To tan or not to tan...

To Tan or Not to Tan? That is the burning question.

Brockville Recorder & Times’ Real Life quarterly

By Diana Leeson

In many parts of the world, milky-white skin is the beauty ideal that women strive for. The women of Britain are known for their youthful peaches-and-cream complexions, due in large part to the lack of harsh sunlight in their climate. Some Asian women have gone to great lengths to keep their skin pale, covering up with broad-brimmed hats, shielding themselves from the sun with umbrellas, and even bleaching their skin with lotions that promise a snow-white visage. But we Canadians just wouldn’t feel that summer had arrived if we didn’t have at least a bit of a tan. And now there are several different ways to give your skin that healthy glow, without facing the harmful effects of the summer sun.

Gone are the days when we would slather ourselves with some fast-tanning oil and lie for several sweaty hours on the rooftop, the picnic table, or any other solar-attracting surface in the hopes of acquiring the perfect dark tan. Over the past few decades, enough information has come forward with respect to the harmful and dangerous side-effects of too much sun exposure that we have finally come to our senses. Or perhaps we have just started to realize that years of deep tanning doesn’t exactly improve our skin’s appearance? Unfortunately, if you spent the eighties in a tanning bed, you are probably showing the wrinkles and brown spots of premature aging right about now. And in many cases, you may be looking at some degree of skin cancer.

Of course, it isn’t healthy to completely shun the sun. We could all use a good dose of Vitamin D from time to time, according to Health Canada. The sun is an abundant natural source of the vitamin that builds healthy bones and guards against certain cancers. With sunscreen inhibiting the body’s ability to produce Vitamin D, however, you may want to spend your first ten to fifteen minutes in the sun without your sunblock. If you are going to be outside for a prolonged amount of time, of course, particularly during the hours of the harsh midday sun, remember to slip on a shirt, slap on a hat, and slop on some sunscreen.

So, if you are going to protect yourself from the sun’s deadly ultraviolet rays, how on earth are you going to shed the ghostly white appearance that has everyone calling you “Casper”? Well, the beauty industry has come up with some fantastic solutions to the problem.

Bronzing lotions spread smoothly and evenly over the skin, giving the instant-yet-temporary appearance of a “healthy” tan. If you know you are going to be wearing something that shows a lot of skin, slap some of this stuff on. I do have one suggestion, however. Not all bronzing lotions are created the same, and with our variety in skin tones, they don’t always result in a natural-looking colour. Ask the drugstore cosmetician if you can sample the product on a patch of your skin before you buy. And if you don’t want to come out looking orange, follow the directions on the label closely. When they say “avoid knees and elbows” or “wash your hands immediately after use”, they mean it! Bronzing lotions are an economic, ideal cosmetic solution to pale skin, but they are short-lived, as they wash off in the shower or pool, and they rub off on your clothes and bed linens.

The “self-tanning” and “sunless tanning” lotions and sprays on the market right now, work in mysterious ways. Within 30 minutes to half-an-hour of application, a natural-looking tan appears. Many of these products also contain a sunscreen so that you are adequately protected when you venture outside. Clinique, Clarins and Bain de Soleil produce some of the most popular self-tanners. The downside of this product is that you can’t see its effect immediately, and you don’t know when you’ve missed a spot until it’s too late. The Neutrogena company has taken steps to solve this problem, by combining their tanner with a bronzer, ensuring an even, streak-free coverage.

Taking the place of solar beds in many tanning studios is the new spray-on tanning unit. It has been described as “part-carwash, part-kid running through the sprinkler”. These devices involve the client standing naked (or in a swimsuit, if you wish), eyes closed, in a booth equipped with spray nozzles that shoot tanning “stuff” all over the body. You may have a better chance at an even tan with this method, but while they may be available in many urban areas, most small towns don’t have spray-tan booths yet.

If you are just looking for a bit of a “glow” on your way out the door, consider trying the new line of moisturizers that contain bronzing lotion in the mix. Olay, Dove, Aveeno and Jergens all make lotions that contain just a hint of a tan in the bottle.

Now that you are equipped with the information you need to make your decisions, venture out and get yourself “tanned”. Only you and your cosmetician will know that your healthy glow did not come from the sun.

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