The Long Term affects of Artificial Tanning

    

Have you ever wanted to be tan in a season you normally wouldn’t be? Have you ever felt that the way you appeared would be that much better if you were only in your summer skin? Well not only is UV light harmful, but it can ultimately lead to skin cancer and melanoma.  In years before it has become socially acceptable to be tan all year round.  With shows like “Jersey Shore”, being tan has been promoted to a new extreme.  No one really stops to realize the true consequences this fixation can have.  For me, tanning started at a very young age.  When I was thirteen, I began tanning for my middle school graduation.  Struggling with all the pressures of puberty, I felt tanning would be a way to make myself look better.  With consent from my mother I opened the door to something so damaging.  It didn’t end here, throughout high school I tanned regularly from October through April.  Some years it was more than others, but why would I care I had a constant bronzed skin. Like many other body altering diseases, I feel tanning is one of them.  People become so obsessed with the physical aspect of their lives that they start to lose sight of the inside.  The pressure the media and celebrities hold on beauty has ultimately pushed us to the limit.

            In 2007 my step-father was diagnosed with skin cancer.  Though most of it was removed, it was now a lifestyle he would have to take on.  Applying sunscreen, wearing hats, and driving with the sunroof closed were now a part of his daily routine.  This all came as a shock to me, how was I going to continue to tan when a real life cancer victim was under my own roof? This was the first of many wake-up calls I began to experience.  I came to terms with the fact that if I couldn’t love the skin I was given, then there were bigger issues at hand.  I gave up tanning for a few reasons, one being my stepdad but another being for me.  It was time I grew up and faced the harsh reality of tanning.  I decided I didn’t want to look 75 when I’m only 50, and I certainly don’t want pieces of my skin missing from my face in thirty years because of silly decisions I made now.  UV exposure is very dangerous, and whether you take part or know someone who does, there are a few things you should know. Below are a examples of Artificial Tanning and the many aspects that come with it.