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San Diego's — and America's — addiction to tanning
DR. SAN DIEGO
“Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night” will keep the U.S. Postal Service from the “swift completion of their appointed rounds.” Nor, it seems, will it keep crazed tan addicts from bronzing their already sun-drenched bodies.
From American tanning idol George Hamilton to those of us who put our convertible tops down in a flash just to catch a few extra miles of sun, we crave getting and staying tan. Thirty million Americans stare guaranteed wrinkles and cancer risk in the pale face and visit tanning salons each year. And that’s only indoor tanners.
San Diego is the American centerpiece for the 365-day outdoor sun-baked look, and nothing can stop tanning addicts from achieving that “healthy looking tan.” Many San Diego dermatologists think this term is an oxymoron. Tan addicts, in return, probably think many San Diego dermatologists are morons too.
In “California Girls,” Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys bragged to the world, “The West Coast has the sunshine, and the girls all get so tanned ...”
In fact, a recent survey found that one out of every two women 18-19 years old has used a tanning salon at least three times in their young life. Across the country during the winter months, the data say that 70 percent of “sunhead” women 16-49 years old hit tanning salons, much to the dismay of cancer specialists. These figures are not necessary, though, to see that the world is becoming a little more orange all the time: Stroll the malls, the halls of high schools and the campuses in our town.
San Diego boasts some of the best indoor tanning salons to be found. Planet Sun Tanning, Urban Sun Tanning, Beehive and Company and others cater to the bronzest of the bronze with spray tanning that looks almost as good as Cindy Crawford on a Palm Springs golf getaway.
Liv Tyler, in InStyle magazine’s June issue, took a different stance. “I'm happy with my weird, pale skin. I tried to do a spray tan once, and the whole experience was so strange — standing there naked with a mask on my face while someone sprayed me. I kept thinking the things we do for beauty are so funny. It wasn't for me.”
Yet, since the 1920s, Hollywood celebrities have sent the message: Sun tans are beautiful. In the 1950s and ’60s, tans acted as the central image of beach movies starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon. And then there’s George Hamilton.
Cleveland Amory’s famed comment, “I can’t take a well-tanned person seriously” aside, even President Obama, at the recent White House Correspondents’ Dinner, made reference to an apparent Republican “tanaholic,” the preternaturally tanned House Minority Leader John Boehner. “We have a lot in common. He is a person of color, although not a color that appears in the natural world," joked the President. George Hamilton tan jokes have been part of most every uber-tanned Charlie Crist campaign in Florida since he began running.
So what’s it all about, this tanning addiction? First, it is an addiction. Like anorexia, no matter how tan a person is, they never think they’re tan enough. Tanning makes the skin give off endorphins, the opioid compound that make a person feel good. Frequent tanners get hooked on the endorphins produced by tanning under ultraviolet light — the same light that causes skin cancer. When these endorphins are blocked during tanning, frequent tanners experience actual physical withdrawal symptoms. Frequent tanning may be a type of substance abuse after all!
The psychology of tanning is also interesting. The concept of the “healthy tan” lies in the irrational, erroneous beliefs deeply ingrained in the psyche of our modern society. Historically, pigmented skin has been an on-again-off-again desire. We’ve worshipped sun gods, it seems (ever see the one on UCSD’s campus?), from the beginning of time. Eighteenth-century France held porcelain paleness as a badge of high distinction to be differentiated from peasants who worked in fields with perpetually tanned skins. Now the mark of distinction is a deep, dark — damaging — tan to suggest that one has the means to travel to exotic, sunny destinations, or be fortunate enough to be a “California Girl.”
A simply amazing proof of the desire to tan can be found in a spoof Web site offering computer users a tan through their computer screens. Get this: it received nearly 2 million visits in just a few months! Tanning trumps gullibility.
Are you a tan addict? These questions, part of the American Skin Cancer Foundation’s Tan Addict Questionnaire, may begin to guide you to an answer:
• Do you think you need to spend more and more time in the sun to maintain your perfect tan?
• Do you think your tan will fade if you spend the same amount of time in the sun each time?
• When you go to the beach, do you usually spend more time in the sun than you have planned?
• Have you ever missed work, a social engagement or school because of a sunburn?
What’s next? “TA,” a 12-step program for tanners? Why not? Next meeting on Windansea Beach!
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Reader Comments:
My sister and I LOVE you! Your blogs are the topic of our conversations with friends who think we should run your fan club! You are funny, wise and hot all at the same time!
But THIS blog is by far the one that really touches us. OMG we are tanning addicts and our friends think you wrote this for US...but they think your text messaging blog was also for us, J2LYK. Now they are calling us "tanorexic." Thanks for that.
We are tan freaks, go to several spray (and bake) tanning salons, are big fans of fake and bake, hit the beach whenever we can, and answered YES to every one of your 4 questions. I live in Chula Vista and my sister lives in Leucadia and we know every beach in between -- Windansea? No...best tanning? We vote for Coronado!
Dr. M, those questions are killers. I read this blog and am convinced that my girlfriend is a tan addict! I tell her she always gets too much sun, but she never thinks she is tan enough. Even her friends call her names, and she just ignores it. Sure I'm concerned about her getting skin cancer, and I'm going to have her read this. Hopefully she'll pay attention and at least go to a dermatologist (who, like you said, she thinks are all making a big deal about nothing when it comes to getting too much sun). She has more lotions, sunless tanners, and after sun products, and has it down to a science about the time she sits in the sun. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
Love the sun and love your article. I am laughing all the way to the dermatologist's office.
Hello—my name is Double J and I am not a tanaholic. I can see how excessive tanning is considered to be substance abuse--the substance: sun tanning. According to you, Dr. Mantell, you can even have withdrawals, which makes perfect sense. So I suppose it’s like any other addiction--drugs, cigarettes, food, sex… The intensity of the substance--tanning--to produce the high is what is dangerous. We need to ask ourselves why we want the fake bake so bad to begin with. Most people I know say that fat looks better tan. Personally, I am pale and have a natural darkness under my eyes. I look healthier with a tan. I haven’t experienced the addiction to tanning, but now that you mention it, I know many with this problem. They often appear leathery, wrinkled, dried-up, unnatural….they may try to get a tanning session in during their lunch break every day. I think the spray on tan looks even more unnatural, and it rubs off on your clothes. The things we do to ourselves to boost our self esteem…smoking, drinking, tanning, cosmetic surgeries, shopping, dieting... I suppose anything can be addictive, and we need to understand the nature of our addictive cravings.
My sister-in-law is a Dermatologist living in S. Florida (they get their share of the sun) and says that it IS possible to have a healthy tan. Emphasis on the word "healthy".
The part of our skin we see is the epidermis - this is the topmost layer of skin cells that are basically finishing their career and thus constantly shedding. They don't tan from exposure to the sun so the only way to make 'em look good is to fake & bake. The next layer down is the dermis and this is where tanning occurs. The use of sunscreens during tanning (which is sort of counter-intuitive) is a must since ultraviolet radiation that makes us tan can also damage the dermis creating sunburn short-term and a whole bunch of other skin problems longer-term.
Her primary recommendations:
1. Use sunscreen whenever you are outside.
2. Come inside frequently
3. Going back out? Add more sunscreen
Doesn't sound too difficult, does it? She also suggests coming inside during the peak sunshine hours (11AM to 1PM). I think your 'tanorexic' folks will find this last bit of advice the toughest to follow, but the end-result will be the desired golden tan that's long-lasting and less hazardous.
Used to spend my summers in a place called Bradley Beach, soaking up the sun seven days a week from Memorial Day to Labor day. It is probably only a matter of time before a squamous cell carcinoma surfaces, but in the meantime I love to be outside and hardly worry about the hazzards. I don't consider myself an "addict" but your article made me wonder. I always knew I had a problem with cheesecake and now I suppose that I am a tanaholic too. I have missed your frequent media appearances and glad to see you back. Makes me want to dig out my copy of "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff"
What is the coorelation of sun exposure and EYES ?? Years ago I read an article regarding the studies that have been published regarding the harmful affects of prolonged sun exposure on the health of our eyes. Most consumrer purchase stylish sunglasses to add to their style not really realizing the importance of wearing quality sunwear EVERY TIME we are out in the sunlight. The study showed that just 10 minutes a day of exposed sun on the eyes without sun protection will lead to cataracts forming by the age of 65 !! 10 minutes a day is simply the time it takes to get in and out of our cars on a daily basis !!
Next time you grab your sunglasses and place them on your face thinking they are cool / and perhaps protect your eyes. Make sure they are good quality lenses and have maximum UV protection. Most sunglasses say UV protection but only HIGH quality lenses with UV 400 actually protect eyes from the harmful affects of the sun. Quality sunglasses have these lenses... cheap one don't ! Easy ... thanks for letting me add my 2 cents ! Barbie