There's nothing like beautifully bronzed skin to make you feel healthy, slim and gorgeous in a skimpy summer dress. Unfortunately, unless it's fake, there's nothing like beautifully bronzed skin to give you cancer, hyper-pigmentation and a face full of wrinkles before the age of thirty.

The truth, like sunburn, hurts and there are a limited number of ways in which you can get a tan without damaging yourself. Yes, I know I sound like your mother, but sometimes mothers happen to be right… albeit only occasionally.

A great tan is attractive partly because we associate it with healthy behaviours — outdoor activities like jogging, hiking, swimming, sports and long lazy days at the beach.

So, does giving up on a tan also mean that you have to give up on these fun activities? We chatted to Medical Aesthetician Marcelle Salida about the damaging effects of too much sun and ways to cheat the rays.

We also looked at the alternatives to sun worship and whether these actually work, or are just as bad for you as the real thing.

She wore an itsy bitsy, teeny weeny….

According to Marcelle, over 90 percent of premature ageing signs (such as wrinkles, hyper-pigmentation and sun spots) are directly attributed to unprotected sun exposure. Photoaging — the type of aging caused by exposure to the sun's rays — depends largely on the person's skin colour and their history of intense sun exposure.

So, if you have fair skin and have spent every spare moment drenched in baby oil, lying in the sun, it's inevitable that you will look like a dried-up old prune before too long. If on the other hand, you have fairly dark skin and always wear sunscreen, you will probably have gorgeous, flawless skin.

Photoaging develops over a period of years. With repeated exposure to the sun, the skin looses its ability to repair itself and the damage becomes permanent. The repeated exposure to UV rays breaks down the collagen and prevents the production of new collagen.

So, will applying a thick layer of sunscreen every time you go to the beach stave off ageing and cancer? Not necessarily, says Marcelle. Our skins are bombarded with UV rays on a daily basis — driving to work, through the office window, walking the dog and even sitting under indoor lighting.

The only way to protect your skin is to wear sun protection on a daily basis (even if the sun isn't shining!).

Find a sunscreen that is light, non-greasy and unscented, so that you don't even notice that it's there, because nothing will discourage this healthy practice faster than a greasy face and stinging eyes.

More importantly however, Marcelle suggests that you take a good look at the sunscreen's properties and ingredients. Make sure that it blocks UVB and UVA rays. UVB rays make you burn and play a bigger role in the development of skin cancer, but UVA rays also contribute to cancer and cause 'severe oxidative stress' that could cause DNA mutations and major wrinkles.

The trick is to find a sunscreen that contains zinc oxide. Yes, that hideous colourful stuff that cricketers smear all over their faces. Luckily, some clever scientist came up with microfine zinc oxide, which still forms a protective layer over your skin, but is completely invisible to the naked eye. This has an added advantage over chemical sunscreens because it is not absorbed by the skin.

Marcelle advises that you use Danne Transdermal SPF30 on a daily basis. If you plan on spending a lot of time on the beach, try La Roche Anthelios SPF60 or Vichy Child SPF60. Sports often require that extra protection, so if you're going jogging, hiking or are playing a game of tennis try Island Tribe SPF40.

Remember that sunscreen should be applied at least 20 minutes before exposure to the sun; you should be wearing at least SPF 30 and it should be reapplied on a regular basis. Hats, clothing and umbrellas help to keep some of the rays out, but don't provide complete protection, so wear sunscreen even if you plan to sit under the umbrella covered in clothing from head to toe.

A little box of sunlight

The argument that tanning beds are safe because salons promote them is about as sound as the argument that cigarettes aren't harmful because shops sell them. Tanning beds are bad for you. There, it is as simple as that.

Tanning beds work using UV rays. Mmm… let's think about this. UV rays are the sun's rays which burn and damage your skin. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that 'man-made' UV rays are going to be just as bad for you as those made by the sun.

So, why is there this illusion that you can hop into that cosy box and find bronze bliss without scorching your skin? Simple answer: Money. More complicated answer: The tanning bed provides a controlled environment, in which you can monitor the strength of the rays and the amount of time spent under them.

No one goes to the tanning bed for the day — you can't have a picnic, play Frisbee or have a swim at the tanning bed. You will probably only spend about 10 or fifteen minutes under the rays, but you won't be wearing sunscreen as you would on the beach. That's fifteen minutes of damaging exposure.

Bottom line: If cigarettes are cancer sticks, tanning beds are cancer boxes, avoid them completely. Oh, and you might want to stop smoking too.

Paint me beautiful

The thought of self-tan tends to conjure up images of blotchy orange skin and overly dark bodybuilders. However, self-tan has come a long way and the stigma is perhaps a little unwarranted.

Self-tan and spray-on tans (which tend to have a more polished finish) work using the chemical dihydroxyacetone (DHA) which reacts with the skin and stains it. A few people may experience allergic reactions, but on the whole, it is considered to be harmless and the safest way to get a tan.

It's important to remember however that the skin is only stained. A real tan has a built in (albeit very minor) sun protection factor. That is, you will burn less quickly if you already have a tan than if your skin is very pale. If you use self-tan however, your skin is as sensitive as if you had no tan at all, so it is very important to apply sunscreen when you do actually go into the sun.

Orange blotchiness can be avoided and these nifty tricks are a must if you are thinking of turning to the bottle.

So many words, so many confusing terms like dihydroxyacetone and... um… zinc oxide. This is important stuff, so in case you missed the gist of the article, here is the simplified version. A tan is only beautiful if (a) it is fake, (b) the individual went nowhere near a tanning bed and (c) it was acquired gradually through layers and layers of sunscreen.

Marcelle Salida is a Cape Town-based Medical Aesthetician, who can be contacted at Derma Therapeutics on +27 21 762 4477 or at marcelle.salida@netactive.co.za.