Despite all the gray days of January, and all the warnings of dermatologists, the ’94 tanning season has begun. During this season, indoor-tanning salons begin to see their business pick up.
It will build toward an April peak and not drop off sharply until the end of May. The greatest concentrations of indoor-tanning salons are found in New England and upper Midwest states. More than half the country’s estimated 20,000 tanning salons can be found there, according to Wolff System Technology, one of the leading makers of tanning equipment.
However, the tanning industry also thrives in the South. For example, the Yellow Pages in Memphis list 58 tanning salons.
“Memphis does have a pretty fair share of tanning salons,” said Jerry Deveney of Sun Industries in Jonesboro, Ark., another leading tanning-equipment maker.
Memphis may have the nation’s largest indoor-tanning salon as well. With 47 tanning beds, Tansyou, based in a shopping mall, bills itself as “America’s largest tanning salon.”
“We don’t know of a larger one. And our tanning-lotion distributors, who supply salons all over the country, say they don’t know of a larger one,” said Michael Martin, who operates Tansyou with his wife, Kathy.
He said about 150 people a day tanned there through December. But by the end of January, that number will almost double. By April, the daily figure will top 800.
“By mid-March it really gets crazy here. In April, we will have all 47 beds running all day, and we extend our hours to 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. (from the usual 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.),” Martin said.
“A lot of kids start coming in to get ready for spring break. Others are getting tanned for proms and spring formals. Other people don’t want to burn the first time they are out in the sun in the summer. Or maybe they are going on cruises.”
Joe Schuster, national sales director for Wolff System, said large tanning salons like Tansyou are the trend in the industry. However, one-bed operations continue to flourish in other businesses such as beauty salons and fitness centers.
Schuster said Wolff estimates that between 2 million and 4 million people nationally tan indoors each year, while Deveney at Sun Industries said the figure may be 25 million. Martin said Tansyou has 19,718 customers.
Wolff estimates almost 80 percent of indoor tanners are female, while women ages 20-39 make up more than half of indoor tanners, according to Sun. Wolff has found 78 percent of indoor tanners exercise three or more times a week.
“We are an appearance-oriented society. People get in shape, they get their teeth whitened and they get tanned,” Martin said.
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Linda Lyons, a 33-year-old nurse who exercises regularly with weights and aerobic workouts, has been tanning indoors year-round for six years.
“It makes me feel good about myself. Tanning indoors is more convenient and comfortable than tanning outside. It’s private and quiet and relaxing,” she said.
“When I first started, (potential skin damage) was a concern. But I’ve never had any problems and I know people who have been tanning more years than I have and had no effects from it. I think it’s a matter of your skin type, and some people are just more prone to have problems than others.”
The industry contends that moderation is the answer to warnings issued by dermatologists and government agencies of potential skin damage from indoor tanning.
“You are exposing yourself to ultraviolet light (indoors or outdoors). But in my opinion, I would rather do it with a tanning lamp than out in the sun where you have no idea how much you’re being exposed to,” Deveney said.
But the popularity of indoor tanning dismays Dr. Rex Amonette, president-elect of the American Academy of Dermatology.
“Any source of light that creates a tan is damaging to the skin,” said Amonette, who is also clinical professor of dermatology at the University of Tennessee at Memphis.
Because indoor tanning has been popular in the United States for only a decade or so, he said it may be five to 10 more years before studies can draw clinical conclusions. But dermatologists are seeing patients with sun damage and skin cancer believed to be caused by indoor tanning.
“Particularly in the last year or two we have seen a number of patients with really heavy skin damage, far out of norm for their young age. Most are from their late teens to mid-40s,” Amonette said.
The risks noted by the American Academy of Dermatology include skin cancer, premature skin aging, skin and eye burns, allergic reactions, cataracts, retinal damage, reduced immunity and blood-vessel damage.