun. There is a strong link between melanoma and linoleic acid and polyunsaturated fatty acids aka seed oils.

I am not saying if you cut out seed oils you can go lay in the sun all day and come out like a tan greek god. But your diet plays a major role in the health of the largest organ of the body. Don’t neglect it.

Additionally, sunscreen is loaded with crap. Countless formulations have been pulled off the market for having cancerous compounds in them. If you must use sunscreen, use a mineral-based sunscreen such as one made with zinc.

Now, let’s get into how to build your solar callus.