As we are gearing up for the last few weeks of the semester, we are getting ready for some summer fun! During the past few weeks of school, I had so many friends talking about a very common topic that comes about during this time of the year…tanning. I know I have talked about this before, but I really felt the need to again.
When my friends talk about tanning multiple times per week (or even at all) it honestly terrifies me because I know that my friends and so many young adults know the harm that tanning can cause them, but they continue to do it every week.
I wanted to share some facts with you all:
Other than skin cancer, tanning leads to so many other harmful side effects. If you look at many people who have tanned for a long time, you can usually tell that they have been effected by it based off how their skin appears. They have spots and more wrinkles at their age than they probably wouldn’t have had if they did not always strive to be tanner than the rest.
If you are currently someone who tans, do NOT think that skin cancer and melanoma are something that cannot affect you now. On my last post about skin cancer, I talked about how I have never tanned before but I had surgery on my back because I had a mole that was “pre-melanoma,” also known as an atypical nevi.
During my surgery I was not put asleep and they just numbed my back. When I asked how many stitches I had, my doctor estimated somewhere around 250, so it was not just as simple as removing the mole and then I was done.
While skin cancer is the most treatable of all of the cancers, it is also one that spreads very fast if not caught early enough. I am so grateful for the doctor who saw the mole on my back and realized that it was not a healthy mole.
I know that for a lot of people they “don’t care” what happens to them as long as they are tan, but I just wanted to point out some facts for you incase you did not actually know some of the harmful side effects!
Also, one last thing…in my opinion fake tanning does not look good, people are either orange or they look burned.
I would love to hear your opinions of tanning in a tanning bed!
I love this post! Every time I would talk about tanning around you, you would cut me off mid-sentence and say “stop. Don’t do that. You’re beautiful just the way you are” and honestly I stopped tanning after that. It’s so scary how fast it can spread to your other organs and people don’t take it seriously enough so thanks for speaking out about it!
Awh, I am so glad to hear you have stopped! It is so scary and I wish more people took it seriously! I was sitting in Starbucks a few weeks ago and this woman was talking to her husband about how she tanned that day and he said her to “I wish you would stop because it’s so harmful” and her response was “So?”… I do not understand this logic!
I went tanning twice, when I was a freshman or sophomore in college. It felt great – so relaxing – but totally not worth it. And hey, I’m a Russian-Irish Jew living in Northeast Ohio. I’m SUPPOSED to be pale! I’m embracing it.
Exactly! All it does it makes us wrinkle more quickly and causes negative things happen anyways, and who wants that!