Collegiate Times

I am a girl. As such, I understand the need to look one's best at all times with the exception of those pre-dawn walks of shame and seemingly annual colds. While not an extremist in any regard to beauty rituals or practices, I admit to my fair share of girly activities; I use makeup daily, generally try to comb my hair, and while I am a little embarrassed to admit it, the sum of my productivity last Saturday was to paint my nails. Hey, at least I am honest. While I can generally get onboard with the desire to look good I have to draw the line somewhere and for me that line is tanning.

It's not that I refuse to go out into the sunlight without 10 layers; I thoroughly enjoy sitting on the beach in the summer and getting that wonderful sun-kissed glow after liberally applying sunscreen lotion. There are safe ways to look like you have seen the outside world and then there are ways that scream stupidity. Gradually accumulating a slight tan after weeks of being by the pool? Safe. Lying on the beach all day without any sunscreen? Stupid. Willingly going to tanning salons to lie in a metal tube and be baked? More stupid. Looking as you stepped off the plane from Barbados in January? Please.

Why so many girls my age seem to think tanning salons and the corresponding tanning beds are acceptable forms of making themselves "prettier" is beyond my comprehension.  Studies have conclusively shown that tanning is bad for your skin; it causes wrinkles, age spots and melanoma. I mean, who is willing to engage in an activity if general medical and scientific studies say your chances of having skin cancer will increase?

Think I'm over exaggerating here? The American Cancer Society recently published findings that among tanning bed users age 35 and younger, their chances of contracting skin cancer were eight times higher than someone who had never used a tanning bed.  Even occasional use triples your chances of one day having melanoma, according to ACS.  Pretty sobering statistics if you ask me.

So why then does the myth persist that tanning beds are OK for you? Our society is petrified about developing cancer and all sorts of products are advertised, pushed and accepted to be helpful in protecting oneself from cancer.  

According to Clive Ponting, a noted historical scholar, 1 in 3 Americans will develop cancer in their lifetime. A lot of cancers seem to crop up on their own in healthy people, people who played by the health rules and avoided known carcinogens like tobacco. If we are so scared about getting cancer and so desperate to cure it, why do thousands of young women flock to tanning beds once a week almost year round to get that tanned look that's so in vogue right now?

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