What's the easiest way to achieve your tan goals? Hop in a tanning bed, of course. However, tanning beds have started to receive a bad rap from the medical community, as if they aren’t “good for us.” What do all these so-called doctors and scientists who research skin cancer know, anyway? There happen to be several pros to using tanning beds, 12 of which I have listed below.
1. Tanning Beds Are Great Time Killers
Emphasis on the "killer." What else were you going to do with the 45 minutes it took you to drive to the tanning salon, tan, then drive back home? Read a book or cook dinner? I think not.
2. They Are A Smart Investment
Who wouldn’t want to hand over hard-earned money in exchange for sun-kissed skin that can’t be obtained anywhere else? There's like, no other way to get a good tan.
3. They Are Like A Personal Heater
Nothing beats being trapped within a warm, coffin-shaped contraption. It truly
makes you feel like bread in a toaster.
4. They Provide A Great Support System
The salon staff is like a second family to you. Well, if you paid your family to bake you.
5. They Give You An Excuse To Visit The Dermatologist
Your dermatologist is super nice, and you wish you
could see them more often. Fortunately, you’re going to become a regular when
you start to discover irregular moles.
6. They Don't Require That You Wear Sunscreen
What’s the point of that stuff, anyway?
7. They Help You Get Everyone's Attention
It’s hard not to notice a person whose skin is three shades too dark. You get bonus points if you have heart shapes on your stomach from tanning stickers. Everyone’s eyes will be on you and your natural beauty!
8. They Allow You To Absorb Plenty of Vitamins
If you want some vitamin D, step right into the tanning bed. It’s not like you can get it anywhere else. Except on like, a sunny day. But who has time to go outside?
9. They Give You A Sense of Camaraderie
You get to lay in a bed that other people have laid
in naked! Do bonds grow any deeper than that? Doubtful. Also, I’m sure the
salon staff cleans just as thoroughly as they claim they do.
10. They Are Thrilling
Tanning beds are the ultimate game of Russian
Roulette. Will the UV rays emitted from the tanning bed give you skin cancer or
not? What a rush.
11. They Give Your Face The Leather Effect
Forget about your skin being as smooth as a baby’s butt—you know you really want your face to look and feel like a cowboy boot.
12. They Have Absolutely Zero Health Benefits
That’s right, you have a guilty pleasure no better than sniffing Sharpies. Nothing about it is good for you, which makes it all the more fun! You rebel, you.
While some might say tanning beds are “unnatural,” we all know a good tan is worth all of the health risks. So what if over 419,000 cases of skin cancer in the U.S. each year are linked to indoor tanning? Who cares that people who first use a tanning bed before age 35 increase their risk for melanoma by 75 percent? Why does it matter that Brazil and Australia have banned indoor tanning? As long as you have bronzed skin, how you got it is irrelevant.
In all seriousness, visit the Skin Cancer Foundation’s website for more information on the damaging effects of tanning beds. You only get one life, so take care of your skin. In conclusion...