Noor Abdulmassih 

asst. web editor

According to The Skin Cancer Foundation, more than 30 million Americans go tanning indoors every year. About 2.3 million of them are teens. According to an Oracle-conducted survey of 206 students, about 13 percent have used tanning beds before, and about 11 percent have gone spray tanning before.

Junior Erika Fridenbergs began using tanning beds before an eighth grade dance and has been using them ever since.

“All of my friends were [going tanning], and I kind of didn’t want to be the only one who wasn’t,” Fridenbergs explained.

Like Fridenbergs, junior Molly Campobasso also used tanning beds for the first time before a school sponsored dance.

“I started going freshman year and I continued from then,” Campobasso said. “I probably go only three to four times before a dance and during the winter about five or six times.”

John Szymski, owner of Glenview tanning salon Toucan Tan, explained his beliefs regarding the benefits of using tanning beds safely.

“Tan is our own natural defense to a sun burn,” Szymski said. “The more we can tan the less likely we will get sun burned.”

Szymski believes that tanning outside has various risk factors and is, therefore, sometimes more dangerous than using a tanning bed.

“When you’re indoors you’re in a controlled environment,” Szymski said.

Senior Mary Andersen has never gone tanning before because she is afraid of the risks that go along with using tanning beds.

“Even the first time you go tanning, your risk for cancer goes up so much more,” Andersen said. “And I don’t want to take that chance.”

Organizations such as the Skin Cancer Foundation, American Cancer Society, American Academy of Dermatology and South’s Cure Club work towards the goal of keeping teens away from tanning beds.

Brittany Balzano, Co-President of Cure Club, explained that the dangers of using  tanning beds include cancer, moles, wrinkles, permanent scars and skin damage.

According to Dr. Augusto Montalvo, a certified dermatologist in Glenview, using tanning beds is harmful to one’s health.

“[Tanning beds are] not safe at all because there is a suspected link between Ultraviolet A radiations and the formations of melanoma, which is a deadly, deadly skin cancer,” Montalvo said.

Montalvo noted that for young women between the ages of 25 to 30, melanoma is becoming one of the leading causes of death.

Similarly, The Skin Cancer Foundation says that no matter what you may hear at tanning salons, the cumulative damage caused by UV radiation can lead to premature skin aging and skin cancer.

Fridenbergs understands the potential results of tanning but thinks the media should not only focus on tanning beds as the main cause of skin cancer.

“I do believe [tanning] is dangerous, but it’s the same thing as being outside in the sun without sunscreen for a long time,” Fridenbergs said.

Montalvo said that using a tanning bed is not the only way for a person to get color.

“If [teens] want to go tanning, then [spray tanning] is safer than tanning beds,” Montalvo said. “But the question you want to ask is ‘Why do you want to look darker?’”

Szymski also believes spray tanning can be a good short term way to get a tan.

“Spray tanning just gives you color,” Szymski said. “It’s great stuff, works great, you get a [tan] immediately. But it’s not going to give you the protection you need [against burning].”

According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, both sun tans and spray tans start fading after a few days, but the harm done to the skin from sun tanning is permanent.

Getting a suntan breaks down the DNA in skin cells, but using self-tanners causes no such damage. At worst, sunless tanning products present a small risk of irritant or allergic reactions.

Balzano believes that students should not use tanning booths as a way to alter their appearances. She believes teens should be confident in themselves when it comes to their appearance.

“You should be your natural self, because if you don’t love yourself how are others supposed to love you?” Balzano said.

Montalvo also discourages the use of tanning beds to change one’s look.

“It’s kind of silly to put your life at risk for vanity,” Montalvo said.

Photo Caption:

BRONZING BOOTH: According to an Oracle-conducted survey of  206 students, about 13 percent have used tanning beds before.  Indoor tanning increases the risk of developing melanoma, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. Photo from Flickr.