Summer and tanning go together like peanut butter and jelly. It's not a bad thing to want a smooth gorgeous tan, but for many people, achieving that perfect sun-kissed glow is risking the health of their skin.

While laying out in the sun for hours isn't the best way to keep your skin cancer and wrinkle free, UV tanning beds are one of the most dangerous ways of achieving the desired summer tan. Tanning beds, popularized in the early 2000s, and later immortalized by the golden gods of MTV's "Jersey Shore," have recently been the topic of state and federal legislatures which are trying to reduce our country's tanning addiction through measures such as tanning taxes and age restirctions.

A tanning bed shines unfiltered UV light directly at the skin, leading to higher instances of skin cancers, like melanoma. The fact that the government is involved in regulating the tanning industry is in and of itself a warning sign that the dangers of tanning are not to be taken lightly.

There are other ways to achieve sun-kissed skin this summer. Many people have turned to professionally done spray tans, or at-home lotions, that achieve the desired golden look of a traditional sun tan. Those options are great alternatives for traditional tanning and UV tanning beds, especially for young women who want the desired look of a tan, but are unwilling to risk the health of their skin.