Caitlin Drumm (Edison) Tanning Controversy

I will say that this is probably one of the least interesting topics to most people who will read it, but I was somewhat annoyed with one of my clients at work the other day and decided to post about it.

           As a tanning salon employee and manager of almost three years now, I have heard it all! From people swearing to the heavens that tanning in a tanning bed will turn out like it did in the “Final Destination” movies, to thinking that a certain bed is stronger than the others. There have been uncountable articles in the papers about the negatives of indoor tanning. There have been stereotypes that people who “fake bake” must be as fake as the tans they have. There have been spray tans gone wrong (okay, I will admit to that… it happens) where people turn orange because they do not follow directions. Allow me to state some positives and make some corrections.

            In today’s society, tanning indoors is considered very normal. Some people highly enjoy it, others are strongly against it. Some people do get carried away with how much they tan, but not everyone. It has been proven that UV rays and vitamin D levels increase levels of euphoria in a person for a short period of time as well as give them more confidence. Then there are the people who hate it and use examples of people, like the cast of Jersey Shore on MTV, to notify everyone they know that tanning is for “tools” and “guidettes”. It is seen as a waste of money to some people, but a time saver for others. Most people in the working world do not get the opportunity to spend hours on the beach for leisure time, so they come in and take a fifteen minute nap in a tanning bed and kill two birds with one stone.

In reality, the negative articles that are published swearing to high heaven that indoor tanning causes skin cancer are not 100% truthful. Did you know that regular sun exposure in moderation actually prevents a person from getting cancer? Regular sun exposure is actually good for you! Sun exposure is our best source of vitamin D. Last time I checked vitamin D is an important part of human survival. Regular sun exposure builds up a tolerance against the sun’s most harmful rays. Most of the studies that are publicized are from scientists who use people who are not exposed to the sun regularly and expose them to maximum UV rays for a maximum amount of time. Or they use rats. I still have no idea why rats are used in studies related to human beings that are not harmful. If you are pale, do not be naïve and think you will be brown within one session. No, you have to build a tan over time to see results, otherwise you’ll end up with a sunburn, just like you would if you go to the beach for hours with little to no SPF.

When it comes to the medical reasons to tanning, there are two completely different sides. Doctors highly recommend sun exposure to patients with depression, anxiety, type 1 diabetes, bone deficiency, and even Alzheimer’s. However a doctor will tell you, if you already have skin cancer or even a history or skin cancer, to stay out of the sun entirely.

            As many views and opinions there are on indoor tanning, the only thing I have to say about it is don’t knock it till you try it.

This entry was posted on 29. April 2010 at 18:22 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.