The month of May was nationally designated as Skin Cancer Awareness month. For tanners, it was a time to measure the worth of the gold and understand that a sexy glow — if irresistible — should at least be established without tan-lust. In other words, tanning should be done smartly without multiple visits and memberships at multiple salons.

Tanning salons are a multi-billion dollar industry across the nation. With continually upgraded lamp technology and numerous lotion products to choose from, the indoor tanning industry is far from the economic shade, gleaming in the green as customers gleam in the gold.

In Yahoo’s Fairmont City Guide, nine tanning salons are listed alone. When adding a distance 25 miles from Fairmont, the locations increase by 35. Among these Fairmont tanning salons are Tanfastics at the Middletown Mall and Lion in the Sun on Morgantown Avenue. Currently, just these two locations house the beds of approximately 400-plus customers per day.

Dr. Beth Santmyire-Rosenberger, a Fairmont dermatologist, is firmly against tanning.

“Tanning is strictly opposed by the American Academy of Dermatology, the Skin Cancer Foundation and the American Medical Association,” she said. When Santmyire-Rosenberger was in medical school, she bought an unlimited tanning membership to benefit her appearance for a formal dance.

“I went every day for 30 days,” she said.

Santmyire-Rosenberger developed her first skin cancer seven years later at age 30. According to Santmyire-Rosenberger, one in five Americans will develop a skin cancer at some time in their lives, and one in 60 Americans will get a melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer.

She also mentioned that a tan is actually a sign of skin damage. “Some people do not tan well at all, and these people often instead develop freckles as a sign of sun damage. Every time the skin is damaged by UV rays, risk of skin cancer increases,” she said.

UV light contains UV rays of both the UVA and UVB type.

“UVB is what is typically considered the ‘burning rays’ versus UVA, the ‘tanning rays’. Tanning indoors uses UVA bulbs primarily and avoids burning in most cases,” Santmyire-Rosenberger said.

However, because UVA rays go deep through the skin, most of the damage of indoor tanning results in “premature aging and ‘leathering’ of the skin,” she said.

Angie Vincent, the manager of Tanfastics at the Middletown Mall for two years, has 884 customers currently listed in her database, with about 150 tanning per day. Concerning the health risks with tanning, she said, “As long as you tan smart, you should be able to maintain health.”

Kim Perkey, owner of Lion in the Sun for 13 years, also promotes safe tanning. With about 250 customers per day during the warmer seasons and 100 during the winter, she has a total of 7,798 customers listed in her database over the 13-year period she has been in business.

Concerning safety, she said, “West Virginia is not a regulated state at this point, but we require 20 hours between sessions to avoid overexposure. We also control the minutes of the beds through our computer system,” she said. Along with time duration, Perkey said that eyewear is mandatory because 25 percent of UV light goes unblocked when closing eyelids.

“We are certified and insured and have been to training. We encourage moderation. We never encourage everyday tanning. Two-to-four times a week is ideal — the smart way,” she said.

While some benefits Vincent pointed out about tanning are looking better and feeling better, she also mentioned that some customers’ appointments are prescribed by doctors for particular skin conditions, such as eczema and rosacea.

“Some insurances reimburse customers’ pay,” Vincent said.

Concerning the skin conditions that respond favorably to UV light, Santmyire-Rosenberger said, “I have a special type of UV booth in my office that I use in a very controlled manner to treat conditions such as psoriasis. Many dermatologists cannot or do not want to invest in such an expensive piece of treatment equipment, so they send their patients to a tanning bed.

“I invested in the UV unit that uses a specific wavelength of light called narrow band UVB, which is most effective for these skin conditions, while producing the least amount of risk.”

Some customers also tan for Seasonal Affective Disorder. “Getting some light makes you feel better,” Perkey said. Sunlight, along with certain foods, provides bodies with Vitamin D, but Santmyire-Rosenberger warns, “There is no need to purposely get sun.”

Concerning skin cancer, Perkey said, “Ninety-five percent of skin cancers are hereditary, and damage when you were younger comes back later in life. Tanning salons get a bad rap. This is my livelihood, and if I thought I was doing damage, I wouldn’t do it.”

For customers who prefer the golden look without any UV exposure, there are alternatives. The downtown Fairmont Tanfastics, recently managed by Linda Barker, has a Mystic Spray Tanning Booth available. Inside the booth, customers may be sprayed for 11, 12 or 13 seconds based on their desired darkness level. One visit costs $29.99 and lasts for 7-10 days.

Other alternatives to tanning are spray-on creams and tanning lotions. Santmyire-Rosenberger said, “They are very safe. They have the same active ingredient, dihydroxyacetone. This ingredient is derived from sugar, 100 percent natural, and reacts with the outer layer of the skin to produce a golden brown tan color, just like an apple turns brown when it is exposed to the air.”

More information about skin cancer may be found at the following Web sites: http://www.aad.org/public/DermatologyA-Z/atoz_t.htm and http://www.skincancer.org/.

For a different viewpoint of the tanning industry, the International Smart Tan Network contains

various links at

http://tanningtruth.com.