Two weeks before spring break. A high school junior looks in the mirror thinking to herself “I look so pasty.” The next day she is laying in a bed of lights getting her pre-spring break glow.

Twenty years later. She is almost 40 years old. Sitting in the dermatologist office impatiently waiting for the results. Her wrinkled, freckled chest caves in as she hears the doctor slowly say, “you have skin cancer.”

According to skincancer.org, one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.

I cringe every time I hear a classmate tell friends “I’m going to the tanning beds after school want to come?” I wonder if they know how truly detrimental it is to their skin. Just one indoor tanning session increases the users’ chances of developing melanoma by 20 percent according to skincancer.org.

I do understand why these and thousands of other girls tan before spring break and during the year. Tanned skin is the look to have. In spite of the twilight phenomenon showcasing pale complexions, having pasty or pale skin is undesirable.

But having tanned skin was not always desirable. During the 17th century, tanned skin was seen as a sign of being a member of the working class and poverty. Not that I want tanned skin to be looked upon in a socio-economic branding sense, but why can’t this look be undesirous once again? If it did, many Americans would be saved from the horrible effects of tanning.

Frequent indoor tanners may receive as much as 12 times the annual UVA dose compared to the dose they receive from sun exposure. That means tanning beds expose people to much more UVA light than tanning outsides does.

More UVA exposure causes greater effects later on in life. These effects include wrinkling and premature aging, developing skin cancer, and eye problems.

Enough already. Girls need to stop destroying their health by tanning. How important is your skin color compared to your health? So girls, please stop tanning in beds. You know the risks. Don’t put your health in jeopardy.