Despite a growing stigma surrounding tanning beds and recent studies linking tanning to tobacco, hepatitis B and arsenic gas, Gators are still getting their golden glow on this fall.
As the holiday season nears, tanning salons like LAE Tanning & Boutique are becoming more popular because students feel pressure to look good for holiday parties, visits home and football games. Owner Kelley Anderson said LAE has seen business increase dramatically.
Anderson said the increase begins in October and lasts through spring break.
The busiest months are January and February because the sun is out the least then, she said.
But tanning beds aren't the only way Gators get a glow.
Mandi Nazaro, owner of Golden Gator Spray Tanning, said since the store first opened about three years ago, the start of the holiday season has always brought more customers in, especially Halloween, when people are preparing to dress in skimpy costumes.
Nazaro said that during these busy months business can double, and the store can stay open until as late as 11 p.m. to accommodate the influx of tanners.
Appointments normally stop at around 8:30 p.m. during the rest of the year.
"During our summer and not-so-busy months, we only get half as many appointments as we do in the wintertime," she said. "When your demographic is about 80 percent college-aged girls, you are always going to have more people come in around this time of year."
But Lauren Vargas, a junior from Miami Beach, does not see the appeal in any form of tanning.
"I have never been in a tanning bed or had a spray tan," Vargas said. "They don't appeal to me because I am not sure how safe they are. They seem dirty, and I don't want ultraviolet rays hitting my skin so intensely."
She added that the reason she thinks there is such an increase in the use of tanning facilities in the winter is because it is the only way to get dark once the summer months have gone.
As popular as tanning around this time of the year may be, excessive amounts can lead to melanoma, wrinkles and first-degree burns, said Dr. Richard Sadove, plastic surgeon at Dermacare Laser & Skin Care Clinics.
Melanoma, a type of skin cancer, is one of the most dangerous side effects of tanning because it can spread and become deeper and more lethal.
An increased risk of skin cancer has to do with constant exposure to ultraviolet radiation over time, Sadove said.
Sadove explained that while a tan used to be associated with wealth, beauty and fashion, that is not longer the case.
"Tanning may be popular in youth, but wrinkles are not popular in old age," Sadove said.
"It may be a fashion issue, but skin cancer isn't."
