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2 August 2010
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Tanning
 I grew up by the beach. 2 miles from Smith Point Beach in Shirley, Long Island, New York to be exact. Dad was a cop in the Marine Bureau on Fire Island and then retired and became a law enforcement Ranger at the Fire Island National Seashore, the beach next door to the beach! The beach was a big part of our lives. Fishing on the beach, four wheeling on the beach, walking for exercise on the beach or the nature path at the beach. Summers were spent baking in the sun covered in baby oil or Bain De Soliel Orange Gelle (remember that?) at the beach or laying on the deck at our pool. What did we know? It was the 70’s and 80’s. Tanning was good and I could tan like a Brazilian girl despite my half Irish blood and pasty white skin. My sister-- not so lucky. Blistering herself every summer and being sick for days. Mom still until this day tans herself into leatherdom every Mexican vacation despite my warnings. Whatever. She’s almost 70. She’s not going to stop now even though Dad has had multiple basal cell carcinomas chopped off his face as a result of his years working outdoors at the beach. Some people never learn their lesson.
Once I moved out of my house at age 25 into an apartment with no yard and started working in the city (THE city, New York City), tanning was all but forgotten about. Yes I was very jealous of all the people I would see at the train station getting ready for their weekends on Fire Island or the Hamptons when I had to be at work. Boooo.
Working in skin care opened my eyes to a world of wrinkles, skin cancer, melasma, sagging skin, aging skin and people spending all kinds of money and time to repair the damage they have done by overexposure to the sun. I became somewhat of a sunscreen warrior, being slightly obnoxious lecturing customers, co-workers family and friends who still enjoyed tanning too much just like I did as a kid. I probably went to the beach 5 times in a span of 10 years and that was only when I was on an official vacation. Somehow that was the only justified tanning to me, when on vacation. Seems reasonable, right? The reason people tell me I look younger than I am is a direct result of staying out of the sun and wearing SPF every single day. See? It does work! Now how did I become 40 and wind up starting the cycle all over again?
The last 3 years I made it to the beach 3-4 times a year, got a little color and became bored with it and started being more productive on my day off rather than sitting at the beach doing nothing but staring at people for 3 hours and coming home slightly toasted. Something happened this year. I got the bug again. I was forced financially to have a staycation this year rather than go away so I spent my days at Jones Beach tanning my pasty white skin to a nice golden tan (along with a nice melasma shadow on my upper lip that looks like a mustache in pictures). SHAME ON ME. I can’t get enough. I’m looking forward to spending 3 days off next week at my old favorite hometown beach continuing the cycle. How can I look at my customers in the face and tell them tanning is bad? Ok, I will say I use SPF 30 on my face and SPF 15 on my body but SPF 15? Come on that’s not going to prevent a tan or a burn spending 3 hours at the beach during a heatwave.
Am I addicted? Some studies show that tanning is addictive and that summer sun exposure increases the serotonin levels (feel good chemicals) in the brain. Is this what is happening to me? I was just panicking turning 40 now I am just making matters worse by baking my already 40-year-old skin into premature aging. Ack! Why does it feel so good after a day at the beach? Skin feels smooth, smells good, the tan looks nice and it’s an all around great feeling. If it’s such a bad thing, then why does it feel so good?
Did you ever notice the confidence people seem to have when walking around on the beach? Even the ones who would probably have body issues including myself, seem to be more relaxed and at ease with it at the beach. I stare at people at the beach. I observe behavior. I don’t read, sleep or listen to music. I just watch. People can’t hide very much at the beach. It’s just out in the open that everyone has much of the same body issues that seem to cause us so much stress on a day to day basis yet at the beach, seeing these things on most people makes me feel very normal and okay with it. Ya know, the cellulite, veiny legs, stretch marks, body acne, and all that stuff that people in magazines don’t ever seem to have unless they are busted on the front page of the Enquirer. The beach is very therapeutic in this case. Recently a big TV start was caught by the paparazzi on the beach with cellulite and a bigger than usual tush. The world is coming to an end. A true Hollywood beauty is actually NORMAL. Who would have thought? How many women out there were happy to see this pic? I was although I felt bad that she was ridiculed for being normal but at least the rest of us got to feel better about ourselves for 5 seconds. Eh, probably the best PR she’s had in years anyway.
So what’s my point here? I’m still not sure. Sun exposure is bad for the skin. That’s a well known fact. Being at the beach is an experience that overall feels good though. Is there a middle ground? Yes. I believe it’s called moderation, a concept that like myself, many people have trouble applying when it comes to sun, food, or anything bad for us. I really should try it for the rest of the summer. Ok, after next week.
P.S. The body in the pic isn’t mine. I wish!
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posted by: mario badescu at 12:19
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