Dermatologists desperately want gen Z to stop ‘tanmaxxing’ — but are their warnings effective?

TORONTO – Dr. Julia Carroll feels like the progress made over years of educating people how to protect their skin from sun damage is sliding backwards.

“Two different times in June, I had patients of mine that were in showing me texts on their phone of their teenage girls asking if they could skip school because the UV index was high and they wanted to go home and tan,” the Toronto dermatologist said.

That’s very different from what she heard from people aged 15 to 25 as recently as five years ago.

“When you asked about their skin care routine, they would start with saying, ‘well, I’m very good about my sunscreen,'” said Carroll, who is chair of the sun awareness working group with the Canadian Dermatology Association.

Part of what changed, she said, is a social media trend that became popular this spring and summer.

TikTok feeds have been flush with posts from mostly gen Z — teens and young adults in their 20s — posing in bikinis or showing off their tan lines with the hashtag #tanmaxxing. The trend promotes maximum sun exposure with minimal, if any, sunscreen — and is alarming parents and dermatologists.

“It’s really concerning because the UV index is meant to be a warning system to tell people to increase their protective measures — whether it’s sunscreen or staying indoors, using sun-protective clothing (or) seeking shade,” Carroll said.

The consequences of tanmaxxing may not appear for another 20 to 30 years, she said, when today’s youth could be dealing with “irreparable sun damage.”

“It could be something like having more photo aging, which is like wrinkles and pigment, than we would normally expect. But it could be as serious as melanomas and non-melanoma skin cancers like basal cells and squamous cells.”

But warnings about the future from dermatologists and parents aren’t effective as a deterrent, said Lana Armani, a 22-year-old social media and marketing specialist who lives in Montreal and posts photos of tanning with friends to TikTok.

“Every weekend that we see it’s a nice day, it’s UV (rays) out, we’re like, OK, let’s make a post about (how) we’re tanmaxxing because we wanna show people that we are tanning and we’re like, joining in. And it’s also a trend that’s been very popular. So we’re kind of hopping on that,” Armani said.

Tanmaxxing is a subset of the broader “looksmaxxing” trend, she said.

“Basically what it means is you’re optimizing an aspect of your life or your looks to make yourself feel better and more confident.”

Armani said her generation realizes they’re tanning at the “exact time” that UV index warnings say not to.

They also know about the risks of premature aging and even skin cancer, but they’re choosing not to think about those dangers.

“It’s about living in the present.”

That attitude is reflected in a poll conducted in April on behalf of the Canadian Dermatology Association, which found almost 40 per cent of 1,000 gen Z Canadians surveyed said they had intentionally tanned in the past year.

That’s despite 79 per cent of respondents expressing concern about skin cancer and 63 per cent saying they know tanning is a risk, the survey by Ipsos found.

The Canadian Research Insights Council, an industry organization that promotes polling standards, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.

If dermatologists want to get through to people her age, they need to get celebrities and influencers on social media to promote sunscreen products that have an immediate beauty effect, such as a tint or glow, said Armani, whose facial makeup does contain sunscreen.

“Tanmaxxing isn’t just about going in the sun and getting exposure. It’s also about wearing things that bring out your tan or like putting body oil or like a little shimmer that I put on sometimes in makeup.”

She acknowledges that such products exist, but “honestly I don’t really hear people my age talking about them.”

“If they were marketed more like a beauty product instead of just sunscreen, I think more people would actually use them,” she said.

Armani said she and her friends use self-tanner before a trip or an event, but not as a replacement for soaking up the sun.

“I feel like a natural tan looks different, lasts longer, and just makes you feel better overall. I think that’s why people still choose to tan even though self-tanners are an option,” she said.

Although gen Z coined the term “tanmaxxing,” many people in previous generations also overexposed themselves to the sun’s UV rays when they were young, said Dr. Ivan Litvinov, an associate professor of dermatology at McGill University in Montreal.

“It was at a time so popular that people used reflectors to maximize tanning,” said Litvinov, who studies sun safety behaviours.

He said children tend to be protected from the sun until about the age of 14 because their parents can make them apply sunscreen, wear sun-protective clothing and hats and minimize exposure to the sun during peak UV hours.

But after that, teens start to make their own decisions and many begin tanning in the sun, he said. After they turn 18, they are also legally able to use tanning beds.

There is also a biological reason that drives people to stay out in the sun, Litvinov said.

“It actually feels good to be in the sun. This is an evolutionary pressure to force humans out of their cave so that they can make some vitamin D, otherwise we would have rickets and we’d die.”

But tanning for pleasure gives much more sun exposure than the body needs and becomes harmful, he said.

Armani said tanmaxxing should be done “in moderation” — but dermatologists say there’s no such thing as a “safe” tan.

“A tan is basically your skin saying that ‘I am being damaged,'” Carroll said.

“(It says) ‘you’re not protecting me. So in order to protect myself, I’m gonna increase the pigment in my skin, so increase the melanin production to try to give myself some protection.'”

But the “protection” provided by a tan is equivalent to an SPF of four, Carroll said, and dermatologists recommend using sunscreens that have an SPF of at least 30.

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, the rates of melanoma — a deadly form of skin cancer — have increased over the last 30 years.

Sun exposure and tanning beds are the main risks for developing melanoma, the society’s website says.

“Incidence rates of melanoma in Canada are among the highest in the world. Reduce your risk of skin cancer by being safe in the sun,” it says.

The cancer society advises reducing time in the sun between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., or any time the UV index is 3 or more, and seeking shade or using an umbrella. It also recommends wearing sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat and using sunscreen on any skin that isn’t covered by clothing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2026.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.