Summer Safety: Go Easy In The Sun And Avoid Tanning Beds

Tanning. We all do it, or have done it, and/or continue to do it.

And for those who really want that golden glow year round, there's the tanning bed. Unfortunately, that's where the extreme danger lies, so to speak.

We saw a very sad story today, about a lovely young woman from Texas, Jaime Regen Rea. Jaime spent her high school lunch hours at a tanning salon. She wanted to always look tanned and pretty. Her mother says Jaime spent a lot of time in the sun, but really became addicted to the tanning bed.

At age 20, she was diagnosed with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. And Jaime Regen Rea was dead, just 3 weeks before her 30th birthday.

Her heartbroken family has decided to honor Jaime's memory by joining in the American Academy of Dermatology's new TV and print public service advertisements. These ads aim to educate the public about the increased risk of melanoma from tanning beds and sun exposure..

This story isn't a rare one. We have spoken several times, here at Beauty Tip Today, about the dangers of too much sun exposure and the alarming statistics of young people using tanning beds.

No one needs a long lecture here, but... researchers have found that deadly skin cancer is on the rise for younger women, but not for younger men. Cases of melanoma among women have jumped some 50%, according to a study published back on July 10, 2008 by the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

"It's worrying," said Mark Purdue, a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute, who led the analysis published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. "What we are seeing in young adults right now could foretell a much larger number of melanoma cases in older women." .

Have fun in the sun, but remember to do it in moderation and arm yourself with plenty of sunscreen. As far as tanning beds go, well, the statistics alone, should have you thinking twice before lying down on one.

It's best to use a self-tanning lotion. You can fake a pretty decent tan. Lindsay Lohan has a nice product she put out last year, called Sevin Nyne ($35, at Sephora). LiLo developed the unique faux tan styling mist with Lorit, an expert celebrity airbrush tanner. The product is chemical-free and smells delicious. And its made with natural products like---goji berry, chardonnay extracts, caramel, and a sugar coconut base.