The burning truth . . .

I saw this today and thought it was hilarious!

( The Glow)

I'm proud to say my desire for a 'glow' was never that drastic. Thankfully. But I do remember learning at a young age what a tan was. Who doesn't remember the Coppertone kid showing off a tan? That was when my siblings and I would spend pretty much all day outside (back when kids knew how to be kids) with absolutely no sun protection on at all. I remember adults commenting on how 'dark' we were, that we must play outside all of the time and insinuations that tan meant healthy. But I also never remember hearing terms like 'sun protection' or 'sunscreen' or skin cancer . .

That carried over into my later years when it was perfectly acceptable - and normal - to slather your body with straight baby oil and lay out in the blistering sun for hours and hours. Now maybe you weren't as interested in a tan as that, and if so, kudos to you. But you may fall into the category of this next way to get that 'glow' . . .

Even after I decided I didn't have the time for, or couldn't handle the heat of, all those hours in the sun - along came the tanning bed. The latest and greatest way to get a tan, without the inconvenience. Hook, line and sinker. And I chose that way up to just a few years ago. Just during the summer, but still we're talking months. And I never had a second thought about it. Now I do.

But that's not even the bad stuff. The way you look at and think about things changes as you age, or they often do for me. For one, I know that based upon hard rock evidence I will always regret letting my kids slide by without sunscreen just because they hated the application and re-application process that took time away from their time swimming. But particularly now that I know the risk of skin cancer doubles if you've been sunburned 5+ times. And then there were those teenage years when I let them think that tanning beds were ok simply because they saw their mom using them.

And if you pay attention to the news, especially this time of year, you hear all about the increase in reports of skin cancer. If interested in more info, or if you too are beginning to consider the long term and/or deadly effects of baking your body, you can find and read all the confirmed research and statistics such as this for yourself. But here are some facts from a short report I heard last week:

• Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a proven human carcinogen. 
• 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.
• Currently tanning beds are regulated by the FDA as Class I medical devices, the same designation given elastic bandages and tongue depressors.
• Tanning beds are linked not only to melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer, but also basal cell carcinoma.
• More than 170,000 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer in the US each year are associated with indoor tanning. 
• One indoor UV tanning session increases users’ risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma by 67 percent and basal cell carcinoma by 29 percent. 
• The risk of basal cell carcinoma is increased by 73 percent if one tans six times per year. 
• Indoor tanners have a 69 percent increased risk of early-onset basal cell carcinoma. 
• Approximately 25 percent of early-onset basal cell carcinomas could be avoided if individuals have never tanned indoors. 
• Frequent tanners using new high-pressure sunlamps may receive as much as 12 times the annual UVA dose compared to the dose they receive from sun exposure. 
• One minute in the average indoor tanning machine in England is twice as cancer-causing (carcinogenic) as one minute in the midday Mediterranean sun. (That's stout, as we all know how hot the midday sun is!) 
• Just one indoor tanning session increases users’ chances of developing melanoma by 20 percent, and each additional session during the same year boosts the risk almost another two percent. 
• Of melanoma cases among 18-to-29-year-olds who had tanned indoors, 76 percent were attributable to tanning bed use.  
• People who first use a tanning bed before age 35 (that would be me . . .)increase their risk for melanoma by 75 percent. (No do-over here either. Ugh . . .) 
• Nearly 30 million people tan indoors in the U.S. every year. Two to three million of them are teens. 
• The indoor tanning industry has annual estimated revenue of $5 billion. 
• People who use tanning beds are 2 1/2 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma and 1 1/2 times more likely to develop basal cell carcinoma. 
• Seventy-one percent of tanning salon patrons are females. 
• On an average day, more than one million Americans use tanning salons.

Now with all of that being said, I admit I still don't do pale very well in the summer. I don't strive for over-baked anymore, just a 'glow'. So I use a self-tanner. A personal choice. Because I also know now that wrinkles and sun spots are irreversible regardless of all the hype the cosmetic companies throw at you. Read the small print. Well, maybe if you used their products every day for the rest of your life and lived in a closet or cave. But there's no documented evidence of that either. So if you've also decided against further skin damage you might be interested in the self-tanner I discovered through a blog I follow. Because I've decided sunless is the way to go.

Sun Laboratories in Medium

This stuff is awesome. You can get it through Amazon if you choose (I do). Application is super easy. And youtube has all the help you could possibly need on application techniques. This one gives a natural looking tan. No streaking or nasty smell. And no. You will not look like a Tennessee orange version of Thelma & Louise with this. Not to mention it's much safer than their Orange Glo stuff. Now I make no promises though if you over do it. But why would you need to? It's a simple, quick process. I use the medium, but they do offer a 'very dark'. Be careful though. Sunless tanner is one of those 'less is best' kind of products. Plus, no goggles are required. :)

I recommend you do yourself a favor and at least give this or another one of your choice a try. Trust me, it's the way to go. For your safety, your health, your skin, your wallet, and of course . . . your family.

And if you're someone who loves the outdoors and/or spending time outside with your kids, that's great. Because a little vitamin D is good for you, within reason of course. Just remember the sunscreen when you're soaking it up - for you and for those little ones.

Later ;)
Shelia

Disclaimer: Not intended as 'preachy' - but my blog, my opinions.