Although I was always pretty fair-skinned growing up, I was jealous of all the tan celebrities I saw in magazines and on TV. And since tanning salons [1] were still popular in the Midwest well into the 2000s, there were many girls in my high school who were tan year-round. To keep up, I got into my first tanning bed when I was about 15 years old. The gym where I worked out also had a tanning salon, and since my family knew the staff well, they let me use the tanning beds after my workouts; I don't even think they knew how young I really was. I only went a few times back then and generally kept a pale complexion year-round, until the Summer before my senior year of high school.
I was hired as a lifeguard, and spending eight hours in the sun multiple days a week took a toll on my fair skin. I started out slathering on SPF 30, then 15, then 8. As my skin got used to the sun, I eventually didn't need it at all — I'm ashamed to admit this now, but sometimes I would spray tanning oil on my arms and legs to absorb extra rays.
Once school started and I spent most of my days indoors, I started visiting a local tanning salon. Not that often, but I would ramp up my visits before homecoming and prom, up to several times a week. It wasn't until I started college that my tanning habit became an addiction. The rec center on campus had a tanning salon, and since I was working out almost every day, I would finish my sweat sesh with a tanning session. It was like my reward for working out. I would tan almost every day to the point that I turned an orange color; I didn't even have a nice sun-kissed glow, I was obviously too dark for my natural complexion. I also didn't realize how tan I actually was. It was like a form of body dysmorphia; no matter how dark people told me I got, I still saw a pale person when I looked in the mirror.
I kept up these tanning habits on and off all throughout college. About halfway through my senior year, I finally snapped out of my tanning bed ways. Instead, I opted for spray tans and tanning lotions. The Summer after I gradated, I didn't spend too much time in the sun, and when I finally moved to New York, I got very little sun exposure.
But I still have freckles and moles all over my body. Last Summer, I found a suspicious spot on my hairline I had never noticed before; since it was a spot that didn't regularly get much SPF and I rarely wore hats in the sun, it made me nervous. When I went to the dermatologist, I had it biopsied along with another mole on my upper arm that was itchy and bleeding. My anxiety ramped up in the two weeks I waited for the results. Fortunately, they both came back negative for skin cancer.
Now that I'm almost 30, I'm constantly worried about getting skin cancer [4], thanks to the recklessness of my youth. The American Academy of Dermatology [5] says exposure to natural and artificial UV light is a risk factor for all types of skin cancer, and exposure to tanning beds increases the risk of melanoma, especially in women 45 and younger.
I'm fortunate that I live in New York City and am rarely in the sun, but I still wear SPF 50 on my face every day. When I know I'll be outside for longer than a few minutes at a time, I slather SPF 50 on everywhere that's exposed. I go to the dermatologist multiple times a year and do a full-body scan to look for suspicious moles. I'm never not worried that a melanoma could pop up — my dermatologist told me even though I stopped tanning years ago, it could still happen.
I would trade all of the stress and anxiety of worrying about skin cancer to go back and spend my teens and early 20s being fair-skinned. It's not worth constantly worrying about getting skin cancer and checking my body obsessively for moles. I also am trying to reverse all the sun damage I inflicted on myself at such a young age with serums, creams, and facials, but once wrinkles set in, you can't really get rid of them (except for Botox, which I see in my near future).
Although tanning beds aren't as popular now as they were in the mid-2000s, I hope teenagers take extra precautions [6] when they are outside in the sun. Pale skin is beautiful, and no tan is worth the risk to your health. Plus, if you are looking to get a little color, spray tans and bottled tanning lotions look natural and are a skin-safe option (I'm obsessed with St. Tropez tanning foam). Don't be like me: practice safe sun exposure. Your skin, and your peace of mind, will thank you.