As the temperature outside steadily declines, the opportunitiesto lie out by the poolside or bask in the glorious sunlight at thebeach are limited. Soon the weather will force those seeking ayear-round tan to find alternative ways to stay bronze. But is ayear-round tan really important enough to risk the general damageto one’s skin caused by indoor tanning and possibly developskin cancer?
“I just don’t understand the obsession with having adark tan in the middle of the winter,” junior finance majorAnne Schlott said. “It’s unnatural andunhealthy.”
But the 25 million Americans tanning annually demonstrate thereis an allure to a year-round tan. In no more than 20 minutes onceor twice a week, a person can establish and maintain a base tan,keeping that year-round glow.
“I like tanning beds because they’re soconvenient,” junior marketing major Taylor Bovaird said.”The whole process of getting to the salon, tanning andgetting home never takes more than half an hour, and I look likeI’ve been lying out all day.”
While the time element is a huge factor for Bovaird, she alsoprefers the climate controlled bed to the heat associated withlying out in the sun.
As for the concerns of premature aging and skin cancer, Bovairdsaid she does not feel an immediate danger and believes it ishealthier to tan in moderation in a controlled environment, and sheheeds advice on minimizing tanning risks.
In order to minimize these risks, tanning salons advocate”safe tanning.” Texas law imposes a “24-hourrule,” which does not allow a person to tan more than oncewithin a 24-hour period. Texas law also requires tanners to wearprotective eyewear to prevent eye injury. Tanning salons suggest acustomer buys a pair of goggles, but they also provide freedisposable eyewear in each tanning room.
Individual tanning salons also promote and encourage the use ofindoor lotions to help fight premature aging and maintain healthyskin. And as for skin cancer, advocates of the indoor tanningindustry suggest that maintaining a base tan will help eliminateone’s chance of developing skin cancer by nearly eliminatingsunburn.
If people are interested in maximizing their indoor tan, JosephRushing, assistant manager at Palm Beach Tan on Mockingbird,suggests that a person should tan regularly and always use alotion. Rushing said that lotions moisturize the skin, making a tandarker and last longer. Lotions range in cost from as little as $15to $70 per bottle. Salon associates are ready to explain thebenefits of the ingredients found in the different lotions.
The promotion of safe tanning, however, contradictsextraordinary amounts of research saying there is no such thing asa safe tan.
“The darkening of your skin is an indication thatthere’s damage going on from ultraviolet radiation,”dermatologist Dr. Barney Kenet said. “UVA is known to causeskin cancer later in life, especially in young people who usetanning beds.”
Research suggests there are definite links between overexposureto the ultraviolet rays found in tanning beds and eye injury,premature wrinkling of the skin and increased chance of developingskin cancer.
“Repeated exposure to UV rays, such as those absorbedduring indoor tanning, can cause skin cancer and premature aging ofthe skin,” said Dr. Catherine A. Demko of the ComprehensiveCancer Center in a study conducted at Case Western ReserveUniversity School of Medicine and the University of Cleveland.”The majority of teens do not have an appreciation of therisk of skin cancers, scars from surgeries to try and remove them,mottled pigmentation and sagging, wrinkled skin.”
The study also revealed that girls are more likely to tanindoors than boys.
Thirty percent of teenage girls reported using a tanning bed atleast once, while only 11 percent of teenage boys said theydid.
The percentage increased among 18- to 19-year old girls with 47percent using a tanning bed more than three times.
Southerners and Midwesterners were more likely to use indoortanning. The indoor tanning phenomenon implies that many people donot see the threat of severe damage to a person’s skin in thefuture as an imminent danger.
“Teenagers may think they look good now, but the sad partis that by the time they reach 60, their skin will look like aleather bag and they’ll be paying a dermatologist to try toreverse the damage,” said Dr. Ted Daly, the director ofpediatric dermatology at Nassau University Medical Center in NewYork in an ABCnews.com article.
“I like looking sun-kissed so I prefer the naturalsunlight. I do like keeping a year-round tan, but I am concernedwith looking like Magda from There’s Something AboutMary,” sophomore Ashley Munro said.
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, skin cancer is the mostcommon malignant disease in the United States. It causes nearly10,000 deaths every year.
And a recent study at Baylor University found that a person whotans indoors is four times more likely to develop skin cancer thansomeone who eschews it.
The Department of Health and Human Services recently added theUV light of indoor tanning machines to its known list ofcarcinogens.
Despite all of the detrimental claims made by doctors andscientists about the indoor tanning industry, the $2 billiontanning industry continues to boom.
Through advocating “smart tanning” as well asproviding alternatives to indoor tanning beds, tanning salonscontinue to lure in new customers.
While many students continue to use tanning beds, some studentshave found alternatives to a tanning bed. Junior political sciencemajor Morgan Mills has found hers in Mystic Tan.
“I used to tan in tanning beds, but I was always concernedwith the risk of developing skin cancer,” Mills said.”Recently I started Mystic tanning, and I absolutely loveit.”
Mystic Tan is a spray-on tanning lotion. In this process, amachine evenly sprays the person with a sunless tanner. The tanningdevice sprays the front and back of the body for 30 seconds each,with a 10-second break between the two.
It has no harmful side effects, although one may experienceorange “spotting.”
For the best results, employees advise customers to wait four tosix hours before showering.
“My step-mom religiously uses a sunless tanninglotion,” junior finance major Lauren Hansen said, “butonce when she left the gym, her clothes were stained orange fromsweating off the lotion; her skin was all streaky, so she makessure she applies it far in advance of doing anythingactive.”
Sunless tanning lotions, whether applied at home or at a tanningsalon, are safe to use year-round and can last almost as long astraditional tanning without the harmful side effects.
And if tanning beds are more appealing, exercise caution whenfrequenting a tanning bed by always wearing protective eyewear,applying lotion and tanning in moderation.
