Being bad to look good

I go to the gym every weekday for two or more hours so by Wednesday, my body feels quite tired. This morning I went to Bodyflow, which is a tai-chi/yoga/pilates class, after that I had a Step class and did some stretching ... then I did something that is so far a big fat secret.

I tanned ... on a tanning bed. I started last week and I feel like it's my dirty secret. I know how dangerous they are to me, to anyone, but I am doing it anyway. I had wanted to do it for a long time, but stopped myself because of the dangers. But then last week, I was offered a free tan, and I couldn't resist. In I went, under the ultraviolet cancer lights.

The risks of using a tanning bed are:

1. Like the sun, they give out UVA and UVB rays, the two types of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. UV rays damage the DNA in the skin cells and may make moles cancerous and even create new, cancerous moles.
2. Tanning beds can cause burns, which can lead to melanoma, the most serious and deadliest form of skin cancer.
3. Tans are linked to cancer, and repeated tanning from UV light can lead to the common basal-cell and squamous-cell cancers, with squamous being deadly.
4. A new analysis of about 20 studies concludes the risk of skin cancer jumps by 75 percent when people start using tanning beds before age 30. (my first thought was "Good thing I'm over 30!" and my second thought was "Don't be a fool, it's still increasing your risk, and maybe even more.")
   

So then, why would any rational, logical, adult who knows these risks shell out cash to buy 300 minutes of sun bed time? Well, aside from the extra FREE 60 minutes and FREE tanning glasses ... there is only one reason ... beauty. I want to be brown. I want my skin to glow in a golden tone. I want to look healthy and fresh and young ... and I'm going on a cruise.