Burning QuestionsAmanda Schaffer talks with readers about tanning and sun exposure.

Slate columnist Amanda Schaffer was online at Washingtonpost.com on Thursday, Aug. 16, to discuss the medical science behind "tanning addiction" and sun damage to skin. An unedited transcript of the chat follows.

Amanda Schaffer: Hi everyone, I'm online and looking forward to your questions about sun and tanning.

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Arlington, Va.: Thank you for taking my question. The debate over the reliability of sunscreens for reducing melanoma risk leads to another possible solution: UV-protective clothing. For years my family has worn Australian-made swimsuits and rash guards. They work better than any sunscreen. It would be great if magazines and newspapers featured these items more, instead of launching every summer with another Cute-Teeny-Suits photo spread. Every year, I see a few more of these suits at the pool, especially on children and men, but women have few choices (Lands End, for instance, sells lots of rash guards for children and men but none for women). Maybe we all need to stop relying exclusively on sunscreen—which is poorly regulated and difficult to apply thoroughly—and start thinking of more reliable forms of sun protection.

Amanda Schaffer: Great point! I'd love to see more fun, sun-protective clothing out there, too, as well as better research on which materials are most effective at screening UV. There's a group in Germany that has done some interesting work on this topic, actually. A few years ago, they studied around 200 different textiles to see which offered the best UV protection. And if I'm remembering right, polyester and various fabric blends did better than cotton or linen. Color made a difference, too. But I'm sure there's a lot more that could be done with this, and it'd be nice to see big clothing companies getting on it.

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New York, N.Y.: The article mentions that it's harder to develop sunscreens that protect against UVA light than UVB light. Why is that?

Amanda Schaffer: A couple of issues: Some of the compounds that we know protect against UVA light break down quickly in the presence of UV light. For instance, we know that a compound called avobenzone protects against UVA but doesn't last very long. Some companies are working on formulations to stabilize avobenzone—one of the things that Neutrogena's Helioplex technology apparently does.

Another issue is that UVA light is closer in wavelength to visible light than UVB is. This means that, in theory, it could be tricky to block or absorb UVA without blocking some wavelengths of visible light. And of course, if a product screens blue or violet light, it might have the wacky side effect of making people look yellow. I'm not sure how large an issue this one is, though it certainly caught my eye when I saw it mentioned!

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Warwick, N.Y.: Is the "high" effect that comes from tanning the similar to the one people get from using a sun lamp to treat SAD (seasonal affective disorder)?

Amanda Schaffer: Yes, I wondered about that too. The researchers I asked thought that the effects were probably different. They thought that light therapy for SAD mainly involves visible light acting through the eyes, rather than UV light being absorbed by skin. Serotonin pathways also seem likely to be involved in light therapy, though I don't think the mechanisms involved are well-understood.

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Brooklyn, N.Y.: Hi Amanda,

As a welder, I often find myself getting mild sunburns from welding. I'm told that the heat of melting steel is about one-sixth the temperature of the surface of the sun. Am I being exposed to UV light? Could I be addicted to welding?

Amanda Schaffer: Hmmm. If you're getting mild sunburns, you probably are being exposed to UV light. I'm assuming you use protective eye gear and wear longsleeves (though I'm sure that's tough when it's 90 degrees out.) As for the addiction question, I guess it's theoretically possible. Do you find yourself getting jittery when you don't get to weld? I'm not aware of any 12-step welder programs, but you might wanna check it out.

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Bellevue, N.E.: "Encouraged people living at high latitudes to spend time in the sun and thus avoid vitamin D deficiency."

In your article, I was looking for some other points, namely the benefits of vitamin D exposure. Did you know that people that are deficient in vitamin D are at a greater risk of getting high blood pressure, type 1 diabetes, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, cancer of the lymph system, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, and cancer of the esophagus? Our bodies are designed to be in the sun, hence the opiate effect that you discuss. That is nature's way of making sure that we get enough vitamin D. Where do you think we would be without the sun? I'm sure you can answer that question. Don't scare people out of the sun, instead tell them to use moderation.

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