Resolution for 2013

Happy New Year! I have been thinking about what I would like to do in the coming year. I would really like to spread the word that tanning is not evil and an automatic skin cancer sentence. But how do I do that? When I started this blog I really had no idea how much negative and inaccurate information I was up against.  It seems that for every positive comment on an article I read about tanning there are 100 negative. And from the negative it is all about skin cancer. How can I change that perspective? How can it be more balanced? I think it can be done, but it will be an uphill battle. I am happy that I am not alone in this battle for I do see comments that are positive. Although I suspect these are from salon owners and staff because it seems the general public is still in the dark, so to speak, about the positive side of tanning. So the few of us out there spreading the word need to plant the seed, nurture it, and watch it grow.

Education about the benefits of tanning needs to be in the forefront. So much focus has been on the negative and the solution most professionals offer is simply sun avoidance. But they don’t point out the major risks of their solution. Vitamin D deficiency is an epidemic right now because of that ill conceived solution. Yet we are now hearing about how important Vitamin D is and how having a healthy level is the key in preventing so many diseases. What’s the professional’s solution? “Avoid the sun; just take a pill to get your Vitamin D.” But we can get vitamin D more efficiently through UVB exposure. Why can’t the message be, “Moderate UVB exposure is the best for most, but for those that can’t tan (skin type 1) or are high risk for skin cancer, take a pill.”  Is that so hard?  The general public needs to be educated that the message they have been told for so many years is wrong. It has caused a major health risk because it wasn’t balanced.

What I intend to do is continue finding articles and blogs to share my story with. Maybe someone will read it and understand that it can be beneficial to tan and perhaps they too will have an experience like mine and tell their story. That is really all I can do right now. I do hope it grows and people will become more educated that the risks of tanning are minimal compared to the risk of Vitamin D deficiency.