“You’ve got a healthy glow! Have you been somewhere hot?”
No, I’ve just spent the afternoon in the garden!
I am one of those irritating people who get a tan at the mere hint of sunshine. A hundred years ago however, I wouldn’t be gloating. Until fairly recently, women went to extraordinary (and dangerous) lengths in pursuit of a freckle-free, pale complexion. To be tanned was ugly and represented the poor, undesirable ‘working class’. That all changed the moment fashion designer Coco Chanel stepped off a cruise liner in 1922 – with a sun-bronzed skin.
Fast forward to today – no longer are lead-based skin whiteners or blood-letting beauty treatments threatening health. The present day sun-worshipping generation risk skin cancer and – perversely – increased skin aging, immune system damage and blindness.
Increasingly, research is uncovering that tanning has become more than an innocuous way to while away a sunny afternoon: For some it becomes an uncontrollable compulsion. Offering a buzz similar to taking drugs, some experts now claim that ‘Tanorexia’ is a very real addiction that destroys lives… Read more