Feb. 22--Despite the rain and winds, warm weather and sunny skies beckon -- when weddings and proms mean arriving in the best body-revealing attire.
With the best skin, perhaps?
Tanning salons string across the county like clothes on a line: from Club Paradise Tanning Salon in Jacksonville to Tropiks Tanning on U.S. 431 in Anniston.
But it's a beauty business with a chorus of medical and regulatory agencies who sing about its ugly side.
Keeping clients and attracting customers, owners say, means developing strict guidelines to maintain safety.
For Wynell Noah, of Noah's Tanning, that means not letting people go any longer than their skin type will allow, which can range from three minutes to up to 20 minutes in her salon.
Building up skin condition is important, she said.
"Burning does damage to the skin. I don't let anybody get pink," says Noah, who said developing a base tan from repeated exposure is the most important part of long-term tanning.
Jack Strother, owner of Club Paradise Tanning Salon in Jacksonville, says he limits tanning times to 15 minutes because of exposure concerns.
Communicating honestly with people is important because you don't want people to get the wrong impression, he said.
"We really have to look at the skin type. That's what you do," Strother said.
"You don't lie to people and tell them this is wonderful for you and everything will be great."
Opposition to tanning salons comes from oncologists, such as Ellen Spremulli, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, who restrict salons from making health claims about treatment because it is considered a cosmetic practice.
"I think there's a clear relationship between skin exposure and skin cancer," explains Spremulli, a private practitioner who works at Stringfellow Memorial Hospital and Regional Medical Center.
"I really would not advise anyone to go into a tanning bed."
On the FDA Web site, an article about tanning cites the exposure from ultraviolet rays and mentions the link between exposure and premature skin aging and skin cancer.
Then again, problems associated with exposure and health conditions are easier to deal with when tanning bed owners are licensed and informed, says Michele Arrington, owner of Tropiks Tanning, Styles Etc. in Anniston.
Despite restrictions about discussing the health benefits associated with tanning, she says the adage she likes to tell people who inquire is: "tanning looks good and feels great."
Arrington said she is licensed though the International Smart Tan Network which provides a good education about the business others in operation might not have.
For instance, she says she hears from customers who talk about some tanning salons where beds are not maintained and children as young as 10-years-old walk in for service.
She does not.
In the past, Arrington said she even had to turn away a loyal customer who was a smoker and still wanted to tan despite a skin cancer growing on her leg.
"I don't service anyone under 14," she said, noting that skin needs time to mature, which she bases on other state guidelines.
Arrington points to an article in the tanning magazine "Island SunTimes" which stresses that "indoor tanning offers an environment that is controlled by skin-typing and exposure schedules."
Customers such as Cristi Arwood, 23, say any possible health risks are irrelevant.
"If I don't smoke, I'm going to tan," she says with a smile.
Saks resident Stephanie Dabbs, 37, says that the relaxing feeling accompanying a tan is what keeps her coming back.
"I personally haven't had anything bad (happen) from it."
About Matt Kasper
Matthew Kasper covers Jacksonville, Piedmont, Ohatchee and Alexandria for The Star.
-----
To see more of The Anniston Star or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.annistonstar.com/.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Anniston Star, Ala.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
NYSE:SKS,