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While the mall is now alive with spring fever, many students — mainly female — are flocking to tanning salons. Despite stacking evidence that tanning salons cause health problems as serious as skin cancer, tan is proving to be the new pale.
Over the past decade, the popularity of the famed “fake bake” has only increased. The tanning industry now rakes in a mighty $5 billion per year, according to the Indoor Tanning Association, and approximately 25,000 tanning salons span the nation, not including booths within health clubs or homes. A rapidly growing number of people are desperate for that golden glow, regardless of the effect it may have on their bank accounts or their health.
Tina Day is a third-year nutrition student at the University of Maine and a tanning enthusiast. Although she is a dedicated student who hopes to care for the health of others someday, she has been tanning since the age of 18 and frequents Sunkissed Tanning, a popular tanning salon chain in Bangor.
“I feel like I look better with a healthy glow and my skin just feels better,” Day said of her tanning habits. She can be found tanning about two or three times per week.
Maine’s frigid, dark winters encourage people to escape to a warm booth and dream of a tropical paradise rather than traipse through drifts of snow to catch some rays. Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is a common affliction and Day often uses tanning as a way of dealing with the gloomy weather.
“It just feels good to warm up and get my skin tingly sometimes when it’s cold outside,” Day said.
Recent evidence to suggests tanning could be truly addictive. A 2006 study by Wake Forest University revealed the ultraviolet rays produced by tanning booths and the sun help release endorphins in the body, the chemical that creates a sense of euphoria. This same chemical can come from exercising or eating chocolate, but when it comes from the harmful rays of tanning beds, the results are often less than euphoric.
“I understand tanning increases my risk of skin cancer,” Day said. “I just make sure not to get severely sunburned to reduce my chances. I’d rather alleviate my winter blues and risk my health for my happiness.”
It is not uncommon on the UMaine campus to come across people who have mysteriously maintained the glow of a Greek god or goddess. In stark contrast to the skin tone of most Maine citizens during early spring, these tawny tanners hold to their routines like bees to pollen, refusing to favor health to a tan.
Standing on the opposite side of the pale vs. tan debate is Lindsey Timberlake, a third-year zoology student. Although she is guilty of getting sunburned once or twice during Maine summers, she prefers to retain her natural skin tone during the winter.
“It’s cancer in a box,” Timberlake said of her reasoning for keeping far from the tanning salons so often visited by her peers. “Also, I don’t want to be orange, and I can’t sit still for that long.”
Besides her anti-tanning rationale including the health concerns, hue and tendency to fidget, she can’t find a reason to spend money in order to tan. Timberlake prefers to catch her rays during the summer, whether while visiting a beach near home or playing outside with her brothers and dog.
“I prefer the all-natural look, and I feel like I could get more done by being outside and not stuck in a box trying to accomplish the same thing,” Timberlake said.
On this, Day and Timberlake agree. “I like [natural light] because it’s real and you get the great summer atmosphere too if you’re at a beach with friends,” Day said. She reserves tanning “just for the colder months when I can’t lay outside and get natural sunlight.”
Ironically, pale skin is related to purity and divinity in various Eastern cultures. In Japan, “bihaku,” meaning “beautiful white,” is considered an ideal, discouraging many Japanese women from visiting tanning booths.
Last January, Reps. Carolyn Maloney of New York and Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania decided to take action against tanning booths, entitling their bipartisan legislation the Tanning Bed Cancer Control Act. The act aims to enforce stricter regulation of tanning beds, including reduced UV rays, limits on the amount of time exposure allowed and more warnings for consumers.
What many avid tanners may not realize is the gradual darkening of their skin is due to skin cell damage, according to Health magazine. The color skin becomes as a protective mechanism is called melanin. With prolonged exposure to UV rays, skin turns darker to protect the cell’s DNA.
As various universities, health experts and legislators fight against the tanning trend, thousands of Americans show no sign of quitting the dangerous habit. According to a recent article in The New York Times on the proposed legislation, people who start using tanning beds before the age of 30 have a 75 percent higher risk of developing melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer, than those who avoid tanning booths. Despite these facts, it is unclear whether or not there is an end to the trend in sight.
Like Ugg boots, Crocs and wearing leggings as pants, tanning is a fad that may linger much longer than its anticipated life span.
Bangor Daily News