I confess…I have a slight addiction to being tan! Having been raised on the beaches of Florida with a surfboard under one arm and a fishing pole in the other, I grew accustomed to having a year round golden glow. I have fond memories of spending my high school and college years on a board in the ocean, lying out on the beach or on a wakeboard behind our boat. My fair skinned Irish mother actually tried to convince me in college that the “browning rays” didn’t come out until 4pm in an attempt to keep me out of the sun. When “Jenny Corace” was called out for the indoor tanning package prize from my dorm at FSU, my roommates just laughed! I didn’t need it – I was already damaging my skin by spending countless hours at the beach and in the saltwater! Tanning took a backseat to the real world as I got older until I discovered “turbo tanning beds” and the Mystic Tan. Despite having several moles removed and starting off last fall with 16 stitches in my back and stomach, I still yearn to be tan!
After having a conversation with the high school cheerleader who works at the local tanning salon, I am shocked to discover that former beach bunnies and college co-eds are not the only ones who frequent the fake bake palace. There are women in their 60′s who want to be bronze beauties and sadly, girls in elementary school who are also trying to be tan. Many of these girls are cheerleaders who feel that they look better in their competition uniforms with a darker skin pigment. I understand that being a little darker hides cellulite, makes you appear thinner and looks better in pictures for the ever important world of My Space. (I admit it – my default picture was taken after spending the day at the beach.) Are elementary aged girls already concerned with these issues too? I guess I would be considered ignorant if I wasn’t already aware of this. I vividly recall going to the tanning salon and waiting behind a local high school cheerleader who was bargaining with the clerk about “trading time” from her mother’s account to her younger sister’s account. This was the first time that I was aware that it was even legal for preteens and elementary school aged children to tan. Apparently, with a parental release form, anything is possible.
After googling “cheerleading and tanning,” the very first sight that popped up was Varsity.com, the cheer industry’s powerhouse that owns EVERYTHING from NCA to uniforms. Obviously, the golden glow is heavily promoted in the cheer world! Although they offered sunless tanning solutions, I still felt it odd that an organization that deals primarily with young girls would emphasize the importance of being tan. To their credit, Varsity did stress that spray tans were the safer solution, however with the cost of one spray tan being $30 versus an unlimited tanning membership costing the same amount per month, it is easy to see why so many young girls favor the salon. Mystic Tan, marketed as the Official Tan of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders and Jessica Simpson, is my sunless tan of choice. After getting a “wrist slap” from my dermatologist, I started visiting the spray tan booth more frequently and ignored the spray tan smell in exchange for healthier skin. This was a short lived experience however as my bank account could no longer afford my tanning quick fix. I understand the need to be tan, really I do, but is it worth it and at what cost?
My heart sank to my stomach as I clicked on the link entitled, “TANOREXIC Young Mother Dies of Skin Cancer.” I read the article about this young woman who died after years of tanning that started at the age of 14. The picture of her one year old daughter, who is now motherless because of a need to be tan, brought tears to my eyes. It reminds me of the time a mother stopped me in grocery store and said that she wanted to thank me. I was puzzled until she explained that her daughter heard me tell a group of girls at dance practice that I would not be visiting tanning beds anymore, favoring my Mystic Tan, after having several stitches removed earlier in that day from precancerous mole removal. She went on to explain that she really was grateful that someone changed her daughter’s opinion of fake tanning and sincerely hoped that I would continue to promote my favorite tanning sunless cream (Jergens) because it could potentially be saving the lives of many young girls.
I sit here now with a guilty conscious knowing that I have wasted more time at the beach and tanning parlor since that time than I have in a spray tan booth. I feel even worse thinking that I was looking forward to teaching my children how to surf this weekend knowing that I would be much tanner by Sunday afternoon. The “Saltwater Cowgirls” mother-daughter summer surf camp is now looking less appealing especially after a stranger remarked on how my children and I looked like the “picture perfect beach family with our healthy tans and blonde hair.” Although I have laughed and related to Kelly Ripa’s jokes about being a “tanorexic,” I suddenly feel the need to rekindle my relationship with Mystic Tan, call my dermatologist and step up on my soap box once again!
