‘Tanfluencers’ Push ‘Tanmaxxing’ Social Media Trend. Here Are Skin Risks

InnovationHealthcare‘Tanfluencers’ Push ‘Tanmaxxing’ Social Media Trend. Here Are Skin RisksByBruce Y. Lee,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Bruce Y. Lee, M.D., MBA, covers health, medicine, wellness and scienceFollow AuthorMay 31, 2026, 02:28pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more."Tanfluencers" on TikTok and Instagram are encouraging "tanmaxxing" via suntanning longer, using tanning beds and accelerators and even foregoing sunscreen to maximize the amount, depth and darkness of tans. (Photo: Getty)gettyYou could call this “sun” kind of a “dark” trend. After years of dermatologists warning about the risks of getting too much unprotected sun and ultraviolet light exposure, the “tanmaxxing” trend on social media is going the opposite direction. It’s pushing people to get more and darker tans. On TikTok, Instragram and other social media platforms, so-called “tanfluencers” are encouraging people to stay in the sun longer, use tanning beds, apply tanning accelerators, choose higher UV index days to lay outside and even forego the use of sunscreen to get darker and darker. Yes, practically all things that people with, you know, real medical knowledge have warned against. The concern then is whether this new “maxxing” trend is going to eventually lead to “sun” kind of other maxxing—namely “skin damage maxxing”, “skin cancer-maxxing” and other problem maxxing. Tanmaxxing Is Yet Another Maxxing TrendIf you haven’t yet figured it out, tanmaxxing is a portmanteau of the word “tan” and the “maxxing,” with “maxxing” standing for maximizing something. In this case, its about maximizing how tan you are. The “maxxing” suffix itself has been used kind of to the max on social media with trends like “fibermaxxing”, “looksmaxxing” and the don’t-do-this-because-it’s-your-genitals “ballmaxxing.” So why oh why are these tanfluece...