In the state of California in Jan 2012 a new law will go into effect that if you are under the age of 18 you will no longer to able to use tanning salons. Which means, any type of indoor tanning such as booths, spray on tanning booths, beds etc.

Before this new law is going into effect if you are under 18 but over the age 16 you can use tanning salons as long as your parent signs a ok for you to do it.

In Jan. 2012 your rights as a parent are again being stepped on by the GOV who feel they are better at taking care of your child than you are.

 

Now there is a good reason for this law, up to 70% of new cases of skin cancer are caused by the use of tanning salons. There is no such thing as a safe tanning booths, lamps beds etc.

In fact did you know that according to the tanning industry it has estimate that approximately 28 million Americans are using some form of indoor tanning annually. Americans are the largest group of users of tanning salons in the world.

Even occasional use of tanning beds triples your chances of developing melanoma the most common type of skin cancer.

 

When are tanning salons most commonly used by teens? Anytime school has a major event. There is one tanning salon brand that most of their clients are teens getting ready for prom night, Winter formals, dates or pretty much anytime a good amount of skin can be seen. There is even a ongoing myth that tanning will cure acne.

 

In the mind of most teenagers they believe that having a tan makes them look better. If you look better, you feel better about yourself. They are not interested in caring about how their beautiful tan could give them skin cancer when they are older.

Right now in 2011 the law states that you can't tan more than once a day, under 18 but 16 and older you must have your parent there to sign permission paperwork.

 

Now if you forget about the dangers of using tanning booths etc who is this law going to hurt the most? In a economy where it's tough enough to make money, tanning salons who cater to mostly the teen crowd can go out of business. One tanning salon that comes to mind is Planet Beach.

 

Having a friend who offers tanning booths in my area, Ella Blue of ElK Grove to get a better insight of what this law will do to business I had a talk with Julie the owner.

Julie herself has been tanning for over 20 years and worked in tanning salons before opening her own business.

We both agreed on one thing about this new law, the GOV needs to stop Micro-managing how a family takes care of their kids and let the family decide if tanning is ok for their daughter. Having the GOV decide for you is wrong. Remember earlier I said that I know and understand the risks of tanning under the age of 18, the point I'm trying to make is, does the GOV have the right to tell you how to raise your child?

 

So I asked Julie how does this new law impact her tanning part of her day spa? When she heard about this new law being sign in she started turning down new clients and let those know that on Jan. 1st 2012 anyone under the age of 18 will be refunded their tanning cards and won't be able to tan using her booths. I asked her the age groups that are using her tanning booths and a very interesting fact came out; most of her clients are over 30 and up to 60 years old.

 

Julie herself loves how a tan looks on her skin but stopped using tanning booths to get that natural glow. So I had to ask about self-tanners.

The sales of good tanning lotions, sprays etc are going to rise. Julie herself has noticed that sales of her tanning spray Bento’s Magic Spray has almost doubled since the law was first announced. She personally sees sales of tanning lotions sprays etc to rise as well as bronzers.

 

Self tanners have come a long way since they first came out; they no longer turn you multi- shades of orange. They are only a temporary fit where tanning booths had a longer affect on your skin. Now with this law going into effect in CA more states are going to follow their lead.

 

Tanning salons who 50% or higher cliental who are high school age could go out of business. People are going to lose their jobs, their businesses because the California governor has decided he knows what is better for your child than you do. Which means the GOV is again taking away yet another right as you the parent should have. Looking beyond what tanning booths can do or the skin cancers they can cause, do you feel as a parent the GOV have the right to tell you how to raise your child?