Cover Story

The luxury of a safe tan

This month, we devote Guilty Pleasures to safe summer tanning

By Judy Emerson

ROCKFORD WOMAN

Apr 25, 2008 @ 12:01 AM

DO: Buy that delightful sundress you’ve been eyeing so that you’ll be ready for summer’s first outdoor party.

DON’T: Lay out in the sun to achieve the golden glow you know will help you look your very best in the aforementioned delightful dress.

There are safe alternatives to produce the look you want without overexposure to the sun. Even former sun worshippers have gotten religion about the increased cancer risks associated with sun exposure. We all know former tanners whose once-supple skin now more closely resembles shoe leather.

You can have your quilt-free, risk-free tan, says Rockford dermatologist Dr. Nicole Hartsough, by being sun smart and by using some of the new tanning products.

Here are some tips for a summer glow that will make you look great and keep your dermatologist happy.

Free
A kiss of sun can be OK
The sun. Prolonged sun exposure is terrible for your skin and raises the risk of cancer, but if you use your head and apply a good sunscreen before going into the sun, getting a little bit of color the old-fashioned way is fine, Hartsough said.

“I hate to tell people they can never go outside,” she said, “but the worst thing you can do is burn.”

Why? Hartsough explained that sun-damaged skin generates free radicals, which are carcinogenic. The free radicals can damage the nucleus of skin cells and cause cancer.

“The more times you burn, the worse it is,” she said. “I had some blistering sunburns as a kid, but I’ve been more careful as an adult. You can repair some of it.”

In addition, sun ages skin by destroying collagen and elastic fibers, making it less supple and encouraging wrinkles. Even freckles are a sign of sun damage.

People burn at different rates, depending on the fairness of their skin. Redheads and blondes need to be particularly careful of overexposure.

The good news for people who love being outdoors is that sunscreens are available that protect against both kinds of ultraviolet light.

Until recently, sunscreens blocked out only ultraviolet A rays, Hartsough said. A new Neutrogena product with “helioplex” blocks ultraviolet B rays as well. It comes in SPF 55 and 70.

“I know people who go to Florida who tell me they always burn, and when they wear this, they do not,” she said.

Cheap
Lotions have lost the Cheeto look
Sunless-tanning products have come a long way from the old days when anyone who used them regularly looked like a radioactive orange with rusty knees.

Much-improved self-tanning lotions and sprays are available at pharmacies for less than $10 or for about twice that at department stores. You may have to try a few to find the one that works best on your skin and has an aroma that doesn’t offend. They can smell a bit weird.

Hartsough said the products are safe.

According to howstuffworks.com, the active ingredient in self-tanning products is dihydroxyacetone (DHA), a sugar that interacts with dead cells on the epidermis, the skin’s uppermost layer. The interaction causes the cells to change color, producing a tanned effect.

Many tanning lotions are designed for use every day or until you reach the desired tan level.

Over the top
Poof! Magic wand leaves a glow
Spray tanning. Several area tanning establishments offer spray tan booths, and the results may be good. One treatment costs about $20. As the technology is similar to the self-tanners, and the tan will be sloughed off naturally in a week or 10 days, maintaining a golden tan is an ongoing expense.

Nikki Wadleigh opened Spray Tan at 4125 Charles St., Rockford, in August. The building also contains three other women-owned businesses, including a hair and nail salon, a body waxing operation, and a tanning bed business.

She was interested in spray tanning because she has fair skin and doesn’t tan well.

While only 30, she’s already decided that sun exposure isn’t a healthy option for her.

Wadleigh offers four session for $75. She doesn’t use the booths. She relies on a spray machine called California Tan popularized by the E! Entertainment series called “Sunset Tan.” Wadleigh hand sprays each client and uses techniques she says produce the most uniform and natural-looking effect.

Hartsough said she’s been impressed with the results and the process is safe.

“They look pretty good,” she said. “I started to say something about tanning to a couple of people I know, and they told me it was a spray tan.”

To achieve the right results, Wadleigh first applies barrier cream to the souls of the feet, palms of hands and around fingernails and toenails to keep them from changing color and looking unnatural. Then, she applies a fine spray mist of a color called “premium dark,” starting with the client’s legs and working upward with a system that ensures total coverage.

After the spraying is done, Wadleigh uses a sponge to dab off and smooth out excess product. Then, she pats on baby power to reduce stickiness and prevent creasing.

The effect is immediate because the product is tinted approximately the color of the “tan,” which will develop over about eight hours. The client is asked not to shower during that time. The initial color will go down the drain, exposing the color that developed in the interim.

Janae Rezin, a 16-year-old Guilford High School junior, volunteered to let Wadleigh demonstrate the process on her for Rockford Woman. She has a fair complexion, as well as a skin condition that keeps her out of the sun, for the most part. However, she wants to have a little color in the summer.

The process of preparation, spraying and touch-up takes about 30 minutes. Janae could see the color change immediately, and even though it was the cosmetic color that she’d wash off later, she was excited.

“I like it,” she said when Wadleigh had finished. Eight hours later, she loved it.

Wadleigh said most of her clients are middle-aged women who have wised up to the dangers of sun exposure. Many people maintain the tan with regular visits. Others come in to prepare for a special occasion such as a gala event or a vacation.

“I tell them it is not in any way going to protect you from the sun,” she said, “but you are going to look better in a bathing suit.”

For more information, call Wadleigh at 815-608-1668.

Jenae Rezin shows off her completed airbrush spray tan at Spray Tan in Rockford.