The sun is shining and the temperature is rising. The days are getting longer and the daffodils are in bloom.

Spring is finally here! For many, that means that it is time to bare some skin.

“I love spring, but I hate that embarrassing feeling I get the first time I put on a pair of shorts and have to show off my white legs,” said sophomore Jana Chase.

Chase is not alone in her belief that untanned skin is unattractive. So for similar reasons, many have begun their trek to local tanning salons to achieve a desired golden skin color.

“When I am tan, I feel more confident about my appearance,” said Keith Swanson, a junior in business administration. “It just makes me feel better about myself.”

As layers of clothing are being shed and sweaters are being hung in the backs of closets, tank tops and revealing apparel are popping up all over campus.

Unfortunately, in a society that revolves around beauty, self-conciousness sets in when it comes to exposing our jiggly parts??yet another reason that lends itself to jumping in a tanning bed.

“A lot of people say that fat looks better tan than white,” Renee Wilson of California Sun Centers said. “It makes you feel better all around when you have some color.”

However, behind the feel-good powers of a tan, tanning beds pose many potential risks. When beauty is involved, these risks are often easily ignored.

“The tanning booth has been claimed to be safer by the people that run these things, but there are still problems. Especially with the fact that tanning booths supply primarily ultraviolet light A,” said Michael Stouder, M.D. of the Student Health Center.

Tanning beds emit mostly UVA rays which are the type less likely to burn the skin, making many feel that tanning beds are the safer route to a tan.

However, according to an article by dermatologist Harvey Handler, UVA rays induce age spots, wrinkling, and loss of skin elasticity.

“The big problem is the long term affect which is the aging, because UVA penetrates deeper into the skin,” said Stouder. “So it is kind of deceiving because it can cause delayed damage.”

Also, almost all of the 500,000 cases of skin cancer developed annually in the U.S. are considered by the American Cancer Society to be sun-related.

The Sun Tanning Association For Education, however, states that there is no conclusive evidence that the browning of the skin without causing burning is harmful.

Dermatologist Stephen Borchers has a different view. “I think any type of tanning can probably cause damage to the skin that can lead to skin cancer. I wouldn’t recommend any form of tanning.”

Many people go to a tanning salon before going on a tropical vacation to build up some color and protect themselves from the sun?s rays that they may not be used to being exposed to. Stouder suggests that this method provides people with a false sense of security about being protected from the sun.

“There is no guarantee that they won’t get burned,” he said. “Ultraviolet A may induce a temporary tan, but it is not protective against the burning effects of the sun.”

Stouder recommends wearing sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat to effectively protect the skin on vacation.

Doctors agree that a tan simply implies that damage has been done to the skin.

“There is an expression in medicine that there is no such thing as a good tan,” said Stouder.According to the Sun Tanning Association for Education, all tanning equipment must include an exposure schedule prominently displayed on the unit that factors in individual skin types and appropriate time exposure.

“A lot of people think that if a little bit is good, then a lot is better,” said Stouder. “People tend to over-do it sometimes in the tanning booth and stay in longer than they should. They don’t think about what they are doing to themselves in the long run.”

Borchers and Stouder agree that for someone who wants to be golden-brown, sun-less tanning lotions and sprays are the one method that they can recommend that is relatively safe and doesn’t involve any ultraviolet exposure at all.

Before running to a tanning salon this year, think about your purpose behind having a tan. Is it really reflective of the lifestyle you want to convey to others?

How do the potential risks balance with the desired result? And are there any other appealing options?

The decision is yours.