With winter approaching, sunny skies give way to pale thighs for some UF students. But many trying to hold on to that elusive summer tan take excessive risks to retain it.
Local tanning salons see a huge surge in business around this time every year. The exposed limbs of scantily clad Halloween partygoers don't tan themselves, you know.
So to complement that short skirt or low-cut dress with a summer glow, why not hop into a bed of arsenic?
Stepping into a tanning bed might be just as bad, according to an Alligator article published on Aug. 4. Cancer experts have declared them to be as dangerous as exposure to arsenic gas.
Looking good is important, but cancer (especially life-threatening melanoma) and wrinkles later in life are not worth a fleeting glow.
A World Health Organization report shows that the risk of skin cancer increases by 75 percent for those using tanning beds before age 30.
Because long-term side effects aren't effective in scaring some people away from these salons, think about that unfortunate baked-turkey look you can get if you overdo it.
We know Thanksgiving is only three weeks away, but it's a little early to be basting anything. The alternative might sound grim (and pasty), but there is a reason they call it a summer tan.
If you're still desperate, try spray-tanning. It might leave you looking like a pumpkin - instant costume for Halloween - but at least you'll avoid a carving later in life.
We believe UF students need to tough it out and wait for spring break to bust out that turkey baster, or rather, that bottle of tanning oil.
