Fake 'n Bake

Amidst a tropical atmosphere with papaya-mango colored walls, friendly staff and 23 clean, comfortable beds, "tanorexics" have found it difficult to resist the temptations of the tanning craze. \nSenior Terri Levitz has been tanning since she was 10. Both her grandmother and mother owned salons in the early '90s. Now Levitz works at SOL Spa, yet she's never been sunburned. \n"There's no possible way you can die from tanning," Levitz said. "It's not harmful, per say…it doesn't penetrate into your internal organs." \n"Yeah, it won't fry your liver," co-worker Mandy Hall agreed.\nSOL Spa, a Smart Tan certified salon, follows certain safety precautions. Indiana, as a regulated tanning state, must follow specific guidelines set by the Food and Drug Administration. \nSOL Spa owner Jeff Mills said his salon strictly abides by these rules, and that plenty of people can achieve a healthy glow from "safe" tanning bed use.\n"It's moronic to say there's no such thing as a safe tan," Mills said. \nSenior Mary Beth Edmiston would beg to differ.\nDANGEROUS OBSESSION\nWhen Edmiston went to her dermatologist last February, she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma.\nEdmiston said she was out in the sun a lot when she was little, and that she went tanning about three times a week during high school.\nThe doctor told her the cancer was a direct result from tanning because it's the worst kind of exposure a person can get. He also said it takes a couple years to develop, which means all damage was inflicted before she turned 18.\n"I regret doing it (tanning)," Edmiston said. "I was naïve. I didn't think it would happen to me, and if it did I thought it would happen later in life -- in my 30s or 40s, not at 21."\nEdmiston said she's doing fine now and has learned a lot; particularly that no one's invincible.\n"My friends have cut down," she said. "I've made an impact at least on my friends. It's hard to impact the whole industry unless it hits them on a personal level."\nEdmiston advised that if people are going to tan anyway, then they do it in moderation and not go "overboard."\nEven in moderation, tanning can have temporary adverse effects on people.\nLast year, junior Jennifer Van Goey experienced a startling revelation when she looked at a photograph of herself and saw a pale girl staring back at her. For years, she was adamantly against tanning. Her parents never allowed her to go to tanning beds because she received enough natural sunlight from growing up in California.\n"I still feel like it's a big waste of money," Van Goey said, "But I'm willing to spend money to make myself look better." \nVan Goey tans once or twice a week for a maximum of 20 minutes at Rags t' Riches, despite the warning signs stating "Avoid overexposure." Repeated exposure may cause skin cancer or chronic sun damage characterized by wrinkling, dryness, fragility, and bruising of the skin." \nVan Goey said she tries not to think about the risks. A "moderate tanner," Van Goey said she never goes to a tanning extreme. \n"Some of my friends go (tanning) every day, and I figure they're gonna have so many more wrinkles by the time they're 25," Van Goey said.\nEN VOGUE\nVan Goey doesn't stand alone in her beauty psychology. In fact, a large portion of the tanning industry relies on our perception of beauty and achieving that "healthy glow." \nDerek Reckley, an employee at Rags t' Riches, said his employers make him go tanning because it will "look better for the customers if I'm tan."\nToday, according to www.lookingfit.com, there are an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 tanning salons nationwide, in addition to another 30,000 locations that are combined with laundromats, drug stores or other merchandise markets. \nTanning has turned into more than just an industry, but a fashion craze. But who determines what is beautiful?\nHalfway across the world, in the Indian subcontinent, girls try to maintain fair complexions. Where Americans are accustomed to finding tanning creams, drug store aisles in India are lined with bleaching creams.\nAlthough beauty is one of the primary influences in why people choose to go tanning, some said that beyond the aesthetic reasons, tanning acts as a stress reliever. \n"You listen to music, close your eyes and fall asleep," Hall said. "Warmth always makes me fall asleep and not think about the bills I have to pay."\nTHE CASE FOR MODERATE TANNING\nCoined by the tanning industry, "moderate tanning" has become the ever-popular outlet for achieving a healthy glow without the side effects of cancer. \nMills said tanning is a relatively benign activity from which many people benefit, as long as they are responsible and use common sense. \n"Some of the crazy rumors are pretty hard to understand," Mills said. "I wouldn't be in the business if I didn't feel it was safe."\nAlthough Mills is convinced of the harmlessness of moderate tanning, the American Cancer Society disagrees. \nAccording to ACS, tanning beds have been studied with conflicting results because the same people who use indoor tanning also tend to get a lot of natural sunlight, but it finds little legitimacy behind the claims of a "safe tan."\nA few weeks ago, sophomore Megan Gerber went to Total Tan. Gerber, who doesn't tan on a weekly basis and has never burned before, was directed toward the $5 new beds. Unaware of the strength of new bulbs, she took a 20-minute session, only to awake the next morning feeling dreadfully sick and cold. \nAt first Gerber thought she had sun poisoning, but when she went to the health center the doctor told her she had second-degree burns.\nGerber said she isn't the only one to have suffered burns from Total Tan -- the girl she came with had blisters, too.\nTotal Tan owner Larry Burton was never notified of Gerber's situation, but in response to her tanning reaction, Burton claimed it is difficult to receive second-degree burns from a tanning bed. \n"We definitely want to help someone out who got overexposure, but tanning is much the same as eating," Burton said. "It's all about moderation." \nBurton and Mills both agree the best way to receive the darkest, richest tan is to follow the suggested guidelines. \n"Inch your way up to the 20-minute session because overexposure to anything isn't good for you," Burton said.\nGerber's tale might exhibit an abnormally harsh tanning reaction, but the potential dangers of tanning continue to be debated. \nGerber, who flatly refuses to go tanning again, said she has tried to warn many people of the dangers of tanning. But her friends continue anyway, insisting they'll solve the problem by tanning at a different salon or for less time.\nTODAY'S TANNING TREND\nDespite the controversy over indoor tanning, people continue to flock to tanning beds. One million people visit tanning salons daily -- about 10 percent of Americans, the American Academy of Dermatology estimated. \nThe newest alternative to tanning, Mist-On Tan, was patented a year ago by Dr. Tom Laughlin. It provides the safety of self-tanner while avoiding the streaky, uneven coloring application.\nCustomers stand in a booth where sunless tanner is sprayed onto them from all directions, giving them a week-long tan in less than a minute. Sessions cost $15 to $25.\nThere are currently only a few Mist-On salons around the country, one of which is in Indiana. \nWith safe alternatives to tanning available, 53-year-old Myrna Trump doesn't understand why a new generation that knows the potentially harmful effects generated by both natural sunlight and fake n' bakes would still be irresponsible about exposure.\nTrump, who was diagnosed with melanoma in 1997, said she spent the majority of her childhood swimming in her family's pool, unaware of what the sun was doing to her.\nEven when studies came out saying overexposure to UV rays was dangerous, it didn't stop her from spending time outdoors. \n"Like everyone else, I thought I was exempt from having something like (cancer) happen to me," Trump said. "Plus I never thought I fit the profile because I don't have a light complexion."\nIf she had known then what she knows now, Trump said she would never have gone out in the sun nearly as much or without sunscreen. \n"I can't tell you what I felt like when the doctor told me I had cancer, and that they didn't know how bad it was," Trump said. "I had to wait two weeks to have the tumor removed, and it was the scariest two weeks of my life. That's a moment in my life I will never forget."\nTrump has hit the five-year mark for remission, but doctors say she isn't in the clear until after eight years. They said if the cancer comes back, it will return to an organ instead of her skin. \nWhile acknowledging not everyone is genetically predisposed to get skin cancer, Trump said that doesn't excuse them from taking safety precautions. \n"If you're going to get tan, get a tan with natural sunlight or self-tanner and wear sunscreen," Trump said. "It's worth it, and it's not that hard"