
DATE: Friday, May 16, 1997                  TAG: 9705160669

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAT DOOLEY, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  114 lines

THE ELECTRIC TAN THAT BRONZE OUTDOORS LOOK IS MAKING MONEY INDOORS FOR AREA SALON OPERATORS

When 17-year-old Laura Neff attended this year's junior prom, she wore a sequined, sleeveless, green dress.

She also sported a deep, dark head-to-toe tan.

Neff, a junior at Norfolk's Lake Taylor High, purchased the dress at a local shop.

And the tan? She picked it up at a local shop, too.

Nowadays, when young women go to the prom, they don't just buy a dress and shoes, have their hair done, get a manicure.

It's chic to have a tan.

``Most of the girls do,'' Neff says.

Even while dermatologists emphatically warn that tanning causes early wrinkling and raises the risk of getting skin cancer, many people brazenly pursue the bronzed look for proms, weddings, vacations and summer - and help keep the 20-year-old indoor-tanning industry in the pink.

In the United States, more than 30 million people a day use indoor-tanning booths, says Joseph A. Levy, executive director for the International Smart Tan Network, an industry group based in Michigan. Most are women, ages 18 to 34.

The pastime is most popular in the Midwest and Northeast, where long, cold winters leave patrons craving warmth and light, Levy says.

Today, the industry brings in about $5 billion a year through 25,000 professional salons nationwide, Levy says. About 1,000 salons are in Virginia.

Peak season is from February to June. And salons - including local ones with names like Cool Tan, Mega Tan, Ultimate Tan, Super Tan - are packing in the chalky masses.

About 600 people a day visit Sundays Tanning Resort in Virginia Beach at this time of year, says sales representative Andrea Thornton.

``A lot of people have been coming in for prom,'' she says.

Touted as ``Tidewater's Largest Tanning Facility,'' Sundays features 22 ``superbeds,'' a 40-bulb ``sun capsule,'' nine superbeds with facials and a 63-lamp ``ultra bed.''

The business is open daily, weeknights until 10, and sells memberships, much like a health club, Thornton says. Prices vary, but one month costs about $49.

Sundays' ``Sun Club'' has about 1,500 members, who pay a $49.95 enrollment fee and $19.95 a month.

Business also is booming at smaller salons, such as the 10-bed Paradise Tans in Chesapeake.

``In the evenings after work, every bed is booked,'' says Sarah Martinette, owner since January of the Greenbrier shop, formerly called Tan-Fas-Tik.

Many people like to get a little color before venturing outdoors in summer's skimpy apparel, Martinette says.

``People don't want to put on their shorts with white legs,'' says Martinette, who began using a tanning booth about three years ago.

Many professional salons woo young people with prom specials - 30- or 60-day packages that allow a client to gradually build a tan before the big event.

For the desired effect, they'll spend about $70 to $100 and 15 or 20 minutes a day over a couple of months.

``Tans look healthier,'' says Neff, who wore a black, sleeveless dress to the prom two years ago without visiting a salon. ``I was very pale. It's not fun when you're self-conscious all night.''

Laura Stine, a senior at Kempsville High in Virginia Beach, spent weeks tanning for her prom last Saturday.

Stine, who found a special for $35 a month, visited the salon three or four times a week. ``I just decided to do it because it's prom, and I wanted to look nice,'' she says.

But many health professionals worry that young people are being lured into a habit that will prove damaging - and even deadly - later in life.

``There's no such thing as a safe tan,'' says Dr. Rex Amonette, a Memphis dermatologist and spokesman for the American Academy of Dermatology.

Tanning is a sign of skin damage, whether it's obtained outdoors or in, Amonette says. Regular exposure to ultraviolet light leads to sagging, wrinkles and skin cancers, he says.

``We're going to see a real public health problem in the near future,'' he says, because teen-age girls are becoming regular, frequent users of indoor tanning salons. ``We're already seeing very young patients with skin cancers.''

Last year, the dermatology academy launched the National Coalition for Sun Safety to educate young people about tanning.

Levy, of the Smart Tan Network, accuses sunscreen and cosmetics makers and some dermatologists of using scare tactics for profit. He says some studies show a relationship between the vitamin D obtained from ultraviolet light and the reduction of some cancers.

``A tan is your body's natural protection,'' he says. ``To call it damage is akin to calling exercise damage because it tears down the muscle.''

Neff, a lifeguard who spends nine hours in the sun six days a week in summer, wants to tan now so she won't burn later. She knows she might harm her skin by using a tanning booth, but she says she can't avoid the sun.

``If I get any sun damage,'' she says, ``I'll worry about that later.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo illustration by LAWRENCE JACKSON

The Virginian-Pilot

Model: Alyson Holliday, Thanks to Tropics tanning salon

WHO'S WATCHING THE INDUSTRY?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires manufacturers of

artificial light sources to comply with standards for technical

performance and to include instructions and warnings to users.

Instructions relate mostly to cleanliness, uniformity of bulbs and

the need for protective eyewear.

The FDA does not regulate the operation of tanning salons.

Neither do most states, including Virginia.

Since July 1996, Virginia Beach has required salons to obtain a