That unhealthy glow

Despite dire warnings from their parents — even their doctors — many teens ignore the dangers linked to tanning.

But it isn’t necessarily a lack of concern for their health that drives teens to tan. It’s just that the tan of today is easier to see than the wrinkles — or worse, the cancers — of tomorrow.

Kara Willis, 17, from St. John-Endicott High School, said she thinks tanning is popular among her peers because they feel more attractive with a tan, which makes them feel better about themselves.

Willis has trouble understanding that kind of thinking, she said. “It is most certainly not worth getting skin cancer and wrinkles at an early age so you can look good now.”

According to the American Academy of Dermatology Web site, “skin aging and cancer are delayed effects that don’t usually show up until many years after the exposure …80 percent of sun damage occurs before age 18.”

Most young people say they know the risks.

“I am aware of the risks associated with tanning, and I know that one bad burn can cause cancer,” said Alicia Norstadt, 16, a sophomore at Lakeside who tans occasionally.

Ashleigh Schultz, 17, also from Lakeside, said she doesn’t tan but knows many teens do. “Most people know the risks, but don’t think about it or that skin cancer could happen to them.”

It’s not just direct sunlight that can cause potentially fatal skin cancers. Despite claims by some tanning parlors, the ultraviolet rays emitted by the lights also are linked to melanoma, according to the dermatology Web site. State legislators in California are considering a law that would prevent teenagers from using tanning beds without parental permission.

But Ryan Cappellano, a Lakeside senior, said he isn’t deterred. He visits a tanning bed every 10 days so that he isn’t so “white,” he said.

Dr. Thomas Ryan, a Spokane Valley dermatologist who has practiced more than 30 years, said some teens pursue tans with the same devil-may-care attitude they use when engaging in other dangerous behaviors.

“It goes along with their general sense of invincibility,” Ryan said.

Ryan said that when his now-grown daughters were teenagers they helped out in his office while he removed life-threatening skin cancers from patients. Later in the day, the girls would go home, slip on a bikini and lie by the pool.

“When you find a way to get teenagers to use common sense, let me know how you did it,” Ryan said.

Teenagers who tan risk many things, including various kinds of cancers, “some of them killers,” Ryan said. “I’ve had friends die, at a fairly young age, from malignant melanoma.”

Ryan said appealing to teen vanity tends to be the most successful means of dissuading them from tanning.

“Fear is a great motivator,” he said. “Tell them a suntan causes wrinkles.”

A recently published and widely controversial book suggests that many people are developing vitamin D deficiencies due to lack of exposure to the sun. But that theory has been widely condemned by national experts, including the American Academy of Dermatology.

There are ways to get a suntan that don’t involve tanning beds or the sun.

Some beauty salons offer fake “mist” tans that cover your body evenly with a skin-darkening lotion. The color lasts for about a week.

“I think that (fake tans) are all a hoax,” said Willis. “People should just feel comfortable in their own skin instead of trying to ‘fake and bake.’ ”

Another less-expensive option is commonly known among teens as a “tan-in-a-can” but these run the risk of creating uneven streaks if the lotion is applied unevenly. Some teens would rather bake it than fake it, going for the natural color with the complaint that they don’t want to look orange.

“They don’t work well, and it makes you look all fake and orange,” said Brieann Satterfield, a Shadle sophomore, who added that she doesn’t tan.

Dermatologist Ryan said teens who must be in the sun should always “keep (their) clothes on and use a sunscreen.” He also advocates a wide-brimmed hat.

Ryan added that he doesn’t recommend a certain strength of sunscreen. “My standard answer is to use the one you’ll wear.”