Editor's note: The original name of the subject of this article was removed at the individual's request. It has been substituted as Jane Doe.
At least twice a week, freshman Jane Doe wakes up at 7 a.m. and jogs a mile into Tenleytown and back, returning just in time for her morning classes.
This exercise routine does more than keep her body trim; it keeps her tan. Clad in gym shorts and running shoes, Doe pauses her workout and takes a pit stop at a tanning salon - the halfway point of her jogging route.
Though the morning jogs help her stay fit, her golden tan makes Doe look noticeably active, she said.
"[A tan] presents me as an active person versus one that's stuck inside all day and doesn't get out much," Doe said.
It would certainly be hard to argue that Doe does not appear "active." Standing at a petite 5 feet 2 inches, Doe is small but well toned. Her wardrobe is distinct, composed mostly of flashy skirts and form-fitting tops, and her hair is long but coifed.
And let's not forget about the tan.
"I tan anywhere from three to six times a week," Doe said, whose bronzed skin seems almost radiant, even under the dull florescent lighting of her dorm room.
Doe limits herself to six sessions a week. But even if she had a desire to squeeze in one more trip to the tanning bed, the salon might not permit it, according to Casa Del Sol Tanning Club manager Laura Shick, who manages the chain's Wisconsin Avenue location.
"Tanning salons are regulated by the FDA, so you are allowed to tan only once in a 24-hour period in our stores," Shick said.
The 24-hour rule helps customers to avoid overexposing and burning their skin, but there are some other good reasons for the limit - namely to prevent frequent tanners from developing a laughably dark complexion, according to Shick.
"D.C. is not a tropical area, and no one wants to look silly. Most people should tan in moderation," Shick said. However, if certain customers of Casa Del Sol tan a little too much, Doe is not one of them, she insisted. Jokingly calling herself a "tanaholic," Doe said her tan is not the result of a psychological addiction; it is just a way for her to look healthy.
"For practical purposes, tan skin hides imperfections better than a pale complexion. And it keeps your skin from looking sallow if you've got dark circles under your eyes," Doe said.
In addition to its cosmetic enhancements, a tan can also be therapeutic, according to Shick.
"People say they feel better with a tan. They feel relaxed after being in the tanning bed for 10 minutes or so. It feels good to get tan and stay warm," Shick said.
It should be noted that Shick said "warm" and not "burnt to a crisp." As any tanner knows, overexposure to either sunlight or tanning bulbs can severely damage the skin, turning it a fiery red rather than a shimmering brown. However, there are ways to limit the risk of a burn, according to Shick.
First, Shick advised those with light skin to strike "Get a tan" from their to-do list immediately.
"There are certain people with fair skin who should not tan. They are not going to see results. We have a skin type system; people with olive skin tan very well, whereas attempting to tan pale skin will not do any good," Shick said.
Second, rookie tanners should take it slow. That's the advantage of tanning salons over a day at the beach - the ability to regulate one's exposure to "sunlight," according to Shick.
"You definitely want to avoid burning. And that is the benefit of a tanning salon," Shick said. "If you go to the beach and fall asleep for five hours, you'll get a deep burn; that is the worst thing you can do to your skin. If you haven't been tanning before, we'll start you at half the time, and you can work your way up."
Skin burns when it is overexposed to ultraviolet rays. UV rays, which cause the skin to tan as a protection against bacteria, come in two forms: UV-A and UV-B. Tanning beds emit mostly UV-A rays because they penetrate deeper into the skin and allow users to tan without burning, according to the Indoor Tanning Association's Web site.
Avoiding a burn does not mean avoiding skin cancer. In a recent study by the National Cancer Institute, the lifestyles of women between the ages of 30 and 50 were analyzed in relation to skin cancer. The study found the use of tanning lamps during the teen and early adult years greatly increases the possibility of melanoma, one of the most serious types of skin cancer.
To Doe, this is just the price one must pay for beauty.
"There definitely is a danger involved, but it's a decision that people must make for themselves," Doe said. "There are dangers in everything, so it's just a matter of weighing the benefits against the potential hazards."
The potential hazards extend beyond skin cancer, according to senior Erin Reigh. She believes tanning bulbs damage not only skin cells, but social status as well.
"Tanning beds are for white trash. When I see someone in December who has orange skin very evenly distributed throughout her body, the first thing I think of is [that] this person probably has a set of tires at the entrance to her driveway," Reigh said.
Despite her staunch anti-tanning stance, Reigh understands its appeal.
"Of course D.C. is obsessed with tanning," Reigh said. "It's full of a bunch of 9-to-5 cubicle jockeys. In a place like this, who wouldn't want to pretend they spent the weekend in Cancun?"
Freshman Jonathon Bice is an occasional tanner and said tanning salons are not trashy at all - to a point.
"Tanning is not for white trash. Case in point: me," Bice said. "I think when you have a tanning booth in your touring bus like Britney Spears, that's white trash. Or when it gets to the point where you're noticeably too dark, like that ugly potato skin complexion, and you're one of those over-the-hill women with stringy platinum blonde hair. That's trashy."
It seems, then, that until tanning reaches the same level of trashiness as tater tots and lip liner, the hopelessly pale will be the odd ones out. A fair-skinned girl herself, Reigh anxiously awaits the day when a ghostly pallor is the "new" tan, she said.
"Every fad comes and goes," Reigh said. "Let's just hope being pale doesn't come back at the same time as being fat. I just don't think I could handle that"
