healthy skin called - it wants you back!

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, it is estimated that the 400,000 cases of skin cancer in the U.S. each year are caused by tanning beds.

Once I hit high school, I became VERY insecure about my pasty, pale skin. All of the "cool" girls were gorgeously tanned and there was the rumor that being tan made you look skinnier. So what does my sixteen-year-old self do? Bought a membership at the local tanning salon.

I would go a full 15 minutes in the tanning bed, knowing full well that I would get burned, all for the hopes of not being able to see my purple/green veins on my legs. Ya know what?  It worked! I sported my little heart sticker tanning tattoo and finally felt comfortable in my newly tanned skin. I would go to the tanning bed about twice a week for several years, no thought at the damage I was doing to my skin.

Fast forward a couple of years and I started hearing more and more about the negative effects that tanning in a bed could have on my health. Everyone would say, "just get a spray tan instead!"...yeah right! And look like an Oompa Loompa? NO THANKS! Pushing the idea of spray tanning out of my head, I continued to tan in the bed.

The moment I was finally made aware of what I had been doing to my skin was a couple weeks into Esthetics school. My teacher brought out the dreaded UV light...my skin lit up like a Christmas tree. The sun damage had not yet appeared on the surface of my skin, but was looming just below. I never went in a bed again.

LiveScience.com states, "UV-A and UV-B both cause the kind of DNA damage that can lead to skin cancer, but UV-A in particular can contribute to a second problem: It breaks down the natural collagen in the skin, which can lead to premature aging." So while we hop in the bed hoping to come out appearing skinnier and younger, it is actually doing the exact opposite.

Okay, so then what are my options??

1. SPRAY TANNING! The image of an orange skin tone after a spray tan is highly outdated.  Spray tan solutions have come such a long way and now provide a beautiful, natural looking bronze. You are able to customize just how dark you want to go, and even have some fun with contouring! I would recommend only getting a spray tan by licensed professional, rather than in a booth. This way the professional will be able to customize the color for each individual skin type and desired outcome.

2. EMBRACE THE SKIN YOU'RE IN! Each and every one of us is  given a beautiful, unique type of skin; and protecting and caring for our skin is our responsibility . Instead of spending the money to damage, alter, or cover the skin you're in, show it off! Feed your skin with healthy products that will hydrate, treat, and protect. Yes, I can look in the mirror and say, "Why on earth do you have to be so pasty white?!" OR I can make the choice to be thankful for my healthy, porcelain skin tone that I am now obsessed with maintaining rather than changing.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love the  occasional spray tan to even out my skin tone and feel more confident; however, I am so grateful for being educated on the dangers of sun (bed) tanning because I was completely unaware of its negative effects ! I was  told that my skin is beautiful, just the way it is, and it deserves to be healthy.

Want to learn more about your spray tan options? Send me a message! I would love to help you achieve your healthiest glow - fearlesswaxing@gmail.com or 571.213.2241!