Questions on if you can go tanning inside after breast augmentation 2 months post op?

Thank you for your question.  In our practice we advise our patients to keep any incisions protected from
tanning for two months after surgery. With kind regards,Lane F. Smith, M.D., F.A.A.C.S., F.A.O.H.N.S., F.A.B.F.P.R.S.Las Vegas Plastic Surgeon

Tanning booths or outdoor tanning both pose risks to your skin, cause premature aging, and increase the risk of skin cancers.  So, in general, I recommend against tanning -- if you had to pick, spray tanning would be safer.  With that said, if you are going to tan in a tanning booth, I would cover the incision with a bandaid or at least place a strong UVA and UVB protective agent on the scar like Zinc Oxide.  Note that, in general, healing skin absorbs more sunlight than the surrounding skin so even with regular sun exposure, the incision line (when exposed) could preferentially tan, relative to the surrounding skin, making it look darker and like a worse scar than it actually is...Good luck.
Mark K Markarian, MD, MSPHHarvard-trained Aesthetic Plastic Surgeon 

While you CAN tan your skin 2 months after a breast augmentation, the questions is SHOULD you tan.  Regarding the scars from your breast augmentation, they are more sensitive to the solar radiation and may get redder and raised if exposed.  A bandaid or zinc oxide is a complete sun block and either could be used to protect the scar.  However, the rest of your skin will be adversely affected by tanning booths and this puts you at increased risk for skin malignancies, early wrinkling and premature aging.  Spray tans are likely a better option.

Thanks for the question. Its early to talk about final results.In my practice, after performing a BA I recommend to my patients to limit the movement of the arms for two weeks. After that, you can move your arms taking care and always with common sense. In this regard, it's not advisable to carry heavy weights to prevent the implant out of position, and allow the formation of the physiological capsule around the implant, also to avoid pain and breast swelling.Kind regards,Dr. Emmanuel Mallol.-

It is a bad idea to use tanning booths... it is the same as being exposed to harsh sunlight. It does take it's toll on the skin in the long term and increases your risks of sun damamge to the skin. Fresh scars are more prone to sun damage and I advise my paients to hide the scars from direct sunlight / tanning booths for atleast 6 to 12 months.

Thank you for your question.  I'll give you the general doctor answer first- tanning is never a great idea and it increases the risk of melanoma and multiple other skin cancers.  It also causes premature aging of the skin.After a surgery, the main concern is healing.  Making sure that the incision heals well so it's well hidden is very important.  Newly healing incisions (within the first 2-3 months) are very sensitive to UV rays.  The rays can cause the incisions to become darkened, and these can stay permanently dark.Long story short, if you must go tanning, cover your incisions to protect them so you don't have permanently darkened scars.Good luck on the rest of your healing process, Dr. Seth

I do not recommend tanning in general, but if you do, you should cover your incisions. Best of luck.

The skin still has some swelling after breast augmentation and is more delicate than usual and more vulnerable at 2 months.  Take great caution before doing any kind of tanning outside or inside as you may be more likely to burn.If you are getting a tan color to the skin after exposure to solar radiation or artificial light radiation, remember that the tan color indicates that your skin has been damaged.  This ages the skin prematurely and causes loss of elasticity, and can affect the ability of your skin to repair chromosome breaks leading to skin cancers including melanoma.Topical lotion tanners if used occasionally and not daily are probably a better option to getting that golden glow and are ok to use at two months after breast augmentation.

I would recommend avoiding tanning booths under any circumstance.  However there is increased risk of irritation of your breast augmentation scar 2 months after surgery.Ultraviolet radiation from the son or a tanning booth can cause immature scars to get red raised and unsightly.  If you have to expose yourself to the son be sure and put a complete block such as a Band-Aid over your incision.