HOWIE CARR POLL: John Kerry's complexion has suddenly taken on a very unnatural tone...

BLAME IT ON THE FRENCE!

THE HISTORY OF SUNTANNING
http://www.dermcare.org/history.htm

A Love/Hate Affair

by Ruth G. Sikes

Reprinted with permission from the Journal of Aesthetic Science, Vol 1, No 2, May 1998, pages 6 -7.

Introduction

It was over 400 years ago that Copernicus declared that the sun was the center of our universe. Throughout history, the human race has had a special relationship with the sun. Primitive societies in every continent have worshiped the sun as the god that provided warmth and made the crops grow. The Sumerian sun-god was called Shamash, while the Japanese called their sun goddess Amarterasu. In Egypt, the sun was an important component of their religion and they worshiped the sun god Ra. In Mexico and Peru, monuments and temples were built to honor the sun and to capture its rays. The monoliths of Stonehenge appear to be a method of timekeeping based on the sun, and the mysterious statues of Easter Island may have had a similar function.

The sun played an important part in the culture and everyday life of Native Americans -- the Anasazi Indians of New Mexico called the sun "Father" and worshiped it as the giver of life; the Hopi feasted and prayed to the sun; the Plains Indians performed sun dances; the Zuni word for life is "tekohanane", meaning daylight. There is no aspect of the natural world around us which is not affected by the sun - fiddler crabs change color on a sun-cycle schedule and even the lowly cockroach secretes a hormone in response to light and darkness. Our personal behavior is affected as well - we may feel better on sunny days and suffer from disorders that exist from the lack of sunlight. Given the life-giving force of the sun, it is not surprising that humankind would seek out the sun, knowing it as a life-giving force. After all, the Greeks did it, naming sunbathing "heliotherapy" and believing it could cure certain illnesses.

But cultures changed and class systems developed and the sun became a symbol of a different kind, one that clearly defined who you were.

Skin color became that visible definer - one that separated working classes from the ruling classes, separated the master from his servants. Pale skin belonged to the leisure upper classes, while darker skin indicated a life of outdoor labor. The paler one's skin the higher the class, and men and women went to great (and sometimes unhealthy) lengths to be pale.

Women of ancient Greece and Rome used lead paints and chalks to whiten their faces. Unfortunately this radical beauty treatment could cause death through slow lead poisoning.

By the mid10th century, arsenic became the preferred skin whitener, once again with sometimes deadly results. Other methods of making the skin white were less poisonous -- during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, women painted thin blue lines of their foreheads to give their skin a translucent look, and carried parasols or wore masks whenever they ventured outdoors. In France, fake beauty marks or patches were used by men and women to emphasize the contrast to their pale skin.

These class distinctions found their way to America, where no Southern belle or Northern society debutante dare go out in the sun without her parasol to protect her delicate pallor. It wasn't until the 20th century that society began accepting bronzed skin.

Blame it on the French

Two French celebrities can be credited(or blamed) with the transformation from pale to tan. In the 1920s, as fashions were freeing women from confining clothes, thanks in part to designer Coco Chanel, she inadvertently gave the fashion world another new trend: while cruising from Paris to Cannes aboard the Duke of Westminster's yacht, she obtained a suntan, probably by accident.

At the same time fashions were changing, so were lifestyles. Women came out of the house to enjoy outdoor life, with hiking, picnics, lawn tennis and other "acceptable" yet still "feminine" activities. Around the same time, Parisians fell in love with caramel-skinned singer Josephine Baker. Emulating these two French idols, fashionable women everywhere threw away years of tradition to be tanned.

On beaches throughout Europe, women sunbathed, wearing decorative sun hats and shawls not for protection but as fashion statements. Brown and beige-tinted powders and creams were created to be brushed on the places the sun had missed. The fashion world featured clothes for women who wanted to flaunt their new tans; shoes were worn without stockings and sleeveless dresses became stylish. Bathing costumes that had covered women's legs with bloomers, now bared the leg, and swimming became an acceptable sport for women. The suntan had arrived...as the symbol of wealth and leisure. A tan in the winter meant the bearer had enough money and status to afford a vacation to an exotic, warm climate.

The Trend Continues

By the 1940s, women's magazines encouraged sun tanning and cosmetics companies introduced suntanning oils. Bathing beauties were in style -- pin-up girls like Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth were pictured in one and two-piece bathing suits, showing off their tanned bodies. By the 1970s, an entire generation had baked their bodies in the sun, totally oblivious to the fact that the sunburns they had acquired in their youth would develop into skin cancers 10 to 20 years later.

Recognizing the Dangers of the Sun

It wasn't until 1979 that the FDA concluded that sunscreens could help prevent skin cancer, and developed the first rating system for SPFs. In 1985, alarmed at the growing incidence of skin cancer, the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) became the first medical society to start a public education skin cancer campaign, warning the public about the dangers of over-exposure to the sun. In 1988, the AAD held a consensus conference on photo aging and photo damage. The conclusion from that conference was that "there is no safe way to tan."

Indoor Tanning

The indoor tanning industry first became popular in the 1970s and by the 1980s had taken hold in America. Today between 18,000 and 20,000 salons are listed in the Yellow Pages, claiming 22 million clients each year. Initially, salons were largely unregulated, but due to pressure from the medical community, more than half the states in the U.S. and several municipalities eventually passed legislation, making tanning salons safer, but by no means "safe." Prolonged exposure to UVA and/or UVB are known contributors to skin cancer and the medical community -- dermatologists and ophthalmologists -- continue to due battle with the tanning industry over claims that indoor tanning is "safe."

Conclusion

Today the skin cancer rates are still growing. In 1998 it is predicted that 9,200 Americans will die from skin cancer, 7,300 from malignant melanoma. Yet despite these alarming figures, men and women still enjoy the tanned look. Just look around you on any warm summer day - you'll see them, the seekers of the sun.

A 20th Century Look at Suntanning

1920s

Josephine Baker, the popular American-born performer takes Paris by storm. Coco Chanel acquires her famous suntan while vacationing on the Duke of Westminster's yacht. Thousands of women throw away their parasols and imitate the new fashionable tanned look.

Brown and beige-tinted powders and creams are created and designers introduce sleeveless dresses to show off the newly-acquired tans.

Famous fashion photographer Cecil Beaton describes the Duchess of Penaranda in the pages of Vogue magazine: "She wore sunburn stockings with white satin shoes...the duchess's complexion matched her stockings, for she was burned by the sun to a deep shade of iodine."

Advertisements for cosmetic companies declare that "It's glorious to be tan, golden of skin, bronze."

1929

The first comments that the sun might be harmful come from Helena Rubenstein's ads that warn "sunburn menaces your beauty." Dr. W.A. Evans of Chicago states that "maybe these tanned men and women are inviting premature senility."

Designer Jean Patou designs a swimsuit that is cut "in such a fashion that not a fraction of possible tan is lost."

1935

The fashion world accepts both tanned and pale looks. Vogue magazine advertises white, cafe au lait and deep mahogany makeup. Vogue tells women that "by day be the color of burnt toast, then wash and become dramatically pale at night."

1945

PABA gains recognition, having been introduced in 1943. Women's magazines suggest pre-tan "warmups" using a sunlamp.

1948

Fashion magazines are undecided about which look is better -- pale or tan. Vogue says that "white skin looks cherished and positively pretty, not merely and negatively unburnt." Other magazines encourage women to go out in the sun without protection, and Elizabeth Arden advertises an oil guaranteed to produce a suntan that looks "as sweet as buckwheat honey."

1950s

MAN-TAN is the first self-tanning product to hit the market. The sunless tan it produces is brown, beige or sometimes even orange.

Women's magazines suggest that gradual tanning cancels out the harmful skin-damaging effects of the sun.

1954

Harper's Bazaar reports that "there are sunscreen preparations that can cut the intensity of the sun's rays by 75 percent."

1960s

Dark tanned skin is a status symbol and suntanning becomes an art form.

1970s

Baby oil is the tanning product of choice, often mixed with iodine. Johnson's Baby Oil boasts the tan, romantic heroine in their ads, but also warns that she should "take a little less sun."

The FDA begins discussing the value of sunscreens.

The indoor tanning industry starts to develop.

1972

The FDA treats sunscreens as OTC drugs, not cosmetics, and applies more stringent labeling requirements.

1978

The FDA declares sunscreens to be safe and effective and concludes that they can help prevent skin cancer, slow down premature aging of the skin and prevent sunburn. The SPF numbering system (2 through 15) is introduced.

1980s

Home tanning units emit high levels UVB light that burns the skin and doesn't tan, contributing to skin cancer and premature wrinkling. The tanning industry continues to grow, but is unregulated, with little regard to safety. Professional units emit both UVB and UVA rays and can cause sunburn.

1985

The first public education program about the dangers of overexposure to the sun is introduced by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD).

The sunscreen industry starts producing sunscreens with higher SPFs.

The incidence of malignant melanoma has increased 500% from 1950 to 1985.

1987

A survey conducted by the AAD reveals that Americans are still in love with the sun even though they know of its dangers - 96% admit to knowing that the sun causes skin cancer, yet one-third of the adults in the survey say they deliberately work on a tan.

The indoor tanning industry is among the highest growing businesses in America.

1988

According to the American Cancer Society, more than 500,000 Americans will develop skin cancer.

Beauty industry moguls and fashion designers swear off the tan. Says modeling agency mogul Eileen Ford, "The tanned look is dead."

The AAD holds a Consensus Conference on Photo aging and Photo damage and concludes that "there is no safe way to tan."

Self-tanning products are improved and offer safe, natural-looking tans without streaking or discoloration.

1990

The sunscreen industry begins offering products that provide protection against UVA as well as UVB radiation.

600,000 new cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed - 27,600 of them malignant melanoma. There will be 6,300 deaths from melanoma and 2,500 deaths from squamous cell carcinoma. It is predicted that one person in 90 will develop skin cancer by the year 2000.

1991

1,800 injuries are reported from tanning devices, the majority occurring in those between the ages of 15-24. Most indoor tanning patrons are women, the average age of 26. One to two million people are considered "tanning junkies," visiting tanning parlors about 100 times per year.

Feminists enter the sun protection fray. Author Naomi Wolf disagrees with the experts and writes, in her controversial book, The Beauty Myth, that "the discovery of photo aging has created a phobia of the sun entirely unrelated to the risk of skin cancer..." She claims that this phobia is cutting the bonds between women and the natural world, "turning nature into a fearsome enemy from the male tradition's point of view."

She goes on to say that "the beauty myth stimulates women's fears of looking older in order to drive us in the opposite direction: indoors once more...the proper place for women in every culture that most oppresses us."

1993

There will be 700,000 new cases of skin cancer diagnosed, 32,000 of them malignant melanoma.

1996

In spite of all the education and all the warnings, younger Americans still seek out a suntan. In a survey of young adults under 25, 58% confess to working on a tan, and of the 1,009 surveyed, 62% say that they think people look better with a tan.

Skin cancer prevention seems to be losing ground - in an AAD survey, there a 9% increase in sunburns, from 30% in 1986 to 39% in 1996, and fewer people are minimizing sun exposure (23% in 1986, 19% in 1996).

1997

In a survey in Seventeen magazine, 2/3 of the teens say they look better with a tan and feel healthier, more sophisticated, and 50% say they looked more athletic.

There are between 18,000 and 20,000 tanning salons in America boasting 22 million customers per year. There are 27 states and several municipalities that have rules and regulations for tanning salons.

1998

A report from the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science questions the value of sunscreens, leading to national publicity. Some products promising UVA and UVB protection do not protect adequately against UVA and may give sunbathers a false sense of protection, the report says.

The AAD continues to urge Americans to use sunscreens, avoid sunbathing and cover up.

It is estimated that more than one million Americans will develop skin cancer in 1998, with 9,200 dying from the disease, 7,300 of them from malignant melanoma.

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