Kim Kardashian defends use of tanning beds

Kim Kardashian defended using tanning beds, claiming it helps with her psoriasis condition.

Jumping in on the “of course” video trend, the 43-year-old Skims founder gave a TikTok video tour of her Sknn by Kim offices, showing viewers a variety of items including a close-up of the rear of a custom mannequin made with her dimensions, a 3D model of her brain on her desk, and an in-office tanning bed.

In one part of the clip, she reclines in a tanning bed, saying: “I’m Kim Kardashian, of course I have a tanning bed — and a red light bed — in my office.”

Allure Magazine took issue with Kardashian co-signing tanning beds, and pleaded on X, formerly known as Twitter, with the headline, “Please, Kim Kardashian, don’t try to normalize tanning beds.”

Kardashian then replied to Allure‘s post defending her tanning bed use. “I have psoriasis and it really helps when it’s bad,” the reality TV star wrote. “But I don’t use it too often.”

According to the National Institute of Health, tanning beds are a popular remedy for psoriasis, but they were also classified as a carcinogen by the World Health Organization in 2009. Despite offering phototherapy by emitting ultraviolet B (UVB) light, tanning beds primarily emit ultraviolet A (UVA) light, which can be incredibly harmful.

Tanning beds can increase the risk of skin cancer. Beneath the UVA light, benign moles can become cancerous. Not only that but people are 65 per cent more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer that is primarily caused by UV radiation exposure from the sun or tanning beds, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“Just one visit to the tanning salon significantly increases your chances of a cancer that can kill you,” the Skin Cancer Foundation warns. Although the tanning beds may provide Kardashian with temporary relief from her symptoms, she’s at a higher risk of skin cancer as a result.

Kardashian has long been candid about her struggles with psoriasis - which can cause visible red and scaly patches on the skin - and documented her diagnosis in a 2011 episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Over the years, she’s shared how she copes with the condition.

“I try to eat as many anti-inflammatory and antioxidant foods as possible,” she once shared on her sister Kourtney’s Poosh lifestyle blog. She added that if changes to her diet don’t help, she turns to creams and ointments for relief. “I’ve found that putting ointment or cream on the bad areas and then wrapping them in Saran Wrap helps. But obviously, that can only be done in certain areas.”

Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition and is considered the most common autoimmune disease in the US, affecting nearly 8 million Americans, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation.