Women's Health May 28, 2026 0 Comments

Why Gen Z’s UV Index Obsession Could Literally Burn Their Skin—And Their Future Health!

Ever wonder why Gen Z is totally flipping the script on sun safety, turning their sunscreen-savvy upbringing upside down — and treating the UV index like it’s the ultimate tanning cheat code? Yeah, it’s kinda wild. Despite all the warnings about burns and the real risks of skin cancer, you’ll find teens and twenty-somethings hunting for that “perfect” golden hour to bronze up, often with blazing sunburns to show for it. Here’s the kicker: a fresh survey from the American Academy of Dermatology reveals that one-third of Americans got sunburned in 2025 — with Gen Z leading the pack in severity. You gotta ask — are we witnessing a tanning trend born from social media hype, or is this a full-on health gamble? And with research showing just five sunburns can more than double melanoma risk, this isn’t just a vanity game anymore; it’s a game of cellular Russian roulette. Let me take you through why what was once a generation covered head to toe in mineral sunscreen is now chasing tans like pros, and why the stakes are higher than ever. LEARN MORE

6 min read

Despite the risk of burns and developing skin cancer, Gen Z is glorifying tanned skin, using the UV index to try to find the “best” times to tan
A new survey from the American Academy of Dermatology confirms that one-third of Americans got sunburnt in 2025, with Gen Z reporting the most severe burns.
Research has shown that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer, and, on average, just five sunburns more than doubles your risk of developing melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

Now in their early teens to late 20s, Gen Z grew up slathered in mineral sunscreen, wearing cute rash guards and floppy hats, and shaded under UPF 50 stroller awnings. Their parents, a mix of elder millennials and Gen Xers, were kids during a time when baby oil and suntan lotion with SPF 2 were beach norms, and learned the hard way that unprotected sun exposure has consequences: wrinkles, brown spots, and skin cancer.

But now, the generation that cut its teeth on sun protection is flipping the script.

They’re not avoiding peak UV hours, they’re actively tracking them: Using the UV index—a measure of the strength of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation at any given time and place—young people are trying to find the “best” times to tan. Social media posts celebrate bronzed celebs and glorify tan lines. Tanning lotions with low SPF are trending. Gen Zers are even hopping back inside tanning beds, which are considered group 1 carcinogens, just like tobacco and asbestos. Point is, sunbathing is hot—in more ways than one.

Houston (and the rest of America), we have a problem. A new survey, released earlier this month by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), confirms the troubling trend: One-third of Americans got sunburnt in 2025, with Gen Z reporting the most severe burns, leading to issues such as clothing discomfort, feelings of embarrassment, and sleep disruption.

And to make matters worse, nearly half of Americans scored a “C” or lower on the AAD’s sun safety quiz, which assesses knowledge related to sun protection, even though two-thirds of respondents rated their own knowledge as “good” or even “excellent.” Gen Z performed particularly poorly, with one-third of respondents receiving a D or F, making it abundantly clear that there’s a wide gap between what many young Americans think of as best-practice for protecting their skin from the sun, and the realities of it.

Playing With Fire

Here’s what dermatologists want younger people to understand: The UV index measures the intensity of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun on a scale of 0-11 and the higher the number, the higher the risk of UV exposure. Unfortunately, teens and twentysomethings are interpreting that as the higher the number, the better the tan. “They’ve got it completely backward,” says Susan C. Taylor, MD, an associate professor of dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and former president of the AAD. “When UV is high, it means there are many UV rays getting through, so you need to double your skin protection efforts, avoiding the sun between the peak hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and wearing hats, sunglasses, rash guards.” Even using it to assume you can’t incur damage when the UV index is low is dangerous: Clouds reduce the amount of UV rays but they don’t block them completely. “I’ve seen some of the worst burns from cloudy days,” says Dr. Taylor.

When you get a sunburn, that’s damaged skin, and then as it scabs over, you may see a tan—but it’s still an injury.

How bad is a sunburn, anyway? “Think of a sunburn as a total body scab,” says Dr. Taylor. “You fall down and skin your knee, and it scabs over,” she says. “Well, when you get a sunburn, that’s damaged skin, and then as it scabs over, you may see a tan—but it’s still an injury.”

Even if you don’t burn, tanning is a sign of damage. “Ultraviolet (UV) rays can harm your cells’ DNA, and your skin’s defense is to produce melanin,” says Ellen Marmur, MD, a dermatologist in New York City. “So any time we see a tan, that’s your skin telling you it’s been hurt.” A history of sunburns is linked to the most common forms of skin cancer, including squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and melanoma, which has the potential to be deadly when it spreads. Research has shown that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer, and, on average, just five sunburns more than doubles your risk of developing melanoma.

Tan Now, Pay Later

Frequent sunburns also bring unsightly signs of sun damage, often years later, in the form of wrinkles, brown spots, melasma (brown splotches induced by UV light and hormones), broken capillaries, dull skin, and more. “The better you are at taking care of your skin and using sun protection when you’re young is like putting hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in the bank,” says Dr. Marmur. “Every time you put on sun protection, you’re saving money on expensive lasers and injectables in the future.”

You’d think appealing to vanity might help, especially since Gen Z is all-in on noninvasive aesthetic treatments and plastic surgery. But the AAD survey found that one persistent myth about tanning is that it’s harmless, with more than half of all adults believing that tanned skin looks healthier. “It’s so hard to grasp that 20 years later, you’re going to have me inject a needle in your face and cut things off your face and put in stitches on your face,” says Dr. Marmur. “The potential of disfigurement is so remote, and people want that immediate gratification.”

Welcome to #TanTok

How did this happen? Dermatologists point to social media. There’s a corner of TikTok, where bronzed skin is celebrated and SPF is optional. Videos with best tanning practices, including ideal UV index ranges to tan, get hundreds of thousands of likes and shares.

The increase in sunburns in recent years seems to correlate with social media’s explosion during the pandemic, notes Dr. Marmur. “Everybody was on their phones and social media so much more,” she says. And it’s not just videos of sunkissed teens basking in the sun’s glow; it’s pseudo-science posts and biohackers spreading misinformation that UV light is linked to longevity, says Dr. Marmur. “Sunscreen is toxic! It causes cancer! Chemicals are bad for you!—people like to be as inflammatory as they can, no pun intended,” she says. “There’s a general suspicion of science right now and, therefore, sun protection. It’s not exactly a backlash, but it is a left turn.”

Data backs this up. According to that AAD survey, nearly half of all Americans, and 64 percent of Gen Z, report encountering sunscreen misinformation online, and more than one-third of Gen Z identified influencers as their primary source of skincare advice, as opposed to qualified professionals. “Misinformation reinforces harmful tanning myths, leading people to underestimate the risks of UV light exposure and ignore protective measures,” Murad Alam, MD FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist and president of the AAD says in a news release about the survey. “It’s important to evaluate the source of medical information and make informed skincare decisions by seeking advice from a board-certified dermatologist.”

Turning the Tide

So, how do dermatologists and researchers reclaim the narrative and remind young adults and teens that unprotected sun exposure causes cancer? “Let’s use some tricks we learned from cognitive behavior therapy,” says Dr. Marmur. “You want to look bronzed and brown and sunkissed? Then don’t self-harm by getting sun damage or going to tanning salons; use products that make you look that way, like self-tanners and bronzers.” She’s also quick to point out that being anti-sun or saying people can’t ever get sun exposure isn’t a winning message. “Go out and live your life, but know that we have so many tools to be smart about it,” she says. “Just making slightly smarter choices now will have a huge long-term benefit.”

Influencers and celebrities hold a lot of power here, too. “They can change the trend just by saying, ‘I look better with paler skin,” says Dr. Taylor. Letting Gen Z (and rising Alphas) see the negative (and sometimes graphic) consequences of sun damage may also be impactful. “We need to get stories out there of young people who’ve developed skin cancer and how it’s profoundly affected their life and also their appearance because sometimes they require surgery that’s somewhat disfiguring,” says Dr. Taylor. “All we can do is keep talking.”

Bottom line: If Gen Z is going to resist the sun safety lessons their parents worked hard to instill, dermatologists, influencers, and educators will need to double down on a new message—one that speaks their language.

While social media stories may disappear in 24 hours, the effects of sun damage can last a lifetime.

Writer Krista Bennett DeMaio has covered beauty and health for over 20 years. Her work has appeared in women’s magazines and websites, including Women’s Health, Oprah Daily, Allure, Cosmopolitan, HealthCentral, and Prevention.com. She’s also the founder of Pretty Local, a platform that keeps tabs on local beauty and wellness.