One person dies from melanoma every hour.

I recently saw a status in my Facebook news feed that went something like this:
"I love going to the tanning bed, it's so relaxing!" It received a lot of "likes" and agreement. I often see check-ins at the tanning bed, or individuals boasting about laying out all day and getting burned. I see pictures of my friends, lobster-red, pointing to a tan line and proudly proclaiming "All in one day!"
I even had a friend who had battled cancer previously in her life ask if anyone knew any good, cheap places to tan. She was going to be a bridesmaid and needed to look good.


This post is for you guys.


Last year, I went to the beach and soaked up the rays, and got a beautiful bronzy tan. Previous to the beach, I laid in the tanning bed in the winter to keep up my tan, and did so after the beach. I wanted that summertime glow and healthy look that being tan helps you achieve. Yes, I got burned a few times in the process, but I felt like burning layers of my skin off was worth looking tan.

A much tanner me...the flash whites out my face, but look at how tan my chest is. That was from hours and hours of laying out with no sunscreen. 

Now, as a 21 year old, I have sun-damaged skin and hyper-pigmentation spots on my face from tanning. It is pretty? NO. Is it healthy looking? Absolutely NOT. The spots look similar to something an old lady would have. I have spent a lot of money on treatments and serums intended to diminish these spots, but in the end I feel like they're stuck there for life. I have single-handedly ruined my skin for the sake of vanity...pretty ironic.

Sun damage

Close up. You can tell it's not a freckle...it's blotchy and unevenly pigmented

Not only does tanning in the sun or in a tanning bed without sunscreen---or in my case, sometimes even with tanning accelerators--- harm your skin in the short term, as I am dealing with, it increases your likelihood of developing skin cancer later on. Check out these statistics from The Skin Cancer Foundation:

• Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than 3.5 million skin cancers in over two million people are diagnosed annually.
  
• Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.
  
• One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.

• Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of skin cancer; an estimated 2.8 million are diagnosed annually in the US. BCCs are rarely fatal, but can be highly disfiguring if allowed to grow.
  
• Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most common form of skin cancer. An estimated 700,000 cases are diagnosed each year in the US, resulting in approximately 2,500 deaths.

• About 90 percent of nonmelanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.

• One person dies of melanoma every hour (every 62 minutes).

• Melanoma is the most common form of cancer for young adults 25-29 years old and the second most common form of cancer for young people 15-29 years old.

• The vast majority of mutations found in melanoma are caused by ultraviolet radiation.

• Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a proven human carcinogen. Currently tanning beds are regulated by the FDA as Class I medical devices, the same designation given elastic bandages and tongue depressors.
  
• The International Agency for Research on Cancer, an affiliate of the World Health Organization, includes ultraviolet (UV) tanning devices in its Group 1, a list of the most dangerous cancer-causing substances.Group 1 also includes agents such as plutonium, cigarettes, and solar UV radiation.
  

Source: http://www.skincancer.org/Skin-Cancer-Facts/

This is serious stuff. Tanning is a carcinogen, and it has the capability to kill you. Even if you don't see short-term effects like I did, which I speculate is due to benzoyl peroxide acne creams I use that intensify sun sensitivity, you ARE harming your skin and deliberately exposing yourself to a cancer-causing agent. I had heard all of this information before I went tanning, but I felt like I was young and that was something that affected old people, and that I tan well and didn't ever peel really, so I would be fine. I think a lot of individuals my age that tan feel like I did, or maybe they don't even care because the possibility of developing skin cancer seems like something that they can't be affected by. The desire to look tan, and by society's standards "healthy," trumps any serious medical threats.

I urge you to use sunscreen if you are going to be in the sun.  Use something with SPF on your face and hands daily, summer or winter, to protect your skin. Just apply it 30 minutes before sun exposure. In the summer when your arms/legs/the rest of your body may be exposed, get a bottle of at least SPF 30 and slather it on. The spray-mist bottles are really convenient because you can spay yourself in no time and you're good to go. You will be so thankful ten years down the road when your skin is healthy, has less wrinkles, minimal sun damage, and are far less likely to develop skin cancer, while those who worshiped the sun and tanning bed look leathery and old. 

I am writing this post because I learned the hard way. I ignored all the warnings in return for looking tan, and will forever have the reminder on my face, every time I look in the mirror (no make-up can hide it). Now I use sunscreen on my face daily and use SPF 30 if I am going to be in the sun. Sunless tanners are great for faking it, and now there is a wide variety of affordable sunless tanners you can pick up at Wal-mart. They have come a long way and look natural and non-orangey now. Or you could use that 30 bucks a month you invest in the tanning bed and pick up a high end self-tanner that is guaranteed to look awesome, or get a spray tan.  Here's a few sunscreens and self-tanners that I have used, or have heard a lot of good things about:

Clinique Super City Block Oil-Free Daily Face Protector, $18.00. Sheer and oil-free, the perfect daily sunscreen.

Aveeno Continuous Protection Sunblock for face, SPF 30, about $10

Nuetrogena Wet Skin Sunblock SPF 30, about $12

Jergens Natural Glow products, $7-15 dollars depending on what you buy. A really nice gradual tanning system. The face tanner contains SPF 20.

Lancome Flash Bronzer, $35. No SPF but gives a natural, rich brown color in about 30 minutes. A great alternative to tanning.


St. Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse, $30. This one I have not tried myself but everybody raves about how great it is, and a lot of make-up artists swear by it. Going to try this out next time I have the money!


Thanks so much for reading, and please think twice before laying out all day next time :)What are your thoughts about tanning? Do you have any self-tanner/sunscreen recommendations?