Weddingbee Blog

Hive, at this point at time, my skin is the color of paper. I seriously look like I’ve been painting closets for the past six months. In fact, if I shaved my head and stood against a white wall naked, no one would be able to find me.

Some of you may be shocked by this statement, but if this is my coloring on my wedding day, I’d be totally cool with it.

However, in a few months, I’ll probably get a few shades darker by walking my dog and walking to and from class. Believe it or not, I tan ridiculously easily, despite SPF. I don’t turn golden brown overnight, but by the end of the summer my foundation goes up quite a few shades inadvertently.

I’m writing this post because as I was looking through my venue’s “perks” for booking a wedding, I saw that they give one month of unlimited tanning booth sessions for the bride.

Growing up in Morgantown and seeing droves of coeds who looked like they rolled in Doritos walking around, I wasn’t surprised. I remember back in high school (while my complexion would probably fall in between snow and transparent) girls who couldn’t afford to tan would lay out slathered in butter. They may have got the idea from Seinfeld, or perhaps great minds think alike.

via Moira’s Cancer According to Seinfeld

But as a budding medical professional, this truly bothered me. It makes me so sad that society has made tanning seem healthy and luxurious. In fact, it boggled my mind when I saw how many people in my class used the tanning bed many times a week. And as for those spray tanning booths? Is it really safe to be breathing in chemicals for a minute straight? Even if you hold your breath, that stuff permeates. And how does it look to patients who you’re telling to live a healthy lifestyle as you’re slowly possibly causing a completely preventable cancer?

OK, now I’ll get off my high horse, because like I said before, I tan very easily and I’m not exactly running around town in a wide brimmed hat from April to October. I do, however, go to my dermatologist every year to get a full body check up. Is it awkward? A little. Is it important? Very. Last year, my doctor found a few weird moles on my back. They were new ones and he biopsied one. It turned out it had a mild dysplasia. Not cancer, but eventually, one day, it could have turned into a melanoma. Of course, I had it completely removed as soon as possible. It wasn’t fun, but it also wasn’t painful nor a big deal. I also now have a small scar on my back from it. I see it as a reminder to always wear sunscreen especially on my back.

I guess my take home message for this is, everything in moderation, and always get your appropriate medical checkups. Oh, and pale is just as beautiful as tan. I think if more people realized this, we could change the perception of what is truly healthy.

Is anyone else a proud pale bride?