The “tanorexics” Essay Example for Free

The tanorexics EssayTheyre desperate for a sun fix. They spend hours incarcerated in hi-tech coffins. Cayte Williams meets the tanorexicsYoure lying in a outstanding plastic cocoon. Weird blue light beats down at you through hi-tech glass and theres a strange busyness noise. Youre naked and sweating profusely. Have you been abducted by aliens for experimental tests? No, youre lying on a sunbed and if youre doing it more than one time a week then you could be gravely addicted. The Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) recently released a fact sheet outlining the dangerous effects of indoor trouncing. There is extreme concern for tanorexics, says Christine Suggars, a spokesperson for the ICRF. Especi totallyy people who create a dangerous desire for a permanent tan and use sunbeds more than once a week. So who argon these walking raisins, and why do they need a fixedness sunbed fix?Often tanorexics prefer to buy a sunbed rather than visit a suntanning salon. And lets face it, anyone whos prepared to fork out 1,600 on the initial machinery must have one hell of a habit. I bought a sunbed 10 years ago, recalls Jane Horwood, a 37-year- old interior designer. I used it once a week at first, but this gradually became once a night. I used to go on it religiously after work and hated it when I couldnt go underneath. Its like smoking. Even though I knew I shouldnt be under there, I couldnt stop myself, she confesses. I postulateed to look healthy and was really upset that when I got fraught(p) my doctor told me I couldnt go on the sunbed. Its an ob academic term with self image and self esteem, like anorexia.If youre browner, you think youre overtaking to have a nicer lifestyle, be more attractive. If I hadnt got pregnant I would never have stopped. Over use of sunbeds can lead to all kinds of nasty side-effects. Apart from premature disrobe ageing, people who use sunbeds for more than 20 sessions of 30 minutes per year run the risk of developing skin fragi lity, says Doctor Julia Newton Bishop, consultant dermatologist at St James University Hospital in Leeds. The skin becomes very thin with a transparent texture and it bruises and blisters easily. usually I would only expect to see this problem in the elderly but I have seen some young patients suffering fromthis who over-use tanning equipment.An mean(a) 30 minutes on a sunbed gives you the same dose of UVA rays as a day at the beach, says Christine Suggars. UVB rays have been linked to skin cancer for numerous years, but its only now that the concern is growing over the effects of UVA rays. UVB rays affect the top layer of the skin, the epidermis, and also the melanocyte cells, to produce brown pigment, she explains. UVA rays spread the skin more deeply, damaging the elastin (which keeps the skin supple) and collagen (which maintains the skins thickness) in the skins middle layer, ca utilize sagging skin and wrinkles. This is not favourable news for the suntanning industry The whipping Shop opened its first branch in the UK in 1992 and now has over 150 branches around the country. The company advocates controlled tanning and specialised programmes can cost up to 399 a year.People arent happy just to pop into a booth anymore, explains marketing co-ordinator Rachel ODonnell. They want us to tell them what to do. Customers are warned about the dangers of over-tanning and are given a consultation before their first sunbed session. They can only ever have a session every second day and fair-skinned people are allowed six minutes a session which might go on to 10 minutes eventually. Customers are more fussy about what they get, says ODonnell. The Tanning Shops black vertical tanning booths look unnervingly like upright coffins, but tanorexics will not be attribute off. I go two to three times a week, says 27-year-old accountant, Victoria Williams. It makes me feel healthier, just like when you come back from holiday. Victoria started using sunbeds to clear up a skin complaint, but now shes hooked.I did worry about addiction, she says, so I didnt go on the sunbed for a month, but I started to get miserable when I got pasty. I wanted that heat and warmth on my body. Is she worried about the latest sunbed scare? You have BSE, listeria, salmonella, she says defiantly I think there is some scare every week and its over-hyped. I would only stop using sunbeds if they were banned. A favored haunt of the shameless tanorexic is Electric Beach in capital of the United Kingdoms Covent Garden. Here models and media people pop in for a top-up on a regular basis. On Saturday, the last celebs seen crossing its portats were Luke and Matt Goss, formerly of Bros. Who says tanning isnt trendy? We are looking to cater for those people wholive a London life, says managing director Philip Hodgeson. People go in and they come out tanned. We use bulbs as opposed to tubes with a potassium filter, which filters out 99.9 per cent of the UVB rays.While women openly admit to tanning addiction, men are much more secretive. Last year rice paddy Ashdown suffered great embarrassment when a beautician let slide that hed checked in for a session on a sunbed. It seemed his rugged outdoor tan was of the indoor variety and the Lib Dem office put the habit down to his doctors advice for soothing a minor skin complaint. John Stevens (not his real name), a 28 year old lawyer, identifies with Paddys blushes over his ruddy complexion. When youre tanned you look healthy, fit and well travelled, he says, and in business its good, because it makes you look wealthier, like you can hand regular holidays. But theres this unspoken idea that a real man should get his tan doing something rugged and adventurous. I would never want my mates to know that I use a sunbed. And, of course, theres Essex Man with his perennial tandoori tan. Theres one who comes in every night, says Shauney Taylor of Tanning Trends in Barking. Hes in his 30s, hes working out, and wants the tan to go with it. You know what men are like, she muses. They want to be dent Andre.