Solaria

Agence Franc¸aise de Se´curite´ Sanitaire de l’Environnement et du Travail-Unite´ Agents Physiques, Maisons-Alfort, France

More than 2000 years ago, Romans and Greeks were enjoying sunbathing in the

nude and even the Egyptians of the oldest dynasty associated life with solar radi-

ation. However, at the beginning of the 20th century, sunbathing was not popular

in Europe. Developing a tan was, for a long time, considered to be associated

with outdoor and agricultural work and a connotation of low class. Members

of high-class society tried to avoid solar exposure as much as possible by

wearing gloves and veils and using parasols. It was the social improvement

with paid holidays and the associated freedom, which, much later, made the

exposure of large parts of the body popular.