Fall is here, and it's not going to be as easy to maintain that golden-goddess glow you worked oh-so-hard on this summer, especially for those in California.
The first-in-the-nation law making it illegal for minors to use tanning beds was recently passed in the Golden State. Starting Jan. 1, those younger than 18, even with parental consent, will be banned from using tanning beds throughout the state, according to the Associated Press.
Elle Harder, a 20-year-old Spanish junior at UF, started tanning when she was 16.
"I definitely would not have wanted to be pale for my prom," she said.
Although tanning at a young age can be dangerous, doing it at any age may run quite a high risk to your health.
"Certainly we have seen a bump in the incidents of melanoma," said UF graduate Dr. Terrence Cronin Jr. at Cronin Skin Cancer Center in Melbourne, Fla.
Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer, but it can almost always be cured if caught in time, according to skincancer.org. It is caused by overexposure to ultraviolet A and B lights, like those found in tanning beds.
"There has been a particularly scary increase in melanoma cases among young women who use tanning beds," Cronin said. "It's an epidemic, especially here in Florida."
However, a local spray-tanning salon has seen an increase of customers this fall.
"We tend to be a lot busier," said Mandi Nazaro, 26, of Golden Gator Airbrush Tanning, located at 1219 W. University Ave. "Students want to be tan for football games and sorority functions, so they come here."
Cronin said though he does not recommend the use of tanning beds for cosmetic reasons, he does recommend spray tans. He said they cause no real harm to skin and "can do wonders" for those who want to appear tan.
"For a long time, people have thought it was a sexy, desirable look, and I think that's changing," he said. "I'm seeing people with paler, ivory skin, like Nicole Kidman and Gwyneth Paltrow, as signs of beauty."
A motivating factor behind the decrease in the tanning fad among women may be the fear of premature aging. Avid tanning causes the skin to age prematurely, and people want to look as young as possible for as long as possible.
He compared the tanning craze to smoking cigarettes. It is addictive and makes you feel good while you're doing it. Although it is damaging to your health, you continue to do it, but know you will pay for it down the road.
"It definitely can be addictive," Harder said. "Once you get kind of tan, you want to be Snooki tan."
Harder usually tans up to five times a week and calls herself a "tanaholic." She said that being tan makes her feel like she looks healthier.
Luckily, eating and drinking certain foods and liquids can make you look just as healthy, or maybe even healthier than tanning alone, said GatorWell Health Promotion Services Health Promotion Specialist Shannon Delaney. Eating vegetables high in beta-carotene can give your skin that glow, too.
"We tend to think that tanning is the only way to get that healthy glow everyone wants," Delaney said. "Knowing that eating a wide range of fruits and vegetables can make us more attractive sure is a good reason to start eating them more often."
Foods including carrots and sweet potatoes integrate into our skin and give it that radiant glow. Delaney described a study conducted at the University of Bristol in England that showed people who ate vegetables had a more attractive glow than those who didn't.
Because the fall weather tends to dry out skin, drinking eight to 10 glasses of water per day and consuming lots of healthy oils, like nuts and avocados, will also contribute to healthy, glowing skin.
Although it may be hard to fight the temptation, step away from the tanning beds and reach for the self-tanning lotion or bronzer instead.
