Addicted To The Sun

Boulder Daily Camera, June 2, 2010
by Aimee Heckel
article

Sara Angel looked around the pool party. Teenagers and twentysomethings in swimming suits stretched out under the sun. Most didn’t bother with sunscreen.

Including 23-year-old Angel.

Despite the fact that she works at a Boulder dermatology office.

“I looked around and thought, ‘This is horrible, my doctor’s worst nightmare,’” she says. “I know it’s bad. But to some extent, I like it. You lay out. You’re relaxed, not caring.”

She admits it’s a double-standard, working with a dermatologist during the week and lying out in the sun on the weekends. About once a month, she hits up a tanning bed. She thinks her skin looks better tan.

Even her hair does, she says.

She knows UV rays cause cancer; who doesn’t these days? But compared to her friends — one who tans indoors as often as five days a week — Angel doesn’t think she has a problem.

For some people, tanning isn’t just a dangerous habit. It’s a true addiction, according to a study recently released in the Archives of Dermatology. Some advocates have begun putting it in the same category as cigarette smoking.

First came the American Cancer Society’s recent classification of UV rays as a carcinogen — a known cause of cancer.

Now, the study of 421 college students in New York found that nearly half had tanned at a tanning salon. Of these, as many as 40 percent met criteria for tanning addiction.

More than two-thirds of the tanning addicts were women.

These students also reported greater symptoms of anxiety and were more likely to use alcohol and marijuana, the study found.

“I think this is the beginning of the tanning story right now,” says Casey Gallagher, with the Boulder Valley Center for Dermatology. “The medical outcry against tanning is in its early stages, the last five years, as opposed to 40 or more years for smoking.”

In the tanning study, researchers used similar questions from alcoholic-screening tests: Do you feel the need to cut back? Do you feel angry or annoyed when people ask you about your tanning? Do you feel guilty? Do you wake up thinking about tanning?

“If the answer is yes to any of these questions, it’s concerning,” Gallagher says.

Historically, tan skin was considered unattractive. It was associated with the working class, who spent time outside. But today, it is associated with travel — with wealth and pleasure — “being able to take time off and get sun outside,” Gallagher says. “There are social pressures to be tan. It’s considered attractive and healthy-looking.”

Those social pressures are even worse in an outdoor mecca like Boulder County, he says.

“You’re living the dream in Boulder County if you have a tan, because you’re outside hiking or climbing,” Gallagher says.

He sees patients in his Boulder office every month who know tanning causes cancer but continue to do it. One man in his 30s has pre-cancerous markings on his face, and has visited Gallagher multiple times swearing he is going to stop going to the tanning salon.

“He can’t quit,” Gallagher says.

In fact, studies show the tanning salon business is growing, despite the American Cancer Society’s warnings.

Some people, like Angel, say tanning makes them feel good.

“I fall asleep almost every time,” she says, talking about tanning beds. “You have the music on, your eyes closed. It’s kind of meditative.”

Tanning feels good — literally. UV rays can cause your body to release endorphins, which provide a soothing sensation. The immediate gratification can make it difficult to balance against the long-term risk of disease.

Gallagher says some people might need psychological support, medication and group therapy to kick the habit. Except if you Google “stop tanning” and “Boulder,” there are no support resources. Only a link to a “one-stop tanning body shop.”

Lafayette esthetician Jamie Gordon says she has convinced many of her clients to stop using tanning beds. In fact, she says, she was instrumental in getting tanning beds removed from Boulder’s Rally Sport Health and Fitness Club, and she used to teach “Safe Sun” classes there and at Fairview High School.

“I think it may be similar to people with addictions to plastic surgery,” she says. “Once you get started, it may be hard to quit.”

Safe sun

For people who still desire a beach bronze, spray tans and self-tanners are a safer alternative.

Boulder-based VerandaSun boasts a custom airbrush tanning application. The solution is natural and doesn’t contain alcohol, oils, perfumes, chemicals or preservatives.

“There is no denying, we all look better with a tan,” VerandaSun’s Web site says. “Just not with the cumulative anti-aging effects of the sun (or the orange palms that result from self tanners).”

Boulder stylist Marian Rothschild recommends a mineral-based bronzer on the face and self-tanner on the legs.

Although no self-tanners are all-natural or organic — a chemical reaction needs to occur for the skin to turn golden — Rothschild recommends low-odor tanners at Sephora at the Twenty Ninth Street Mall, such as A Tan for All Seasons by Bliss or a no-streak formula by The Kardashians.

Louisville-based MyChelle Dermaceuticals makes a sunless tanner without toxic chemicals that some sunless tanners contain. The Del Sol Bronzer contains organic aloe and organic essential oils.

Despite the alternatives, some people still prefer the sun. Rothschild says her neighbor has had two lumps removed from his face, but he still tries to get as dark as possible ever summer. No hat or sunscreen.

“In fact, he’s already very tan from just being outside for many hours this past weekend,” Rothschild says. “Some people just don’t learn.”

Contact Staff Writer Aimee Heckel at 303-473-1359 or heckela@dailycamera.com.