part 1

Physical appearances have always been a very important aspect in America’s society. Look at the cover of any beauty magazine or advertisement and we see beautiful men and women posted on them. Our society bases first impressions on how beautiful that person is by the shared standards and beliefs of what our culture believes them to be. What America believes as being “beautiful” is flawless tanned skin, long hair, big boobs, perfect white teeth, tall, and super skinny. Many Americans will spend thousands of dollars a year buying products or services that they believe would enhance their physical appearances. Many Americans especially women spend their money on dangerous surgery procedures to change or enhance a feature of their body. Tanning beds are especially common because many believe that tan skinned looks much sexier. Tanning beds are most commonly used in the months when the individual cannot tan outside from the natural sunlight. They are extremely popular because one can achieve a golden brown tan in about 15 minutes while lying in a tanning bed and can increase the darkness of the tan by continuing to visit the tanning salon. It is not uncommon to hear stories of people who go to great lengths to achieve what they believe is beautiful even if it means harming their body or even risking their lives.

About 30 million Americans visit a tanning salon a year. Of these tanning salon users, 70% are Caucasian women between the ages of 16 and 49. Tanning beds were introduced to the United States by Friedrich Wolff in 1978. They have become very popular since the nineties. Tanning beds are machines in which the individual lies down in for about 12 to 15 minutes to develop a tan. The lights that are used in tanning beds give off mainly ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation. The international Agency for Cancer Research classified UVA as a probable human cancer-causing agent. This is why the tanning salon user is able to achieve the golden tan in such a minimal amount of time.

Many dermatologists and doctors believe that tanning salons are very harmful to the body’s skin and can cause the individual to develop the deadliest skin cancer more easily. There have been many regulations by the government to hopefully decrease the amount of tanning bed users because of its harmful effects.