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Lying in a tanning bed for ten minutes every other day is something that most girls in our generation know too well. Looking back on my own pictures from high school my skin resembled a tomato more than the Irish freckles I was born with. The obsession with tanning was thrust into the limelight by celebrities like Snooki whose notoriety includes being dark year round. In recent years any college classroom would be littered with girls fully bronzed throughout winter. Today, the faux tan fixation has finally begun to dwindle and more women are flaunting their natural skin.
One major factor responsible for shift in popularity from tan to natural skin is the looming possibility of skin cancer. Skin caner is the most common form of cancer in the United States with 3.5 million cases. Even more shocking is in recent years skin cancer has increased so rapidly that they make up more cancer patients than those with breast, prostate, lung and colon combined. With one in five Americans developing skin cancer the risk has become too real for many young women. The rise in cancer rates has steered many to turning to spray tans or lotions in order to get a healthy glow without risking their lives.
Like all fads the overly orange tan has finally begun to fade. More young women have opted not to tan and have grown to prefer their natural skin. Celebrities like Emma Stone, Nicole Kidman, Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus all flaunt their natural skin tones. Models for top companies like Marc Jacobs and Burberry are featuring women with natural tones. Society is evolving from being obsessed with tanning to being healthy. The danger of skin cancer ignited the social shift from fake hues to natural skin and if this transition continues there is a hope that tanning beds may become extinct and skin cancer rates will begin to plummet.