Just Say No... to tanning!

We have long heard about the dangers of tanning, the importance of SPF, and out waning ozone layer. Even with all of this information, millions of people are still subjecting their precious epidermis! Women's Health had a great article about this topic in their January/February 2013 issue: You can read the whole article here.

The article states that indoor tanning can increase a persons risk for Melanoma by 75%!!! Jerry Brewer, M.D. says: "Melanoma is a new epidemic in young women,". Anytime something is considered an "epidemic", we should get concerned and take some action. Obama thought so and in 2010 he passed a bill which included a 10% tax on their tanning bill. But, CNN Money reports that the tax increase has not made much difference to the amount of people who are still tanning regularly.

Now I have to admit that as a freewheeling young lady in my early 20's I too went to indoor tanning salons. I cooked my skin with the best of them for that "healthy" looking glow. But now, it is definitely something I would not do because of the clear risk to my health. It doesn't mean that I don't love that tan looking skin I used to get, but I just find other ways to achieve that look.

I live in a beach town where the sun loves to shine down on us. This is great because I love the sun, and getting my daily dose of Vitamin D, but it also means I have to slather on the SPF. During the winter I use a BB cream with SPF 30 because I don't see the sun that much. But in the summer I make sure to put on SPF 50+ every day to avoid the powerful rays and reduce my risk for skin cancer.

Yahoo! Health had an article about this same topic with 8 reasons to say 'lights out' to the tanning salon. Some of the reasons I already talked about, but it's a good list for reference. I have included some of them below,  but you can read the full article here.

1.  According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), tanning beds are in the “group one” classification of carcinogens, along with asbestos, cigarettes and other known killers.
2. Tanning lamps emit concentrated UVA rays, leading to greater wrinkling, sagging, and other signs of premature aging than exposure to the sun.
3. High-pressure “speed tanning” sunlamps emit up to 12 times more UVA rays than the sun.
4. Indoor tanning can be addictive. More than 39 percent of subjects in one study met the diagnostic criteria for addiction due to their use of tanning beds. They also reported increased symptoms of anxiety and substance abuse.

Some of the products I love and use regularly:
Sunscreen:
Rodan + Fields Reverse Sunscreen - this stuff comes with the Rodan + Fields multi-step skincare line REVERSE.  I love it because the SPF is 50+, and it protects against UVA and UVB rays making it a great line of defense against the harmful rays of the sun.

All in one BB Cream + Sunscreen:
Dr. Jart+ BB Cream: This little tube packs a punch! It is a moisturizer, sunscreen, and treatment serum all-in-one. It's also tinted so it makes a good substitute for foundation. Birchbox calls it the Swiss Army Knife of your beauty cabinet!

Sunless Tanning:
Neutrogena Build-a-tan Sunless Tanning Lotion: This is the product I use to get a little bit of that healthy glow I was talking about earlier. It's one of the only products that actually works without making my elbows and knees and feet brown! It's also pretty fast acting, and after a couple of days you will be looking sunkissed without the negative affects of tanning!

These are just a few of the products that I use and recommend. But whatever you decide to use, make sure it has a powerful SPF, and avoid those tanning beds! It's not worth it.