Even as SPF products now promise better coverage than ever, people are deliberately chasing tans.

Why it matters: That's not only unsafe but also at odds with the culture's anti-aging skin care obsession.

What they're saying: "There's no 'healthy tan,'" Philadelphia-based dermatologist Nazanin Saedi tells Axios. "A tan is a sign of sun damage," she says.

• "You can use all the retinol you want," says Anthony Rossi, a dermatological surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. "No amount of retinol is going to counteract your lack of sunscreen."

Threat level: Too much UV doesn't just age your skin — it can cause cancer, as Rossi knows firsthand.

• A '90s tanning bed user, he tells Axios he developed skin cancer himself. And he's watching a new generation make the same mistake and use tanning beds again.
• Now, he says, "I'm cutting off more and more skin cancers" from patients in their teens, 20s and 30s.

State of play: A "natural" skin care movement is pushing people to make their own sunscreens with ingredients like beef tallow — or skip applying altogether. Dermatologists don't approve.

• "The whole DIY thing always boggles my mind," says Rossi, who formulates his own sunscreen and notes a real one takes chemistry and precise specs. You shouldn't DIY something meant to prevent disease, he says.
• Beef tallow, he adds, has "at most maybe an SPF of 2 — not even enough to stop a burn." He says it's "basically putting baby oil on your skin" that clogs pores and causes acne.
• "If you want to be 'natural,'" Saedi says, "let's find you a mineral sunscreen."

Between the lines: The sun does offer real health benefits, but you don't need to skip sunscreen to get them.

• For example, the argument that you have to tan to make vitamin D "is not that kosher," Rossi says. "There have been good studies to show that even if you use sunscreen every day, you don't become vitamin D deficient."

The bottom line: "Sunscreen is safe. We have more options now. And just get into the habit of wearing it every day," Saedi says

New invasive melanoma cases rose about 47% over the past decade, per the Skin Cancer Foundation.

State of play: The states with the highest numbers aren't necessarily the sunniest. Differences in screening, demographics and behaviors like indoor tanning all help explain the rates.

By the numbers: For every 100,000 people, 24 new cases of this cancer were reported in the U.S. — up from previous years — according to the most recent data compiled by the CDC and NCI.

The big picture: It's not just that there's more disease.

• More aggressive screening is catching skin cancers that might have gone undiagnosed years ago, says Rossi.

The intrigue: Differences in state melanoma rates are driven in large part by population demographics.

• Melanoma is far more common in non-Hispanic white people, who make up about 80% of the population in North Dakota and Minnesota, compared with under 40% in California, American Cancer Society epidemiologist Ahmedin Jemal tells Axios.
• And rural workers are more likely to have outdoor jobs — and more sun exposure, ACS researcher Rebecca Siegel says.

Sun protection and indoor tanning habits also influence melanoma rates, Siegel says.

• New research suggests tanning bed use is linked to nearly triple the risk of melanoma.

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Active sunscreen ingredient bemotrizinol — popular in Europe and Asia — was just approved by the FDA for use in the U.S.

Why it matters: The ingredient has been celebrated by dermatologists because it offers strong ultraviolet A and B protection and is easy to wear.

• "It just feels so nice, smooth and elegant — it doesn't feel as sticky or have such a white cast, like so many of the sunscreens we have available," Saedi says.

Catch up quick: It's the first update of over-the-counter sunscreen products since the late 1990s.

• It comes after other recent sunscreen innovations: New mineral sunscreens now come in a range of shades and blend better.

What we're watching: The Dutch brand DSM-Firmenich is expected to begin selling a bemotrizinol product later this year.

A dangerous peptide marketed online as a sunless tanning shortcut is resurfacing.

The big picture: Melanotan II — nicknamed the "Barbie drug" because it can also suppress appetite — mimics a hormone that tells the body to make more melanin.

• It can be found as a nasal spray or shot, but it's not approved by the FDA or any other major regulator.
• Case studies suggest it could lead to the development of skin cancer.

What we're hearing: "People who inject melanotan, their moles start to change," says Rossi. He's removed atypical moles from a patient who used it.

• But he's seeing it taken at the gym as part of a "beautification stack" — and he's worried.
• "I don't really see a medical benefit of it at all," Rossi says.