Save Your Skin!

Fair complected, prone to sunburn, and coming from a family with a history of skin cancer, you can only imagine how excited I was when I found out about all of the wonderful sunless tanning products GLOW offers. Pictured below are a few of the products we carry from lines such as Xen-Tan, St. Tropez, Tan Towels, and Infinity Sun.

Most girls my age are addicted to the tanning bed, and have to have the "perfect tan" year around. I'm here to tell you how and why tanning is dangerous, as well as how you can get the same results from a "tan in a bottle."

According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, indoor ultraviolet (UV) tanners are 74 percent more likely to develop melanoma than those who have never tanned indoors.

This summer, I experienced my first "scare" with skin cancer and had a biopsy done on a freckle on my lip that has been monitored for years. During the visit prior to the biopsy, the doctor noticed that the freckle had grown and was darker. He removed it because he was afraid it might become cancerous. 

While women want to look youthful, sun exposure and tanning bed exposure gives you a tan, but also accelerates wrinkling and age spots. This is another drawback in addition to increasing chances of skin cancer. 

Growing up, it was hard to understand why my mother wouldn't let me go to the tanning bed with all of my friends. I now understand how she was only trying to help me, as I have watched her get over 70 stitches due to skin cancer, because she was a "sun goddess" growing up.

My mother has had basal cells surgically removed on six places on her body, including her nose (which included a skin graft), shoulders, chest, and legs. The pictures below are from excision sites on her lower leg and the removal of basal cell carcinomas on her shoulder.

According to an article titled Melanoma Soars Among Young Adults, a study revealed an alarming rise in melanoma among young people from the ages of 18 to 39. Over the past 40 years, rates of this potentially deadly skin cancer have increased by 800 percent among young women and 400 percent among young men.

However, there is hope. Death from the disease among young people is actually decreasing, due to earlier diagnosis. With more people aware of the changes in their skin, and better diagnostic methods, melanomas are more frequently discovered at earlier stages, when they are easiest to treat.

 Before making your next trip to the tanning bed, think about the long-term results and if it's really worth it. There are plenty of self tanners available, and you're sure to find one that's just right for you. Click here to find out more about the 10 best self tanners for 2014. Save your skin!